Man, time flies here at the Career Discovery Week world headquarters. Seems like just yesterday that we were spreading the word about the 147 events that were part of the January 2008 edition.

As with exploring your career options, the CDW HQ believes it’s never too earlier to start planning. So we’re gearing up now for the 2009 edition of Career Discovery Week! It’s all going down on January 26-30, 2009 at UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma. Our superstar committee are busy planning all the fun now, so if you have any questions or want to get involved, give them a holler at careerwk@u.washington.edu.

Did we mention that 2009 will mark the 10 year anniversary of UW’s Career Discovery Week? It’s grown to one of the biggest events of its kind! We get a little misty-eyed looking back. Plus we laugh a little. Check out the “awesome” Husky guide to the 2002 Career Week site. That was the third annual edition. We’re not sure what happened to the web pages for #1 and #2, but after looking at the 2002 site, we imagine a little animated “under construction” icon was involved.

In 2003, we added “Discovery” to the title as well as a compass. Get it? Discovery … compass. So clever. Apparently we thought it was clever enough that we sent our designer out looking for compasses again and again.

Anyway, just thought we’d share a little CDW lore. Keep checking this site for more information about everything that’s happening in 2009!

Thanks to all those who attended CDW events on the 3 UW campuses last week - we had an amazing turnout!

Yet there were so many panels, fairs and other events that we couldn’t fit them all into one week. We had a bunch of sessions happening before the Week officially kicked off and more after it’s over. Being the great marketing brains we are, we thought of calling it “Career Discovery Two or Three Weeks Plus a Couple Other Events Happening Way Before/After.” Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way, does it?

So we’ll keep it simple — that the fun’s not over yet. There are 9 more events at UW Seattle and a talk about Careers in International Management at UW Bothell.

And don’t forget about Husky Career Lunch on Feb. 20th where UW alumni and friends sit down and chat about more than 25 different career fields. It’s fun, informal and a great way to get some face time with people working in jobs that interest you (or at least sound cool).

Even you’re just barely sticking your toes in the think-about-my-career waters, you’ll get some good advice. And you get lunch. Coordinating where everyone sits isn’t easy, so you have to register in advance.

Biology’s Mr. Bones got really into Career Discovery Week this year:

Here’s UW lecturer Michael Strausz modeling a Career Discovery Week shirt while teaching a Political Science class:

Yesterday I attended the session on Careers in Human Resources and found it tremendously helpful. Besides the free pizza I really enjoyed the casual environment, knowledgeable professionals, and students representatives from the HR club on campus. I even found out about a business class that is for non majors regarding HR that is being taught this spring! This is my first year (even though it is my fourth at UW) coming to CDW and I strongly recommend it to every student, regardless of year in school or career plans.

Aack! The age-old moment of truth has arrived. Your parents are staring at you inquiringly. Your little sister is squirming in her chair next to you. Your granmother pinches your cheek, while mumbling “my, how you have grown!” What are your plans? Where are you going? What exactly do you plan to do with that degree you spent four long years working on? I remember being bombarded with that question in my last quarter at the UW. Oh, the horror.

If you are still as confused as I was, there are some great sessions in these last two days of career week that will get your brain moving and your feet hitting the pavement to start your job search. Maybe a little outside of the normal “job” realm, these sessions will offer you a different perspective on your future. Whether you are still stuck without a major, interested in serving others internationally, brushing up your interviewing skills or hitting it big in Hollywood, you still have some great opportunities to learn about different options.

This week is all about getting out what you put in. Check out some sessions in the last few days that might change your perspective on the future. You might end up doing something you would have never imagined after you get that shiny diploma and relish in your moment of glory on the stage in Husky Stadium.

It’s Wednesday. We’ve put on 60+ events already and attendance has been great! The snow that cancelled a few events in Tacoma on Monday looks like a distant memory now (back to the usual Northwest winter - clouds, a little rain).

If you got that middle-of-the-week feeling where you’re just hoping to make it to Friday, can we suggest a little dose of inspiration from today’s events? While we can’t guarantee you’ll be able to find a job that allows you to work two days a week, you can meet people who love their jobs and want to share some tips on how they got where they did.

Among the many Wednesday options are the big Environmental Career Fair,  tips on landing that killer internship,  teaching English overseas, hearing from alumni of color about their experience in the business world and a panel of recruiters from big name companies tell you how to ace that interview.

And that’s just in Seattle. Check out what’s shaking at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma.

You’re obsessed with Grey’s Anatomy and Dr. 90210. Your mouth waters at the sight of biochemistry books and biology charts. You can recite the periodic table of elements in your sleep.

You think you really want to work in medicine but aren’t sure what field is right for you? Check out some sessions this week that will help you work out the details of getting there. Tuesday’s session is focused on careers in nursing, while on Wednesday the topic will be international health careers and general careers in medicine. The week wraps up with Thursday’s session on health care management and Friday’s career options in health care.

These sessions will point you in the right direction and help you figure out your next steps. If you’re lucky, you might even run into Dr. McDreamy.

It’s Monday, January 28, and Career Discovery Week has begun! If you were like us, you enjoyed how the snow made everything look nice then suffered through an extra-long bus ride. But the show must go on and Monday events at UW Seattle are going on as scheduled. So join us at some of the 14 events today in Seattle, ranging from information on international careers to getting a job in the world of sports.

We’re no better at predicting the weather than those people on TV, so please check this site — we’ll update with any changes or cancellations as the day goes on.

UW Tacoma
Since the Tacoma campus is planning to suspend operations at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the two evening events are cancelled. At this time, all Tuesday events will go on as scheduled, but please check the CDW for the latest updates.

UW Bothell
The Bothell campus has suspended operations for Monday. The good news is that there are no CDW events scheduled there for Monday. As with Tacoma, all Tuesday events at Bothell will go on as scheduled. But keep an eye out here - we’ll update the CDW site if anything changes.

It’s still early in the year, and some of us are doing our best to stick to our resolutions. As difficult as it seems to put down the remote and stop surfing MySpace, why not make a resolution you can easily keep: start thinking about life after college by checking out Career Discovery Week!

Career Discovery Week gives you an excellent chance to talk to people in your field of interest, often times one-on-one. As a former session planner, I loved the chance to talk to real-life-journalists (I was studying journalism) and hear what their day-to-day lives on the job were like. These people are here to connect with students and love to have the opportunity to talk about what they are good at! Hey, we all like to talk about ourselves. Why not put that to good use?

Interested in connecting with professionals in the business world? Check out Monday’s Business Internships: The inside Scoop, featuring reps from Weyerhauser and Accenture. If non-profits spark your interest, you can chat with local non-profit managers from the Nature Conservacy and Solid Ground at Tuesday’s Exploring Careers in the Non-Profit Sector Event.

So, put Career Discovery Week on top of your list of resolutions. Bring your resume, build up your networking skills and get ready to jump into your future, one session at a time! 

… showing up”

You may have seen this quote on the brand new Career Discovery Week shirts been worn by some of the more fashion-forward members of the UW community. So show up! That’s our theme for this year. The best way to prepare for your future (and, heck, improve the present) is to learn what’s out there.

CDW can help you figure out how to get into grad school, save the earth or become a brain surgeon. And that’s just on Monday!