Career Advising and Career Counseling

Career Advising and Career Counseling

When you think about careers or employment and find yourself saying things like “I don’t know what I want to do…,” “I don’t know where to go to find…,” “I don’t know how to get…,” or “I’m confused about…,” you don’t have to go it alone. There are online tools and resources and plenty of actual humans to help you figure things out. No one is born knowing how careers evolve, how to find jobs, or how to decide about going to graduate or professional school. And you probably weren’t taught these things in high school.

The Center for Career Discovery and Development is dedicated to ensuring that you are educated about careers, guided in exploring your options, taught the skills of career management and job search, and led through the process of applying to graduate/professional school or for prestigious fellowships.

Career Advising

Career advisors in C2D2 can help you develop your professional identity within your chosen field of study as well as help you discover how you can transfer your skills and pivot from one field to another.  Advisors can help you find and apply for internships, co-ops, and jobs, as well as help you build your professional network.

Before meeting with a career advisor, it’s best to review the resources available on the C2D2 site to make the most of your time with the advisor. Here’s an order you might find useful:

1. Read the Get Started page of the Undergraduate section (http://www.careerdiscovery.gatech.edu/your-path/get-started)
2. Watch short videos on any topics relevant to your situation in CareerSpots http://www.careerdiscovery.gatech.edu/career-research-tools-0)
3. Watch more detailed videos on any topic you need help with in the C2D2 Video Series (http://www.careerdiscovery.gatech.edu/c2d2-video-series)
4. Use tools such as Optimal Resume and the Virtual Career Library (http://www.careerdiscovery.gatech.edu/career-research-tools-0). International students will find helpful advice and resources in the H1Base (https://h1baseservices.com/gatech-students).
5. Browse the FAQs (http://www.careerdiscovery.gatech.edu/faq).

Taking those steps will help you get a head start on the basics, so that when you meet with a career advisor, you can drill down more deeply into your specific questions and concerns and receive more personalized coaching and advice. When you’re ready to meet with a career advisor, you can make an appointment through CareerBuzz, or for quick needs, can see an advisor through the C2D2 walk-in hours. The walk-in schedule is posted in CareerBuzz and on the C2D2 site.

In addition to C2D2’s career advising, your College may also offer career advising. For example, the Scheller College of Business and the College of Computing have robust career development programs for their students. Other Colleges at Georgia Tech might not have individuals officially named with a career advising sort of title, but all Schools and Colleges provide career support through various faculty and staff.

Career Counseling

There might be times during your years at Georgia Tech when career advising just doesn’t seem like enough. Career advising tends to be tactical and strategic, addressing issues such as “How could my resume be stronger?” “How do I conduct myself in an interview?” “How can I position myself as a solid candidate for an internship or co-op?” Career counseling, on the other hand, digs a bit deeper. While career counseling may address the tactical issues as well (just as career advisors may also get into the deeper stuff), career counselors primarily focus on you and the broad range of career concerns you might have.

Career counseling is a process that will help you know yourself better and understand the world of work in order to make career, educational, and life decisions. The goal of career counseling is not only to help you make the decisions you need to make now, but to give you the knowledge and skills you need to make future career and life decisions.

Career counseling is not a quick fix to your problems, nor is it a crystal ball into your future. Career counselors don’t take the place of your academic advisors. You’ll need to meet with your School’s advisors for guidance in planning your coursework and ultimately choosing or changing your major, though career counselors definitely can help you explore your decision-making process around majors. Instead, a career counselor is someone you can feel free to speak openly with about your thoughts, ideas, feelings, and fears about your career and educational choices. If you think career counseling would be helpful to you, schedule an appointment with a C2D2 career counselor through CareerBuzz.

Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional Advising

If you are considering attending professional or graduate school or pursuing a prestigious fellowship, the Pre-Graduate and Pre-Professional (PGPP) advising team within C2D2 can help. We support students and alumni considering careers in academia, health, law, and K-12 teaching, as well as applying for prestigious fellowships.

The “pre-“ in our name refers to what you do before applying for programs that will train you to become a lawyer, a K-12 teacher, a doctor, or other health care professional.  You cannot major in a “pre-,” but Tech does offer some minor and certificate options in pre-law and pre-health. Pre-Graduate helps you discover avenues for advanced study in all academic disciplines.  If you believe an advanced degree or a career in research may be in your future, make an appointment to learn more about graduate study and how to pursue a master’s or Ph.D.

 Pre-professional Options on Campus

Pre-Health provides you with resources and events to explore health careers and to navigate the professional school application process to become a physician, dentist, veterinarian, or many more health profession options.  A pre-health advisor can provide you with informed support and help you learn more about becoming a health professional through workshops, advisement, info sessions, weekly digests, and more.

Pre-Law assists as you consider a legal career. A pre-law advisor can help you learn about job options within the law, engage in career exploration opportunities, and support you in the law school application process.

Pre-Teaching provides you with resources and opportunities to explore a career in K-12 education. Learn about your options for becoming a teacher directly after Georgia Tech, after a post-doc, or through a career change once you become an alumnus/a and have been out in the work world a while.

Prestigious Fellowships

Prestigious fellowships are merit-based financial awards that support study and research in the U.S. and abroad. An advisor can help you identify and apply for nationally competitive scholarships such as Rhodes, Goldwater, and Fulbright. The application process is also a chance to reflect on your career goals and personal development. It’s not too early as a first-year student to start learning about the many fellowships available so that you are aware of deadlines and the steps to take to make yourself a viable candidate for the one you want.

 No matter which of the tools, resources, workshops, and advisors described in this section end up being the most useful for your particular career needs, know that the staff of the Center for Career Discovery and Development, in partnership with many other campus organizations, faculty, and staff, is here for you. We are committed to innovation and excellence that helps you discover your sense of purpose, develop 21^st century workplace competencies, and position yourself for satisfying and successful careers in a complex world.

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All materials in this section are licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0.