Choosing the Right Degree in 4 Steps, Part 2

Now that you’ve got a way to stay organized, it’s time to ask yourself key questions and, this is really important, record your answers. Seriously, don’t skip this step. Recording your answers to these questions will aid you tremendously when it comes to articulating your interests and needs for the degree that’s going to lead you to your dream career.

Welcome to Part 2 of Choosing the Right Degree in 4 Steps! If you missed Part 1, don’t worry, we have it posted here. Let’s get started!

Self-Assessment

Now that you’ve got a way to stay organized, it’s time to ask yourself key questions and, this is really important, record your answers. Seriously, don’t skip this step. Recording your answers to these questions will aid you tremendously when it comes to articulating your interests and needs for the degree that’s going to lead you to your dream career.

There are several online quizzes and tools to help you assess a variety of factors that will impact your college degree choice. Take the quizzes if you’d like, but don’t get hung up on self-assessment. Instead use them as a way to gauge your interests, abilities, and possibilities.

Whether or not you take formal career interest self-assessments or informal quizzes, give yourself time to think about your future five years and ten years from now.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How far from home do I want to study?
• Do I like classroom learning, or do I do better in an online environment?
• Do I like learning in small groups, or large crowds?
• Is this hobby or interest something I want to do daily?
• How long do I want to be in school?
• How quickly do I want to enter the workforce after earning a degree?
• What have I found I’m good at doing?
• What subjects were my favorite/least favorite to study in school?
• What does my dream career look like?
• What challenges or problems do I want to help solve through my work?

From Questions to Answers

Take your completed assessments and create a wish list. Your wish list should include highlights from your assessments. An example would be, “I want to learn at an in-state college.” By having a wish list or summary page of your assessments, you will have an easy reference guide as you continue the degree-seeking process.

Alright, time to put this step into action. If you have already begun taking assessments, start organizing them for easy access. Then, ask yourself the questions outlined above. If the answers are coming easily to you, wonderful, write them down. If not, you might want to take an assessment today to help you find the answer to a particular question.

While online assessments are popular, remember you can ask friends, family, and school counselors for their thoughts. The key here is to self-reflect and gain insight into who you are and what’s important to you.

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