You will want to keep the following principles in mind before beginning to make career decisions:

• Choosing a career is a life-long process.  You are only at one decision point in a long series of choices.
• The career decision-making process includes self knowledge and occupational knowledge.  Integrating these two types of information helps you identify realistic alternatives.
• Choosing a career can be a complicated process which requires a lot of thought and effort.  You exercise more control over this decision by pursuing it in an orderly manner.
• There is no right or wrong decision--only satisfying or unsatisfying ones.
• Gender, race, or age should not be used as barriers to exploring career options (Ohio State, p. 53)