Career Exploration Paper Essay

For my career exploration paper I choice the following job Marriage and Family Therapists. That said, Most of my career information that is use in my paper will be from O*NET Online (National Center for O*NET Development, 2014). The codes that I recived from taking the O*NET interest profiler was that my social was 23, artistic was 15, enterprising was 8, and conventional was 3.Ppeople, who are social, like interests in working with others to help them learn and grow (Holland, 2014). That I liked working with people, instead of working with machines, information or objects. Having taken both tests, I believe that the O*NET interest profiler was my best profiler. When it came to taking Holland’s theory test, I got different results: It sated that my highest score was in Systematic, which means that I prefer jobs that that routine and challenging. It also stated that I need jobs that are secure; I don’t like changes in my routine and situations that may require me to make quick decisions. I also scored high in the arts, which means that I have a great an appreciation for all the Arts. The last high score I recived was in the Health Service, which mean I enjoy helping others. The Nature of the Work for this career, including such things as: The duties that are involved in this position are: 1) They ask questions about the clients so that they can help their clients recognize their behavior and feelings. 2) They help clients with their concerns in their marriages, such as helping them work through an unsatisfactory relationships, being separated or divorce, raising their children, improving how they manage their home, and help them find a way to solve their financial difficulties. 3) They encourage family member and individual’s members tin helping them in developing useful skills and plans overcome their problems in a beneficial manner. 4) They are responsible for  maintaining their case files that include their evaluation, progress notes and recommendations. 5) They are responsible for developing and implementing client’s treatment plans which address their family relationship difficulties, damaging patterns of behaviors, and additional personal issues. 6) Gather information about each client, which use s techniques which includes testing interviewing, observations, and discussions. 7) Discuss with their clients to help them develop a plans for their post treatment and activities. 8) They may have to consult with other counselors, doctors and other professionals to help their clients get the best care possible. 9) Help determining whether their clients should be referred to another professional in such areas as legal aid and psychiatry. 10) Monitor the results of their counseling programs and how well their clients’ adjusted, so that they can to determine how effective the programs are (O*NET Development, 2014). The skills that are required for this position are 1) Being an active listener , 2) social perceptiveness, 3) Being able to judge, and make decisions,4) Must be service oriented, 5) Must have good specking skills, 6) Be able to solve complexed problems , 7) Use critical thinking , 8) Reading comprehensive, 9) Good writing skills, and 10) Being able to monitor the performance of other and yourself. The activities for this position are 1) Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. 2) Assisting and caring for others.3) Documenting/re cording Information, 4) Making decisions and solving problems. 5) Gathering information. 6) Organizing, planning, and prioritizing work. 7) Resolving conflicts and negotiating with others. 8) Communicating with supervisors, peers, or subordinates. 9) Thinking creatively. 10) Coaching and developing others. Typical work day 1) This job requires that you work indoors in an environmentally controlled atmosphere, sitting for prolonged periods of time. It also includes using the phones in talking with clients, prospective clients and insurance companies on a regular basis. 2) You also have to have face to face contact clients and other employees. 3) You will also be working in groups or teams, to work out conflict situations. 3) This job requires that you are able to make frequent decisions that may affect other people, financial resources, or other /or the image and reputation of the organization.Working Conditions According to the Florida Health Career the work environments for marriage and family therapists usually work  in agencies, clinics, hospitals, private practice, and schools. Their hours have to be flexible so that they can accommodate working people who are required to work evenings and families that are in crisis. All of their work is indoors in well environmental conditions. As far as supervision, it would vary do to the fact that the work in a various places of employment. Because of the demands of this job that has deadlines, crisis situations and multiple tasks, this job can be very stressful and demanding. Preparation and Qualifications The training and education that are required will vary by each state for marriage and family therapist. This job usually requires y a master’s degree is required in order to obtain your licensure. Most of the experience comes from the internships and the intensives at the colleges. The personal traits for a marriage and family therapist is to have strong desire to help people in a respectful manner, are confident, and trustworthy which are an important characteristic of marriage and family therapists. Another important characteristic of marriage and family therapists is to be able to work with individual and have a team work skills.Opportunities and Future Outlook Employment for marriage and family therapists is projected to grow 29 percent from 2012 to 2022, which is much faster than the average compared to other occupations. The reason for this growth is that more people will have their mental health counseling services that will now be covered by their insurance policies. Because of such growth and demand we will see more marriage and family therapist see a bigger geographic distribution in large and small firms, which will give way to job security and advancement opportunities. Economic and Non-Economic Benefits As of Jan 8, 2014, for an entry-level education with a Master’s degree in marriage and family was $40,080. Also for marriage and family therapist the median annual was $46,670 in May 2012. As far as benefits goes, most for marriage and family therapist work fulltime so they would get the following benefits such as insurance, vacation time off, sick leave, and paid education. The personal satisfaction benefits are: 1) Many psychologists have flexible work schedules.2) Psychologists have the potential to earn very high salaries.3) Psychologists can own and operate their own businesses .The associated lifestyle of marriage and family therapist are that you can afford a bigger home, expensive car, go on long vacations, pay for your child’s education and give more money to charities.  The psychological rewards are that psychologists get to meet and help a wide variety of people.Disadvantages and or Special SituationsThe disadvantages of b eing a marriage and family therapist are that you have to work irregular hors to accommodate clients. This may require you to work late and sometimes weekends. Some work maybe seasonal or require you to travel as part of their job requirements. Some of the hazards of being a marriage and family therapist are: 1) dealing with insurance and billing issues can be a hassle.2) Setting up your own practice can be challenging. 3) Dealing with clients on a daily basis can be emotionally draining. 4) You will need to devote time to finding new clients.Conclusion What I didn’t know about my career choice was that you may have to travel and that some jobs are seasonal. The characteristic and requirement are not a problem with me. I was used to working in stressful environments as a surgical tech. I also was used to working late and weekends and holiday as part of my job requirements. My job was also very demanding. I have always been a caring individual, and I like helping people so I feel that I will enjoy being a therapist. I also believe that my interest and values will be fulfilled with this job. I believe that there is a great advantage using O*NET in my future career. Because this job requires that you are able to make frequent decisions that may affect other people, financial resources, the couple might be looking for higher paying jobs as one of their options and O*NET would be a useful tool in helping people finds higher paying jobs. References O*NET Interest Profiler ww.onetonline.org/link/summary/21-1013.00 Retrieved 4/1/2014 Free Holland test www.free-career-test.com/‎ Retrieved 5/5/2014 http://www.flahec.org/hlthcareers/MARRIAGE.HTM Retrieved 5/5/2014 www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/mental-health-counselors-and-marriage-and-family-therap Retrieved 5/5/2014 | .|