During my career research, I looked into the position of becoming a Police Officer for the City of New York. I specifically chose this profession because Kingsborough Community College has a high rate of students who are majoring in Criminal Justice and I believe sharing my findings can help anyone further their own personal knowledge about this particular topic.      Police Officers protect lives and property. Their responsibilities are to; enforce laws, respond to calls for service, patrol assigned areas, conduct traffic stops and issue citations, arrest suspects, write detailed reports, and fill out forms, prepare for cases and testify in court if needed. The education and training requirements to become a New York City Police Officer is a High School diploma or its equivalent with an Associate’s Degree or 60 College credits, or 2 years of Military experience. Potential candidates must be a U.S. citizen, have a driver’s license with a clean driv...

     Caroline M.L. Potter’s article titled “ 10 Questions to Create Your CareerVision ,” posted on Monster.com raises many key points about discovering what you are interested in, and what foundation can be used to start the exploration of career choices. The entire article basically quotes a career coach, Deborah Brown-Volkman, as she outlines basic questions one must ask themself in order to decide the path of their careers. That is all fine and well, but what I have an issue with is how the article implies that once you know what you want (and the article puts heavy emphasis on one’s wants), it will be much simpler to progress, and to embark on the journey to a dream career. “I believe if you write down your vision and look at it on a daily basis, it's more likely it will happen,” declared Brown-Volkman. Really? In my opinion, the tips in this article should only be taken with a grain of salt; something that should be kept in mind, but not wholeheartedly depended o...

            There are many resources and services to help transition incoming students into Kingsborough Community College. I recommend going to (1) the Accessibility office, (2) the Reading and Writing Center and (3) the Office of Career Development, Transfer, New Start and Scholarship Opportunities.             The Accessibility office helps students with disabilities with various tasks. For example, the Accessibility counselors helped the students with accommodations. They helped students get extended times on a test and help other students take notes. My counselor helped make sure that I get extra time to take my exams and helped me get a Note-taker to take class notes. My counselor also helped me register for my classes. The Accessibility Office will help other students with disabilities transition into college.             The Readi...

It is pretty difficult to know where to start looking for small opportunities to get a step up in your career, or even careers you are thinking about. I’ll go to the Information booth to get a map of the campus or even just look at the map at the front of the campus to pin point some places I should start my search from. Since my career is to become a Police Officer, my first step would be to go to the Criminal Justice Department in D309 and find out about any internships or service learning opportunities that could advance me in field of policing. From there, I will head over to the Office of Career Development, Transfer/New Start, Scholarships, and Service Learning in C102 to speak to a Transfer Academic Advisor and hear them out, but let them know what I am looking for too.  I could even talk to my professors and see what can tell me about being or becoming an officer. When I am home, I use the Internet to look up different programs that deal with Law Enforcement. Through my re...

I think some of the most successful ways of making a career decision is think, reflect and plan.  Taking the time to think about what you wish your future would be in the world is an important and stressful way of making a career decision.  One must think about how they plan on gaining the education and experience to achieve the career status they wish to obtain.  Reflecting upon that decision and the paths that take them there is also needed.  Your thoughts on what you wish to do in the future can change over time as different perspectives and experiences come into view.  Planning on these steps that will take you to your goal must be done carefully and done with the utmost dedication.  No one wants to waste their time trying to achieve their goal so proper planning is a must.  You must also look at yourself truthfully to make wise career decisions.  What is it that you love to do?  What are your hobbies or interests?  I think most peop...

The most successful ways of making a career decision involves techniques. It consists of who we are as individuals and what our goals are to accomplish for the future when we graduate from college. Planning is the most important steps here for the career decisions we make. Planning involves three steps. They are deciding which destination to start, evaluating another possible route, and choosing the specific path for your plan. The purpose of planning is no two are alike. They are helping to clarify, focus and research the business’s prospects. It provides a framework within the business that can develop the strategies over the next few years or so. The importance of planning plays a dynamic role in preventing mistakes and identifying the unknown opportunities. Planning helps us in forecasting the future and makes the  future visible. It is the bridge between where we are and where we would go later.  By: Tanya Vavitsas

Making a career decision can be such a headache and very stressful at times especially when searching what it is exactly you would enjoy for the rest of your life. I think one should question themselves: is this what I really want to do and never get bored? You may encounter many obstacles on the road, but in the end you should feel as if it was all worth it. Many people have problems in finding what they would like to do because of the lack of guidance, experience, help and research just as we have others who just don’t bother. Because of this, I think it is very important for you to do a lot of research in regards to things you think you might like or be interested in and compare them all. I also think it’s very good for you to open yourself up to many options around you and ask a lot of questions necessary or even find out if you can get help in school which would be even better. Sometimes, there are so many things going on around us and we hardly even notice or know about them so...

I feel like the most successful way of making a career decision is figuring out what you love to do. It was really hard for me to decide what my career was going to be, especially because nothing can keep my interest for long. But after researching many things, mostly those in the medical field i came to a decision. I wanted to be a speech pathologist, I knew that I wanted to work with kids but I didn't know in what way until I learned about speech pathology. Once i learned about it, it quickly caught my attention and I decided that's exactly what I wanted to do. I know how hard it could be deciding what you're going to spend the rest of your life doing but the best way to go about it is by finding out what interests you and what you wouldn't mind spending a lot of time doing. - May Mahmoud

In order to explore you career options, you need to choose your classes correctly, after discussing you goals with an advisor. Classes can be the first step to learn the language, current trends, and major players in your field.  Be sure to v isit your professors outside of class during their office hours. Let them get to know more about you, and ask about their advice and help if you are not sure about anything. Your professors  might have connections at graduate institutions which they might share with you or introduce you to new programs which you have never heard about before. Professors who know you better as a person will also be more willing to write letters of recommendation for your grad school applications and be better able to write about you in those letters. Also, visit the Career Development Center in Room C102 which offers free services to help you find internships, teaches you about the job search process, and listens to your goals. They also might be ale...

Since my interests vary so much and the options in life are endless, I have trouble making up my mind with what it is that I would like to do or what career to pursue. I am considering a field where I can expand the valuable skill of solving issues that involve the improvement of individual, community, business or social welfare through the use of environmental and/or policy changes and inspirational self development to improve the quality of life and achievement. I can only imagine how it would be a day in the life of someone of a particular field and how they live their day to day lifestyle.  To help me clarify some of my career interests, I can volunteer with some people to assist them in their daily activities or just have the privilege to be present during important moments of their days. Some people that I can volunteer with are business lawyers or successful businessmen and entrepreneurs that use their available resources and wisdom to accomplish tasks that only a combinat...

    One of the most important decisions a person would ever have to make in their life, is the decision as to what they would like to do as a career choice for themselves and/or for their family.  Some people like working with their hands or with machines, others enjoy working along with other people, plenty of people like to give lectures, lessons, or just socialize with others in general.  There are also many who enjoy challenges of different kinds, such as in working with numbers, or helping people solve specific issues, and don't mind being creative and taking on new and different challenges of various kinds within their personal interests towards their field of work. There are also plenty of people who don't like to take on challenges or socialize with others and just like to do what the job requires and do the minimal just to get pass the work week. While others do more than is required of them and go the extra mile with completing a project, he...

Thank you for stopping by our blog.  Here you will find useful information regarding preparation for your career! Stop by and check out our posts and feel free to leave questions and comments! C-102