Monthly Archives: September 2012

Communications, Majors

New Media: Preparing for a Career in Advertising, Photography, or Videography

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Students with a penchant for writing have long flocked to Baylor’s Department of Journalism.  To more accurately reflect the department’s offerings, a name change has gone into effect.  It is now the Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media.  With this name change, a third concentration is now being offered.  Students can still select concentrations in News Editorial journalism or Public Relations.  The newest concentration is called New Media.  Students who select the New Media concentration choose a group of courses that focus either on Advertising or Photography/Videography.

More information on the new concentration can be found on the department’s website.

For more information on related careers, see the links below from Occupational Outlook Handbook:

Advertising, Promotions, and Marketing Managers

Writers and Authors

Photographers

Film and Video Editors and Camera Operators

Majors, Occupations

Career Spotlight: Conservation Scientists and Foresters

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Students with a love of nature are often drawn to learn more about careers in conservation science and forestry.  The job duties can vary widely depending on the employer.  While some foresters are in the business of preventing destruction, other foresters are consulted for their expertise when timber is going to be sold.  A student considering a career in conservation science and forestry can learn more from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

The Council on Forestry Promotion and Recruitment in Canada has put together an interactive web tool called GoForestry, which allows the user to select interests and receive a list of related careers in forestry,.

Interested students should also read up on Baylor’s interuniversity Forestry program with Duke University.

Graduate School, Majors, Minors

How Studying Philosophy Can Help You Prepare for Any Career

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I recently attended a presentation by Dr. Todd Buras, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Philosophy.  He enlightened the group on how, contrary to popular belief, the study of philosophy can help prepare students for just about any career out there.  He shared that at the heart of the discipline is the search for wisdom, as students are taught how to think critically, form logical arguments, and communicate effectively.  Obviously, studying philosophy aids in the development of the person, not just the acquistion of job-specific skills.  The faculty in Baylor’s Department of Philosophy encourage students to view the texts and issues discussed from a Christian perspective, challenging the argument that faith and reason are at odds with one another.  Here are some ways you could enhance your career preparation with philosophy courses at Baylor.

1) Take an introductory philosophy course.  Your academic advisor can help you understand how an introductory course would apply to your current degree plan or other programs you are considering.  Taking a course is one of the best ways to get a sense of what philosophy is about, while developing some of the skills described above.  There are currently four introductory philosophy courses.

  • PHI 1306 Logic
  • PHI 1307 Critical Thinking
  • PHI 1308 Introduction to Ethics
  • PHI 1321 Introduction to Philosophy

Unlike course sections in other disciplines, the introductory philosophy courses revolve around topics and readings of the individual instructor’s choosing.  Make sure you compare your options by reading the descriptions on the Department of Philosophy website before enrolling.  The descriptions are updated for each semester.

As an aside, philosophy courses can provide excellent preparation for standardized admission tests, such as the GRE, LSAT, MCAT, and GMAT.  Logic and critical thinking are some of the key skills a student needs to employ to perform successfully on such exams.

2) Participate in a study abroad experience that includes philosophy courses.  Dr. Buras explained that philosophy courses can be taken as part of the Baylor in St. Andrew’s, Baylor in Greece and Turkey, and Baylor in Oxford programs.

3) Consider a major, secondary major, or minor.  Dr. Buras said that a student chooses to major in philosophy when they “love wisdom.”  Click here for more information on these academic programs.

Career Counseling, Career Exploration, Web Resources

Using O*NET OnLine to Discover Career Possibilities

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 O*NET OnLine is a resource of the US Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration, and it is also one of the primary tools that we use in Career Counseling to assist students in gathering occupational information.  Job duties, salary data, and much more can be obtained from this tool.  This post will review several techniques for accessing information in O*NET.  Of course, you could always just type a keyword into the search box and wait to see what comes up.  There are some more strategic ways to use this site, though.

From the home page, click “Find Occupations” in the bar across the top of the screen.

From this page, you are given several options.  If you are currently participating in career counseling through our office, or if you have in the past, you can use your results from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® to identify Job Families that you would like to explore.  O*NET allows you to search by these same job families. 

If you click “Advanced Search” in the bar up top, you can search the site by Interests.  These interests represent the same themes discussed on the Strong Interest Inventory.

There are also ways to search for Green jobs (those that could have an emphasis on environmental protection and stewardship) and jobs where rapid growth is projected.

As always, if you have questions about identifying an occupation that is a great fit for you, contact us to schedule an appointment for Career Counseling.

Announcements, Career Exploration, Internships

Coming Up: STEM Job Fair

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If you aren’t familiar with the term, the acronym STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.  Students who possess knowledge and skills in these areas are in high demand…such high demand, in fact, that Baylor’s Career Services office hosts an entire career fair specifically for careers in STEM areas.  You can follow this link to learn more about the STEM Career Fair on September 11th, including the employers who will be attending.

For those of you who are undecided on a major, take some time to see which majors these employers recruit.  Even freshman can learn a great deal about internships and future employment by talking with recruiters at the fair.  The Career Services office is even hosting a workshop the night before the fair, so you can put your best foot forward.  Click here to read more.