This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The U.S. Department of Labor released an online tool Friday to help job seekers gather information about careers that have opportunities that might interest them.
My Next Move, which can be found at mynextmove.dol.gov, contains information on about 900 occupations. It is geared toward "students, young adults and other first-time workers as they explore potential careers based on their interests," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said in a statement.
The new tool supplements an existing program, accessible at mySkillsmyFuture.org, that allows people with previous work experience to match their skills with occupations new to them.
Utah's Department of Workforce Services also offers assistance to job seekers through its website, jobs.utah.gov.
Designed to be simple and user-friendly, the My Next Move site starts with a basic question: "Do you know what you want to do for a living?"
If the answer starts out, "I want to be a … ," click on a specific career listed in a drop-down box on the screen. For someone interested in being an electrician, for instance, the website would show 20 types of jobs within that field.
A sunny icon next to a job indicates there is a "Bright Outlook" in that field. Among electricians, that applies to positions as electricians' helpers, in hydroelectric plants, doing general maintenance work or being an electrical engineering technologist.
The site also describes the knowledge, skills and abilities required to be an electrician (down to something as basic as having steady hands), as well as personalities conducive to doing the work.
And it lists the kind of salary that can be expected. In the case of a journeyman electrician or an inside wireman, that is about $47,180 annually.
For someone who is less sure, the website allows users to browse careers by industry. If a job seeker is interested in hotel or food work, for example, the site shows plenty of positions likely to open in the future, in jobs ranging from baristas and bartenders to desk clerks and maids.
But if becoming a barista is the goal, the site also notes that making a lot of money is unlikely. Average pay for that position is $18,180 per year.
Completely clueless about what to do next?
The site also has a personality test that involves 60 questions about work activities some people do on the job.
"Try not to think about if you have enough education or training to do the work or how much money you would make doing the work," the website advises. "Just think about if you would like or dislike doing the work."
Options include building kitchen cabinets, writing books or plays, helping people with emotional problems, managing a retail store and developing a spreadsheet using computer software.
From those responses, the test divides answers into five career categories — realistic, investigative, artistic, social and enterprising — then asks the user to pick one of those zones and insert their level of preparation, based on education or experience, for jobs in that realm.
An investigative person with little or no preparation might look into jobs running mining, logging or oil-and-gas equipment. That same person with a lot of preparation might look at becoming an anesthesiologist, geneticist or a pharmacist, the website said.
"By leveraging technology in a user-friendly tool," Solis said, "My Next Move will help those seeking career guidance to learn more about work opportunities in fields that are of interest to them and are likely to have job openings today and well into the future."
My Next Move
O Check out the new U.S. Labor Department website designed to help young job seekers find positions that are likely to be available.
> mynextmove.dol.gov