Learn More About the World of Work
At this stage of planning, your goal is to better understand the world of work—categories and ranges of industries, career paths, job titles—including the landscape of jobs and career paths at Washington University.
Generate and evaluate options, and make decisions about your work and career, based on a solid understanding of your goals, the organization’s mission, and workforce trends. Keep in mind there are many more professions out there than typically displayed in published listings, and there are still-to-be-created jobs and careers in response to future trends.
A few resources to help you explore industries and career fields:
Additionally, there is a sea change in how we think about work and career in the 21st-century:
- An employee’s flexibility and adaptability are as important as long-term stability within a single organization.
- There are alternatives to traditional career paths.
- Employers look at transferable competencies and skills, rather than job titles, in assessing the experience of top candidates.
- Work culture is changing dramatically in many organizations.
- Social, political, and economic forces impact workforce practice and policy.
- Demographic shifts influence significant changes in organizational design.
- Technology and data touch most of the work we do.
- Work/life balance matters to all.
Think big. Changing circumstances demand new questions:
- What are current and future workforce skills and trends?
- How do they suggest opportunities or limitations in relation to your professional profile?
- How are social, political, economic, and other forces at home and abroad affecting workforce practice and policy?
- How does this larger context influence how you think about your professional interests and goals?
Use your career development specialist, manager, teacher and mentor to help you generate and evaluate job and career options. These individuals, for example, can help you determine if you have the minimum educational requirements for a job, or if your experience along with some relevant training or continuing education can substitute for a formal degree. Use the Individual Development Plan (PDF) to post your choices, actions, and follow-up evaluations.
Career Opportunities Within Washington University
- WU Career Explorer
Include, under each job family, a representative list of the most commonly held job titles, to help you learn more about the landscape of positions at Washington University. - International Employees
The Office for International Students and Scholars provides advice on immigration and visa matters that may influence job decisions and career planning. OISS also offers English language support to strengthen professional communication skills.