EDISON — Explore careers, build a resume and learn about in-demand fields and how much they pay with Career Coach, a new feature on the Middlesex County College’s web site.
The site is available to everyone and is free.
“This is an extremely easy way to find out about linking academic work with careers,” said Charlotte Quigley, manager of career services at the college (MCC). “While we acquired it for our students, we want everyone to know they are welcome to access it.”
Quigley said Career Coach might be useful for middle and high school students and their parents beginning to look seriously at careers, for college students who want to know what is available and also for seasoned workers who want to change careers.
She said people can start with a broad outline of their interests and then discover which careers fit into their criteria or users can start with a definite career goal and then use the site to find out how to get there.
“For example, a student might know that he or she is interested in the field of psychology,” Quigley said. “This site will give them job titles, whether demand for workers in these jobs is growing or shrinking, the level of education they will need, and the salaries they can expect to earn for each job. Students and job-seekers can also take the opposite tact; they may say, ‘I want to be a clinical psychologist,’ and then the site will tell them what degrees they will need to get there.”
A listing of jobs currently available is also included. Quigley said the site is updated frequently, so the job information is current. It defaults to the Middlesex County area, but can be changed to any geographic area in the country.
Another feature on Career Coach is a resume builder.
“The site will allow you to customize a fully-functional resume,” she said. “It looks professional, is spell-checked, and can be done quickly.”
The site also has an interest assessment tool; students can answer questions about what they enjoy doing, and the site will recommend possible careers based on the answers.
“It looks at how their interests mesh with careers,” Quigley said. “It helps them determine what jobs they may be interested in and, equally important what would not be a good fit for them.”
Quigley said she hopes Career Coach will assist many people in their career search.
“We know from research that students connected to careers are more likely to persist to graduation,” she said.
The Career Coach link is www.middlesexcc.edu/career. A link to Career Coach is on that page.