“I don’t want to be a Paleontologist”By Irene Medina
When I was little, I dreamt of being a paleontologist. I wanted to find out about other human creatures and thanks to “Jurassic Park,” dinosaurs ruled my world. I’d spend hours in the playground looking for all the animal crackers I had hidden pretending they were a big discovery and I couldn’t wait until I was older to actually study paleontology – the study of prehistoric life – and become the world’s most famous paleontologist.
But things have changed. I am now in college and I’ve realized that I actually hate looking for things hoping to make a big discovery. Dinosaurs were cool back in the ’90s, but my perspective has changed since, and I’ve realized that I can’t live my life hoping to discover something great.
This is life. If I don’t choose a definite major soon then I will end up flipping burgers for the rest of my life and asking customers if they’d like fries with their order – I can’t live like that.
I need to choose a real occupation – and soon.The fact is that we are all aware of the thousands of occupations out in the “real world,” but it is practically impossible to get to know them all – much less choose one. But, what most students don’t know is that FAU’s Career Development Center (CDC) offers guidance for all students who are struggling to decide on future careers.
In fact, students like former student body governor Sameko Munroe have made good use of the Career Development Center. He was already a senior when he first made the choice to ask them for help.
“I first went to the CDC to find out opportunities about co-op,” Munroe says. “I did some research online on their Web site and then I finally decided to go in their office and see what they could do for me – and now I’m a senior accountant at Enterprise Rent-A-Car.”
CDC assistant director Brian Montalvo explains that the CDC exists to basically help students with their career choices. The CDC focuses on helping students figure out what their interests are and what they’re good at by giving them assessment tests and later analyzing the results with them. “It’s like therapy,” Montalvo admits.
With all the stress that we students go through on a daily basis, we need career therapy – and with so many different options, it doesn’t surprise me that a lot of students have a hard time choosing a career they must follow for the rest of their lives.
The CDC helps students like Munroe every day. Unfortunately, many students don’t know what the CDC is or what it does, which was the primary reason I decided to do a little investigation and find out how exactly its services work.
“Essentially, the Career Development Center focuses on promoting a practical approach toward helping students find a satisfying career direction,” Montalvo says. “One in which they will hopefully find success and fulfillment.”
I started by going on the CDC Web site and took both assessment tests. One of them focused on personality and the other on interests. The next day, I made an appointment to go into the CDC in the Student Services building on the Boca campus to talk about my test results.
To my surprise, the test results were quite accurate. They really hit the spot when I saw that “reporter” was on the list of the things that I would like to do the most.
“It doesn’t mean that you have to choose any of the occupations that are listed on the test,” Montalvo says. “It just guides you toward the occupation that you would be most happy with.”
Students benefit a lot from programs like this because the CDC makes sure to work with students and to help them decide their career paths. They prepare undergraduate and graduate students for future employment opportunities and provide efficient career planning for those of us looking for a career change.
“I’m really considering going to the Career Development Center,” freshman Rony Barzily says. “I need help choosing a major and it sounds like it would be great help.”
The main Career Development Center is located in Student Services room 220 on the Boca Campus. For questions or locations on other campuses, visit their Web site at http://www.cdc.fau.edu or call (561) 297-3533.
