Exploring a Job: Topics to Consider

What You Need To Do

•	Job description
•	Major tasks, subtasks
•	Equipment or tools used
•	Description of typical day

What Your Work Is Like

•	Fringe benefits (health insurance, retirement, credit unions, etc.)
•	Working environment (noise, hazards, lighting, indoor/outdoor travel, special clothing, etc.)
•	Working hours
•	Salary range for this type of occupation
•	History of this kind of work
•	What you produce (goods, services)
•	Interdependence of your job and other jobs/products/industries
•	Where else in the community your kind of work is done
•	Government regulations affecting your work

The Future In It

•	Degree of opportunity for women and men regardless of race
•	Opportunities for advancement
•	Personal qualities needed
•	Employment projections, effects of technology and new knowledge on your work
•	Effects of the country’s economic condition on your job
•	Hints you would give someone applying for a job
•	Other jobs you could do with these same skills

Job Entry

•	How you got started in this job
•	Other jobs you have held
•	Skills you already had that you use now, how you acquired them
•	Your recommendations to others for acquiring these same skills
•	Your job as a lifetime career or a stepping stone
•	Related jobs for which you are now prepared

How It Feels

•	What you like and dislike about the job
•	What you would change if you could
•	Avenues available to you for making suggestions on the job
•	What you would rather do if you’re not satisfied
•	Interpersonal skills you find most important and why
•	Underlying attitudes and values important to your job
•	Why you chose this type of work (with machines instead of people, for example)

How It Affects Your Personal Life

•	Family time
•	Leisure time
•	Job-related skills you use elsewhere
•	Expanding interests
•	Adequate exercise
•	General health
•	Tension, fatigue vs. stimulation, fulfillment or increase in energy