It may surprise you to know that most graduates are not working in fields directly related to their majors. Do not worry. They did not choose wrong majors at all. What they studied in school is just not focused on a career. The answer lies partly within you and in part, looking for satisfying opportunities. It now becomes your task to learn how to go with your own surfacing skills and interests to opportunities. Those discoveries can become your internal passport to exciting new worlds.

Expect that you will return to school more than once.

From graduation on, you are solely responsible for managing your career – what you need to know, how to educate yourself, how to harness your ambition and desire. This way, you can continually update your skills to meet the demands of the workplace.

Expect to change jobs and even careers many times.

Some people are motivated by status or money and more by a search for greater meaning in their lives. As others on the career track rethink what fulfillment means, they begin gathering people in one mind for support groups.

Millions of confused and angry workers have been out of job just when they thought they knew their jobs and their places. You might have lived through this yourself. Maybe this was a factor motivating you to get this online college course. Hardly anyone has been spared in this new, aggressive environment.

Don’t be too afraid that the first job will not last. Moving or switching jobs no longer carries the stigma of “job-hopper”. Everything changes, including jobs. Wherever you start, it is up to you to pursue a fulfilling career.

Expect different kinds of employers

No matter who the employers are, they all agree on which qualities are important in their employees. They all want to hire people who possess these things: communication skills, work experience, motivation and initiative, teamwork skills, leadership abilities, technical skills, interpersonal skills, analytical skills, and ethical behavior.

To cultivate these desirable traits, you have to become actively courageous to search out opportunities. In return, you will learn skills for success in the world of careers.

Where you go to college may not matter as much as you think it does. Successful people in many different fields thinks that it matters less where you go to college than the amount of positive energy you put into what you do while in college.

Your journey to the academic life is over. There are so many questions in your mind. Where should I work? What kind of work should I look for? Is there work related to my major? All these questions and more – they all baffle the fresh graduates.

Proclaiming a major is a big decision. It should be the gauge of where you would like to go. Get actual information from existent people who have been successful in the field you are aiming for. Ask professionals how they got their job, what were their options, how they know that it is the job for them, and other questions that would guide you in your own career options. Be inspired by their stories as you find your own.

Sometimes people in the more focused majors, like the accountants and engineers, find that they are not really into their first career choice. The smartest thing to do is acknowledge it early and opt for another career, this time more closely relating to your interests or to your work. Pay close attention to yourself and polish your interests as you go along.

As for the people choosing the less specific and non-technical career path, there is a very wide range of jobs waiting for you. What are you supposed to do with a degree in communications, history, women’s studies, political science, or Asian studies? You will not see a special booth for these majors at job fairs. It’s hard to choose between economics and finance or between psychology and sociology, for example. Choosing is hard but your choice does not exclude everything else.

The good news is that employers, including software companies and financial firms, prefer to hire graduates who have developed critical skills in thinking, writing, and speaking. Employers reveal that they can train you to do almost any job. They just need you to come with demonstrated intelligence, curiosity, and dedication.

Employers mostly need generalists with the ability to draw on the past and present in order to shape the future. This is where you can maximize your talent and shine.

Of course, no one can predict or anticipate every detail of the future. If your mission is to do well by doing well, you could be part of the exciting world of social entrepreneurship. People who can combine social skills with generalized knowledge are needed to fill a wide range of new careers in nonprofit management and philanthropy. You can be part of a fast-growing career track just when you are starting out. In this highly entrepreneurial age, when initiative and multitasking are eagerly sought after, you can play to your strengths.