Career change web sites?

August 23, 2007 5:00 AM

What are some good career development or vocational guidance web sites? Not looking for job postings, but advice, tests, articles, forums etc. about finding and then switching to a more rewarding career path.

I'm a mid-career liberal arts grad turned all-purpose web monkey (aren't we all?) looking for the vocation that will fulfill my purpose in life, or at least make me happy. Please help me Internet. After all, I've done so much for you over the years. Isn't it time you gave back a little?

posted by Otis to Work & Money (9 answers total)

I like http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/, which focuses on finding your vocation as an entrepreneur.
posted by emilyw at 5:59 AM on August 23, 2007

Try the strengths finder. It's a very good empirically based measure that helps you figure out what you're good at. The purpose of the measure is to help people figure You might also want to go to the bookstore to flip through the book Now, Discover Your Strengths at your library/bookstore.

If you want the free version, try the measures found at Positive Psychology Questionnaires. Again, the goal of the measures are to provide insight into what people are good at, so that they can find "authentic happiness".

For generic descriptions of various jobs, etc., try US News & World Report on Best Carrers and US News & World Report on Jobs by Personality Type. Not as scientific, but it's a start.

Also, there is a federal gov't database of all the possible jobs, along with descriptions of those jobs, including salary range, education needed, etc. I've seen it online, but can't find the web address. Perhaps your local librarian can help you find the web address if a search engine doesn't turn it up? If you don't want to leave your desk, most libraries have a live chat with the librarian segment on their webpage.
posted by jujube at 7:15 AM on August 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'd recommend reading Penelope Trunk's blog, and if you like that, her book, Brazen Careerist.

She's one of the few people I've found online that gives straightforward, no-BS career advice. I don't always agree with her opinion, but she always makes me think.
posted by dyslexictraveler at 8:18 AM on August 23, 2007

Lots of advice in this LifeHacker discussion of the same question.
posted by Jaie at 8:38 AM on August 23, 2007

Oh, and The Riley Guide lists many self-assessment resources here. And the Career Options page includes a list of "Choosing a Career Path" links. It's been a while since I worked through all the Riley Guide links; they were all useful, although I can't remember well enough to recommend any one in particular.
posted by Jaie at 8:43 AM on August 23, 2007

I think jujube is referring to the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
posted by doift at 9:49 AM on August 23, 2007

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Steve Pavlina and How to Discover Your Life Purpose in 20 Minutes yet. There are actually multitiudes of websites by people like Steve Pavlina who promise to help you figure out how to "escape" bad jobs or even the entire 9-5 for something much more rewarding. Some of them give me a bit of a ice cream headache, but some are good. A quick Google search under "escape career" found some stuff, including the might-hold-potential Kim & Jason Escape Adulthood: The 40-Day Escape Plan. The blogroll here might be worth exploring.
posted by salvia at 10:35 AM on August 23, 2007

Seek has a lot of great career changing resources.
posted by katala at 10:22 PM on August 23, 2007

Back again in the realm of things you pay for, there's also the One Year Exit Plan. (I flagged the website to look around for whether there's any good free stuff on it but haven't done it yet.)
posted by salvia at 9:37 AM on August 25, 2007