Note: The people that are in this blog are fake and have no relation to my real family.

A few nights ago, I did what I always do, drive into the driveway and park the car. Every time I look at the front door, I never know what to expect when I open the door, and this day was no different.

My daughter and my wife are sitting at the dining room table.

"Mom", my daughter explains, "I'm not sure what I want to do with my life?"

I chimed in, "Where are your talents? What do you enjoy doing?"

My daughter turns to me and replies, "I'm asking Mom."

I can tell from the laser beams shooting from her eyes and the smell of singed hair that, this was an "A" and "B" conversation and I should "C" my way out of it.

Surprised, I say, "Oh. My bad. Please continue as I have absolutely no information on the subject."

"Thanks, Dad", my daughter turns to her Mom and says, "Mom. Why should I get if I don't know what to do?"

My wife says, "It's about finding out about who you are and what kind of work makes you happy. I guess happy is the wrong word. It's about personal fulfillment."

I listen to the advice my wife is delivering and I'm not buying it. Personal fulfillment doesn't pay the bills but will keep you interested in a career for the long term. So, I started looking on the Internet for places that my daughter (or anyone) could turn to get an understanding a Career advise, demand for the job, and other information. In life, everything changes. The job that you have today might not be the job we have in the future. So, keep this reference handy for the next time you want to do something else with your career.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (located within the Department of  Labor) keeps a tab on all of the different careers, growth per regional areas, as well as salary and educational requirements. This guide is called the "Occupational Outlook Handbook"

On the left (figure 1) it has careers grouped by category. In the center (top) is a series of drop-down lists, to easily select a career, and there is a search bar on the top right of the screen. Once you pick a category, it displays all of the options for careers within that field. For this example, we chose Math and Figure 2 displays all of the careers in the Math field.

If you click on one of the career options (Figure 3), it displays an in-depth page about the career including 1) entry-level requirements, 2) average starting salary, 3) job growth, 4) wherein the country these jobs exist, and 5) other information (3). Each job within the OOH is designated with a number, which it is classified within the OOH.

At the bottom of the page, it references another online tool called O*NET. This is called "Occupational Information Network" and it the premiere database for all careers in the country. It discusses occupational information. Each of the systems (O*NET and the OOH) have the same types of career information, but show the information differently and have some unique information).

Finding your way in the world is never easy. The OOH is a resource to help you navigate your way into the world or work or change the track you're on. 

That's all for today's blog. Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, please let me know.

Bibliography
(1) https://www.bls.gov/ooh/

(2) https://www.onetcenter.org/overview.html

(3) Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Actuaries,