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Step Two: Know the marketplace

Research the Market

There are several web sites that provide good information about jobs that exist, what the responsibilities are, the average salary and the growth potential. This information can be very helpful in assessing what your interests, skills, knowledge and abilities are and how they fit into a job in which you may be interested.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics provides some good information. You can find information about industries and jobs.

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Career Guide to Industries

The Career Guide to Industries provides information on available careers by industry, including the nature of the industry, working conditions, employment, occupations in the industry, training and advancement, earnings and benefits, employment outlook, and lists of organizations that can provide additional information.

Occupational Outlook Quarterly (OOQ)

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)

This is the current edition of the printed guide produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Users can search the handbook using keywords to find where their interests fit in the top 250 occupations in the United States

O*NET Online

O*NET OnLine was created to provide broad access to the O*NET database of occupational information, which includes information on skills, abilities, work activities, and interests associated with occupations.

State Unemployment Department

Every state has an unemployment department, and although what is included on the different web sites differ, most will provide information about job descriptions, wages and growth of that field in the state. You can get to your state’s site by first going to the following site.

Conduct Informational Interviews

Informational interviews are a successful way to learn about jobs from people who have the job now. Most people are more than happy to talk about themselves and provide information. such as how they got into the field, what is necessary to be successful, what a typical day is like, what they like or don’t like and how you might enter the field.
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