Focus assists students in making informed decisions regarding majors and careers. This system includes five assessments to help identify suitable majors/careers (interests, skills, values, personality, and leisure activities). Students can also discover "What can I do with this Major?" and learn “Am I Career Ready?” among other features.
Create a Focus account and enter "lion" when prompted for the Access code. Follow up with a Career Coach in 104 Main / 610-892-1390 for help reviewing your results and connecting them to Penn State majors and area employers.
Exploration
Making the most out of your Penn State education is a process. This process includes thinking about who you are and who you want to become and finding the opportunities available at Penn State to help you meet those goals.
Exploratory Courses
Discover introductory courses offered at Brandywine to help students discern which major to pursue.
PSU Bulletin
Discover Penn State Majors by interest areas. Simply click on your interests and notice the Majors that are presented. Click on any major to discover: How to Get In, Careers Paths, Suggested Academic Plan and much more.
What can I do with this major?
Your education at Penn State can open the door to endless opportunities. Use this online resource to help connect your studies to potential career paths. Click on the header above and scroll down to the box labeled “What Can I Do With This Major?” to access the link to this tool.
Career Conversations
Talk to someone who is in the career you are considering and experts on campus. Click the title above to access tips on how to setup an “Informational Interview” to gather career information and common questions to ask. Connect with alumni who are often eager to help others in the Penn State family via LionLink. You can also find alumni via LinkedIn and lookup by Employer, Major, geographic region and more.
Remember to also talk to experts on campus: your advisor, Career Services, faculty and/or staff to help guide you in this important life decision.
DUS 123 Exploratory Videos and Activities
Access videos on:
- How do I find majors that align with my interests?
- How do I choose a minor?
- How do I decide which general education courses to take?
- How do I explore study abroad opportunities?
Plus activities to continue learning about Penn State's academic opportunities.
Discover Careers with My Next Move
Discover careers by your interests, by industry, keyword or careers with a bright outlook. Learn the details such as skills needed, salary range, future outlook and more.
LionLink
Connect with alumni who have volunteered to provide insider information and valuable advice on their career/industry. LionLink is a professional networking program that links Penn State career explorers with Penn State alumni professionals.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook
A nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. The Handbook is available to the public at no cost. It is developed and maintained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is revised every two years. Click on A-Z index to select and learn about a specific career.
The O*Net
A nationally recognized source of career information. This database containing hundreds of occupations is continually updated by surveying a broad range of workers from each occupation. This site contains an interactive application for exploring and searching occupations as well as Career Exploration Tools, a set of valuable assessment instruments for workers and students looking to find or change careers. It is developed and maintained by the Department of Labor and is available to the public at no cost.
The O*Net Skills Search
Designed to help you use your skillset to identify occupations for exploration. Select a set of skills from six broad groups of skills to create your customized skill list and generate a list of potential careers.
My Skills My Future
Type in a job you've had or aspire to pursue to find careers that require similar skills, compare skills and wages along with job postings and education needed.
MyPlan
MyPlan is a comprehensive career planning tool that is free to Penn State students and alumni who obtain the license code from Career Services. This system is useful for those in various stages of the career planning process, whether exploring majors, seeking to discover careers associated with specific majors, or changing careers. MyPlan contains four self-assessments and corresponding career suggestions (interests, skills, personality and values), all free provided the license code is entered during the account registration process. For the code and instructions, email [email protected].