Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: This podcast is produced by members of the University of Alabama Parent Advisory Council and reflects the personal views, experiences, and opinions of the hosts and guests. These views are independent and do not represent, reflect or speak on behalf of the University of Alabama, its administration, faculty, staff, or affiliated organizations. The content shared is for general informational and conversational purposes only. It is not intended to provide academic, medical, legal, financial, or institutional advice. While we aim to share thoughtful and helpful perspectives, we make no guarantees regarding accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Listeners are encouraged to verify information independently and rely on official University of Alabama communications for policies, decisions, and guidance. Listening to this podcast is voluntary and any actions taken based on the content are done at your own discretion and risk.
Welcome to Parent Perspectives. Navigating the University of Alabama experience as a parent can be exciting, overwhelming, and full of questions. And you don't have to do it alone. Parent Perspectives is a podcast by parents, for parents and with parents created to share real conversations, trusted insights, and firsthand experiences from those who've been there. Whether your student is Bama bound, settling into freshman year, or finding their stride on campus, this is your go to source for all things Bama student related. From academics in campus life to traditions and the moments that matter most, we cover what parents want to know honestly and thoughtfully. Tune in and feel confident knowing you're part of a supportive Bama parent community.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: Welcome to the UA Parent Perspective Podcast. One of the biggest questions parents have in the first year of college is whether their student has chosen the right major. Some students come to the University of Alabama knowing exactly what they want to study, but other students need a little more time to explore their interests and how that might match up with their career goals.
Today we're going to discuss the resources available at the University of Alabama that can help parents help their child through that process without putting too much pressure on them to have it figured out right from the very start. But before we dive into today's topic, we're going to get to know our guest and Lacey, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us about your role at the University of Alabama and how you help students explore majors and career opportunities?
[00:02:42] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm Lacey Borden. I am one of the Career Advisors for Arts and Sciences. I've been in this role for two years.
Really love it. Really enjoy it.
I work with students one on one. We offer career advising appointments where we can discuss anything from career and major exploration to also helping them with their resume or interview prep and more.
I also do presentations and classrooms workshops and also help with different career center events as well.
[00:03:17] Speaker B: Wonderful.
So one of the things, the biggest struggles I've found with some students is they just don't know what they want to study. Like they can't narrow it down. So what do you do with students? What would you say to parents when a student does not have an idea of what he or she might want to pick as a major?
[00:03:40] Speaker C: So I would encourage students to take advantage of the resources that are offered on campus.
Encourage them to schedule an appointment with a career advisor, but also have them consider their personality type, skills and interests.
Have them browse the UA Majors website and look at the major requirements.
This is going to list the required classes.
So let's say for example, that they hate math and a certain major is going to require a lot of math classes.
Then they would want to look at another major. Right. That's not going to be a good fit for them.
So that can be helpful for them to look at that as well. And then additionally, I would say to do research on careers of interest and do informational interviews, which is simply just talking to someone about their job to find out more about these jobs and what they would actually be doing on a daily basis.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: Great. And so you've touched on it a little bit. And it's good to know that students aren't on their own in this process. But is there anything else that you want to add about resources for students is to just let them know you do not have to figure this out on your own.
[00:05:01] Speaker C: So we have lots of resources in the career center and on our website we have assessments available that can help students identify their interests, skills and personality type.
In addition to this, we have resources on our website such as what can I do with this major?
That provides career options for each major.
We also have a tool that I use often with students called the Occupational Outlook Handbook. This is a tool you can use to look up different careers of interest.
It provides information on the job duties and job requirements, including the recommended or required major to reach that career goal. This tool is especially helpful if your student has a career in mind but doesn't know how to reach that goal.
Additionally, again, I would encourage students to look at that UA Majors website and look at the major requirements because again, that is going to be very helpful as well.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: And you had mentioned a little bit about the career services center and some families might not be familiar with it. Especially when you're coming in in the beginning there's a lot of information to take in, but can you explain how the career advisors really can help you from the very start, when you get to Alabama.
[00:06:23] Speaker C: Yes. And we definitely encourage students to come in as a freshman, you know, you don't have to wait until junior or senior year.
Come in early. We want to help you.
So students can schedule one on one career advising appointments.
Again, we can discuss anything from career and major exploration. Help them figure that out.
We can also help with resume review, interview prep, looking at preparing to go to grad school.
We also offer in person or virtual appointments.
And one important thing to note is that students will continue to have access to our services even after they graduate.
Regarding exploration, we have a conversation with the students to see where they are currently, what their interests are and how to help them reach those goals.
You know, it's okay if a student has no idea what he wants to do. We can help them figure that out too.
So again, we have assessments students can take and we just provide a safe place for the students to discuss their thoughts, explore their options.
We have so many resources and tips that we share with students, so I would highly encourage every student to schedule an appointment.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: The one on one advising definitely is great for the students. And I like the advice of visit early and often.
Make sure you're familiar with the career services office.
But besides the one on one counseling, what other events or workshops, programs, you know, things that kids might not be thinking about, students might not be thinking about that you encourage students to attend while they're on campus?
Yeah.
[00:08:11] Speaker C: So there are three different events or three different areas that I would recommend.
One is the career fair. So I would encourage students to attend our career fair which happens bi annually, typically every September and February.
It's a great opportunity for students to meet employers, practice networking skills, and see what all is available.
I would also encourage students to attend workshops that are led by our career advisors during the fall and the spring.
You can look that up under our calendar of events on our website.
These workshop topics range from broad topics such as interview tips to more narrow topics such as exploring careers in the criminal justice field.
And then lastly, I would also encourage students to attend the majors fair that is usually held in October.
This is a tabling event that provides students with an opportunity to speak with the representatives from each college or major.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: Great.
And another, a common thing that I see and hear from people, especially with freshmen, is, well, he's just a freshman. Does he need to go to the career fair? Is there any point in him going to the career fair? And what would you say to that?
[00:09:35] Speaker C: I would say yes, absolutely. We still recommend that because again, you know, It's a great opportunity to practice networking, to get to see all of the different companies and employers that are there. And in addition to job opportunities, they also have internship opportunities.
And let's say, you know, maybe, maybe they're not looking for an internship right now, but maybe they go ahead and make a connection with an employer. Maybe they connect with them on LinkedIn. And then when it's time for them to look at finding a job or an internship, they've got that connection that they could reach back out to.
So it's good for networking connections and good practice.
[00:10:27] Speaker B: And you had touched on the personality. Students should look at their personality and their strengths and there's assessments that they could do. Would you mind explaining a little bit more about what assessments are available to help them narrow their thoughts?
[00:10:48] Speaker C: Yeah.
So we have a few different ones that are used in our office.
I recently just got certified in the Myers Briggs Type indicator.
So this is an assessment that I can do with students.
This looks at your personality type and how this influences what type of career that you would most enjoy.
We also have something called the Holland Code that measures the types of work environments and activities that someone is naturally drawn to and would enjoy the most.
So for example, someone who scores high in social will probably like a career in a helping field such as teaching, counseling, or medicine, just to name a few.
This assessment will also provide matching careers.
We also have a career cluster survey that you can take. And this assessment asks a few questions to identify the top career clusters of interest, and then the student can browse a list of those careers from those clusters.
But we do have multiple assessments, but those are typically the three areas that we're looking at with the assessments.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: And did you do your own Myers Briggs? I took it decades ago, but I still remember what I am. What are you?
[00:12:09] Speaker C: I am INFJ.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: I am ESTJ. And it's held true for the almost 30 years since I took it. It's held true.
And I took the Holland assessment once when a high school counselor told me about it. And the best thing I could describe is that it told me I should probably be a cruise director. You know, like Julie the Cruise.
[00:12:31] Speaker C: That would be fun.
[00:12:33] Speaker B: The Love Boat. Because I guess I do have that social interest and aspect of my life. So you. Again, it's something that you've already sort of touched on. But other than taking those personality assessments or the not vocation but you know, the skills assessments, is there anything else that they might want to consider when you know, deciding on a major? Maybe even. I don't know the type of places that they like to live, Rural, urban. Does any of that come into their consideration?
[00:13:08] Speaker C: Yes, for sure.
We do encourage students to consider the work environment that they want to be in, consider their values, what's important to them in a job, what's important to them regarding location, you know, do you need movement in your job?
Some people say, I cannot sit at a desk all day. Some people have to have movement. Some people want to be outside for their job. So things like that to know about yourself are helpful.
And then also another thing to think about, going back to thinking about what classes and subjects did you like in high school? What classes and subjects are you enjoying in college? What are you good at?
That can also help you as you're trying to figure this out as well, looking at your areas of strength as well.
[00:14:12] Speaker B: Great.
And for parents that are watching this now, a student, maybe that's in high school, what are things that students can do right now already before they're getting to this college environment that can maybe help them begin exploring the career path?
[00:14:30] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say probably the most helpful thing that they could do would be to start doing research on career paths that they're interested in and then to also do the informational interviews, which again is just them talking to people about their jobs.
You know, ask them questions about their job, you know, what are their day to day tasks, what do they like about their job? What do they not like about their job?
Do you have any tips or advice that you would recommend to someone, you know, interested in this field?
Hearing from someone in the field who has done the job on a daily basis will provide more insight than simply doing the research.
Now let's say your student is unable to speak with someone directly who works in the field. We do also have something called Candid Career on our website. These are pre recorded interviews of people talking about their jobs. It's a whole library with different industries represented, different job titles.
So that's also a good resource where you can go in and watch some of those pre recorded informational interviews if you are unable to speak with someone in person.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: That's really interesting. I didn't actually know that we have that, so that's really good to know.
I know that you probably hear this question from parents and maybe even students, but parents, and I'll admit, myself included, they want to know that the student is choosing a major that is going to lead to the most important degree, the job.
What's the job they're going to be able to get? Is this major going to lead him to gainful employment.
And so is there a better question that parents should ask themselves besides which major should my student avoid?
How can you help?
I guess put parents at ease knowing that there are options for their student
[00:16:37] Speaker C: so all majors can lead to a fulfilling career. Questions that I would encourage parents to ask would be what are the career options with this degree which again we've got what can I do with this major that they can use as a tool?
And then also what are the transferable skills that the student will gain from this degree that they could use in a variety of careers?
So focusing more on being knowledgeable about what those careers are and what transferable skills am I going to be gaining?
And knowing that again, with any degree you can find a fulfilling career.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Great.
And so as we get to the end of our time together, let's leave parents with a piece of encouragement. And what would you say to a parent who's student is still undecided and maybe they feel discouraged and anxious about this endeavor that they're entering into of college?
[00:17:38] Speaker C: Yeah, I would just say let the students know that it's okay if they don't have it all figured out right now.
Know that if they follow these tips that they will figure it out. And again, we are here to support and help them.
So please encourage them to come see us.
But also let them know it's okay to explore. And it's okay if it takes them a little time to figure it out. But they will.
[00:18:04] Speaker B: They'll figure it out. Lacey, thank you for helping parents better understand that choosing a major is a journey and not a race. The University of Alabama offers students many opportunities to explore their interests, discover their strengths, and make informed decisions about their future. So to our listeners, remember, it's perfectly normal for students to not have it all figured out just yet and to want to explore different paths before finding the one that feels right for them, supporting their curiosity and encouraging them to use all of the resources available to them. The many resources, as you've heard today at the University of Alabama, can make all the difference for them. Thank you for listening.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Thanks for tuning in today for the latest episode of Parent Perspective, brought to you by the University of Alabama Parent Advisory Council. Check out all our podcasts on Voices UA Edu. You can learn more about the Parent Advisory Council, Parent Perspectives and UA Parent and Family Programs on the UA Parent and Family Programs website at Parents sl UA Edu.
