While employment rates and wages for college graduates are extraordinarily higher than for those without a college degree (NCES, 2023), underemployment remains a significant challenge for graduates unable to find positions that align with their skills and education levels. However, innovative career services strategies are helping institutions…

Physics bachelor's degree recipients work in all kinds of professions--science writing, medicine, law, history of science, acting, music, healthcare and more. Since very few of these employees have the word "physics" in their job titles, it can be hard for new graduates to know where to look for jobs and how to find other recent physics…

The authors are pleased to introduce the second pair of articles in the National Career Development Association (NCDA) Centennial Special Series celebrating the 100th anniversary of NCDA. In this issue, JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey reviews the development and use of computer-assisted career guidance systems, and Juliette N. Lester, James Woods, and…

The first computer-assisted career planning systems were developed in the late 1960s and were based soundly on the best of career development and decision-making theory. Over the years, this tradition has continued as the technology that delivers these systems' content has improved dramatically and as they have been universally accepted as…

This historical and reflective account of the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee's (NOICC) and the State Occupational Information Coordinating Committees' (SOICCs) significant development of a national infrastructure that shaped career development policy, practice, and training from 1976 to 2000 offers key lessons for future…

The development of a lifelong guidance system in Hungary Systematic work is currently being undertaken in Hungary to develop a lifelong guidance system, in line with principles outlined by leading international organisations. The origins of career guidance in Hungary, and the nature of the current career guidance system, are outlined. The main…

This article features the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, or HERC, website, which lists all positions such as custodians, administrators, and other faculty positions at colleges, universities, and research institutions throughout the country. HERC, based in Ben Lomond, California, uses its "dual career" hiring services to help…

It wasn't really a surprise when alumni began ringing their alma maters looking for job help a few years ago. The recession hit nearly every industry and business, leaving recent college graduates without great prospects for their first jobs and older professionals without incomes for, in many cases, the first time in their lives. While some…

Making sense of occupational data isn't always easy. But the task is less daunting when the data are well organized. For Federal occupational statistics, the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system establishes that organization. And a recent revision to the SOC means that the data will be current, in addition to being well organized. The…

The community college environment is complex and dynamic, requiring constant monitoring. To ensure that workforce education, a core component of community colleges' missions, remains aligned with colleges' environments, responsive to employers' needs, suited to students' interests and abilities, and current in content and technology, it is…

Discussion of nonfaculty careers for graduate students so easily disintegrates into dueling anecdotes. The author describes a story about someone who had to drop his Ph.D. from his resume in order to get a job at all. Stories cluster around both of those poles in the comments section whenever the author has written about nonprofessorial career…

It is a historically held principle of microeconomics that in the presence of better information, consumers make better decisions. This chapter focuses on information to guide consumers in making decisions about higher education. It examines the development and implementation of a one-stop career and college planning tool that leverages existing…

The Centers of Excellence (COE) provide regional workforce data on high growth, high demand industries and occupations for use by community colleges in program planning and resource enhancement. This article discusses the environmental scanning research methodology and its application to data-driven decision making in community college program…

This article describes "LifeMap," a development advising system at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida. The LifeMap system focuses on career and educational planning and student/faculty/staff engagement. It integrates all college faculty, staff, and resources into a unified system to focus student attention on developing…

Describes how Kennesaw State University's career services center staff make significant gains in introducing commuting students to the career center. By creating a Web site where students can create their resumes, sign-up for on-campus interviews, and ask for career advice, the center expanded its traditional role to attract commuter students. It…