Career Exploration
Career Counseling
With a focus on the whole person, students are encouraged to engage in a process of career exploration. Some students are interested in choosing an academic major or graduate program, others are identifying potential careers or areas of professional interest, still others are working to integrate their academic and/or professional pursuits with their broader life choices. Career counseling is focused on helping students align their values, interests and preferences with their academic, career and/or life goals.
Career counseling might include individual career counseling sessions, career assessments and/or participation in career-related workshops.
Career Assessments
The Counseling Center offers students and alumni two widely used career assessment tools to provide information that can assist with career and/or academic planning. Results are presented in an interpretive workshop format (students and alumni), or in individual interpretive sessions (students only).
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator is the world’s most used indicator of adult personality patterns. It identifies individual preferences on four dimensions, two related to job content and two related to work environment. The results of this assessment can help guide choice of academic major, career direction, and help foster understanding and appreciation of individual differences in interpersonal relationships.
Strong Interest Inventory (SII)
The Strong Interest Inventory identifies interests and compares this information to the likes and dislikes of individuals in over 100 occupations. Where there is similarity in interest, there is likely to be job satisfaction. Results from the SII include a list of careers that may be of interest, as well as general “themes” to consider when choosing an academic major and/or career direction.
To take the MBTI and/or SII:
- Stop by the Counseling Center to pay, complete some brief paperwork, schedule your interpretation, and pick up on-line test-taking instructions.
- Assessments can be completed using any computer with Internet access, at any time 24 hours a day. Please allow an hour to complete each assessment.
- Due to the time it takes to score your assessment and prepare your results, please plan to complete the assessment at least two business days prior to your scheduled interpretation.
- Results from assessments can only be released with a professional interpretation. Interpretation options include:
- an individual interpretation with a career counselor at the Counseling Center
- an interpretive workshop at the Counseling Center
- an individual interpretation with a qualified career counselor outside of the Counseling Center.
Assessment results, like most other counseling services, are confidential information. They will only be released with written permission of the test-taker.
Schedule of Assessment Workshops – Spring Quarter, 2008
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- Tuesday, April 15, 2:00-3:30 401 Schmitz
- Tuesday, April 29, 2:00-3:30 136 MGH
- Tuesday, May 20, 2:00-3:30 401 Schmitz
Strong Interest Inventory
- Tuesday, April 8, 2:00-3:30 401 Schmitz
- Tuesday, April 22, 2:00-3:30 136 MGH
- Tuesday, May 6, 2:00-3:30 401 Schmitz
Career Exploration Workshops
The Counseling Center offers several workshops, and collaborates with other centers to offer workshops, to assist students with Career and Life Planning. Following are descriptions of the workshops offered.
- Transitioning to Your First Year on the Job : When life changes, you can get stressed-out, even if it's a change you think you are ready for. Join us for a dynamic workshop that guides you through the endings, uncertainty, and new beginnings associated with change.
- Thursday, May 15, 4:30-6:00 216 Denny Hall
- Two-Part Career Workshop Series for Graduate Students: These workshops are sponsored by the Counseling Center and the Career Center and are open to all currently enrolled UW graduate students. There are no fees for the workshops but due to limited space, you must email the Counseling Center at counsels@u.washington.edu to register.
- Part I: Values Identification and Clarification Workshop: Discovering and clarifying your values can help provide a focus for academic, career, and life decisions. Join the Career Center and the Counseling Center for a 90-minute interactive workshop designed to identify and clarify the intangibles that often underlie our choices.
- Tuesday, April 22, 4:30-6:00 401 Schmitz
- Part II: Values-Based Career & Life Planning: Join the Career Center and the Counseling Center for an interactive workshop applying your identified work and life values. Continue to explore aspects of your success, development, and work-life balance. Sift through potential vocational options and find congruence between your goals and values. Must have attended Part 1: Values Identification and Clarification on April 22, 2008.
- Thursday, April 24, 4:30-6:00 401 Schmitz
- Crash Course in Decision-Making: Come to this workshop where you will identify your decision-making style, learn the basic steps of planful decision-making, recognize factors that may influence your decisions, and identify you next steps and helpful UW resources. This workshop is co-sponsored with the Career Center. Plese contact the Career Center at (206) 543-0535 for more information.
- Wednesday, May 28, 4:30-6:00 401 Schmitz Graduate Students Only
FEES FOR CAREER SERVICES
Individual Career Counseling*
Initial session: Free
Integrated Strong Interest Inventory: $40.00
Integrated Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: $40.00
Career counseling sessions: First 5, FREE; additional sessions, $30.00
Career Assessment Interpretive Workshops**
Strong Interest Inventory: $20.00
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: $20.00
Alumni, either workshop: $40.00
Career Exploration Workshops
Students: FREE
Alumni, each workshop: $20.00
We accept cash and checks
*Only currently enrolled, matriculated, UW-Seattle students are eligible for these services.
**Only currently enrolled, matriculated, UW-Seattle students or alumni are eligible for these services.
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