Did you know all Baker students have access to Overgrad?
Maybe we should back up...do you know what Overgrad is?
The college-bound seniors here probably do, since they've used it to request letters of rec, transcripts, and more for their college applications this year. But for those of you who are unfamiliar, Overgrad is a platform where students can explore educational and career options. In this post, we're going to focus on the latter: career exploration!
Note: The first step in using Overgrad is activating your account, so check your email (or your parent's email) for a link and directions. Can't find the email? Let us know and we'll resend the invitation to join.
Now, once you've activated your account, the career search can begin! Here's a breakdown of ways you can use Overgrad to explore what's out there, and where you might find a good fit—
Career Survey
Click on the My Future tab to find the Career Survey. Overgrad will give you 60 different activities that people do in many different jobs. All you have to do is click if you would Like or Dislike that activity. If you are unsure, just go with your gut instinct!
Once complete, you'll get a list of careers that align with your interests. You can follow careers that catch your eye, or click on each one to learn more. Overgrad will give you a breakdown of the career that includes average salary, education requirements, whether the job is growing, and what the occupation entails—
As you save the careers you're interested in, you'll be able to reference them in your "My Careers" tab. From there, you can explore possible majors related to the careers that intrigue you, which will be helpful when looking for potential colleges. You can also click the "Add Career" button up at the top of your My Careers page, which will lead you to the other Overgrad tool we'll mention today...
Career Search
This is where you can search for careers in a variety of ways — sort by major, pay, required education, etc. If you've taken the Career Survey, then the careers will already be sorted for you by how strongly your interests match with them. But if you want to start from scratch, a great way to go is sorting by Career Clusters.
To give you a glimpse of the Career Search page, here's what you'll see if you narrow careers down to the Law, Public Safety, Corrections, & Security cluster that require a bachelor's degree—
Career Clusters are one way we as career counselors sort out career types, based on an individual's interests, knowledge, and skills. We'll share more about Career Clusters on a future post, but for now, Overgrad's Career Search is a great place to start familiarizing yourself with what kinds of jobs out there align with the industries you're most interested in.
For example, does the STEM world catch your eye? There are 146 careers alone within that cluster! More of a Natural Resources & Agriculture kind of person? Among the 120 careers in that cluster, you could explore anything from Cartography to Veterinary Sciences to Nursery Management. And for those of you interested in both clusters? Environmental Engineering might be in your future!
So what are you waiting for? Hop on Overgrad to start exploring the world of work and where you might find your best fit. And if you want to have a guided career exploration session with a Baker career/college counselor, send us an email to set something up!