While you don't have to decide on a career prior to entering college, it is a good idea to understand what types of careers fit your interests so that you can choose a school that offers majors leading to those types of careers. The following steps will help you identify careers that match your interests:

1. Complete the Career Key by clicking on the link below. You will be taken through 5 series of questions that help you identify your interests. When you finish answering the questions, you will be given a score for each of the six personality types called Holland Codes.

2. Review the scores for each personality type and read through the explanation of each personality type. The higher you score in one category, the more you match that personality type. When you are done, close out of the survey and your results are automatically saved in your profile.

3. Start the Student-Career Matching Assistant. You will see your Holland codes and interests already populated. Fill out the remaining questions and you will be presented with a list of careers that match your interests.

4. Review the careers that match you and see if they are truly of interest to you. You can select the related majors and/or colleges offering those majors to add them to your MyMentor profile. You are now building your Career portfolio and can always update and review your portfolio by logging on and going to MyMentor.

Remember, you don't have to choose a career before choosing a school, but the more you know about what you want to do, the more likely you are to find a school that is right for you. While the resources provided on AlabamaMentor provide a great amount of information on careers, we suggest you carefully explore each occupation that you consider. This can include talking with your teachers, counselors, family, and people who work in that occupation. In addition, try to learn more about the occupation by experience through job shadowing, volunteer work, internship, and part-time work.