Self Exploration
The self exploration process involves exploring your interests, skills, goals, and values. This is the first step along the path to choosing a major.
Goals
1.Identify your interests, skills, goals, and values.
2.Begin to think about majors related to your skills and interests.
3.With your advisor, fill out the Three Term Course Projector and Self Exploration sections of your Exploration Plan
Questions to Consider
Interests: What activities do you enjoy? What do you do in your spare time?
Aptitudes: What are your personal and academic strengths? What skills do you have?
Values: What is important to you in a major and career?
Goals: Where do you want to go? How do you get there?
Resources to Support Self Exploration
Activities to Support Exploration
1. Generate a list skills you have
2. Make a list of activities that you enjoy in school, work (if applicable), and in your free time.
3. Review courses and identify academic strengths and weaknesses. Also, identify courses you have enjoyed or found interesting.
About The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a questionnaire developed by Isabel Myers-Briggs. It is designed to help individuals identify and understand how they absorb information and make descisions, the patterns of perception and judgement, as seen in normal healthy behavior. The MBTI consists of eight preferences that are organized into four pairs of opposites.
- The focus of interest – extraverted towards people and things (E) versus introverted towards concepts and ideas (I).
- Information gathering – sensing of facts and data (S) versus intuitive possibilities and guesses (N).
- Involvement with information – feeling of personal involvement (F) versus thinking with logical analysis (T).
- Disposition of information – judging for decision making (J) versus perceiving for spontaneous awareness (P).
Your MBTI type consists of four letters (E or I, S or N, T or F, J or P). There are 16 possible MBTI combinations.
About The Holland Code
John Holland’s theory of personality, career choice, and individual interest can be divided into six groups:
- Realistic
- Investigative
- Artistic
- Social
- Enterprising
- Conventional
More information about each of the six interest areas: https://www.truity.com/usinghollandcodes
Benefits
Provides students with the opportunity to factor in their interests into the exploration decision making equation
External influences can be overwhelming. Self reflection and reflection of interests can be extremely valuable.
Limitations
Interests are not abilities, skills or aptitudes. They don’t always reflect values.
Considering interests doesn’t guarantee success in choosing a major or career
WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
345 Monmouth Ave. N.
Monmouth OR 97361
503-838-8000 | 1-877-877-1593