Skip to main content
MU Libraries University of Missouri MU Libraries
Help navbar Articles navbar Books navbar Journals navbar Search Site

Related Research Guides by Subject

Business & Economics

  Entrepreneurship and Small Business

  Personal Financial Planning

Subject Librarians

Cindy Cotner
(573) 882-4693
CotnerC@missouri.edu


Subject Specialist for:
General Reference
Statistics

Careers

Works Listing Careers

These items (books and Web sites) are organized listings of hundreds of different careers, with information about education/training required, typical salary/wage ranges, typical working conditions and more.  Records for books are linked to their records in the MERLIN catalog.  Books marked READY REFERENCE are located near the information desks in the Information Commons (1st Floor Ellis Library).

 

 

Occupational Briefs
http://laurel.lso.missouri.edu/search~/o?SEARCH=19683113&searchscope=0
Black looseleaf notebooks located on one of the shelves behind the Reference Desk in the Information Commons (1st Floor Ellis) with hundreds of individually-updated page sections about individual careers contains information on the work performed, working conditions, hours and earnings, education/training needed, personal qualifications, employment outlook, how to get into the career, advancement, and places for further research. Also includes related careers and numerical career codes.

Occupational Outlook Handbook
http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm
Online version of book on Ready Reference shelf, HF5381.A1O36. Front matter contains general information about jobs in high demand, sources of education, training and financial aid, and applying for jobs. Career information includes the nature of the work, training needed, advancement prospects, specialties, job outlook over the next decade, earnings, related occupations and sources of additional information. [more]

Finding Books

Hints for finding books about particular types of careers, careers for certain majors, etc. in the MERLIN online catalog or in Worldcat:

 

  • Choose the Advanced Search so that you can limit your search to recent books
  • In the Advanced Search, use a word or words of your choice, e.g. PARKS OR RECREATION OR TOURIS*, on the first line.  On the second line, add the word VOCATIONAL, and specify that it be found in the SUBJECT.
MERLIN Library Catalog
http://laurel.lso.missouri.edu/search~S1/
[more]

WorldCat Restricted to faculty, students, and staff at The University of Missouri
http://proxy.mul.missouri.edu:2048/login?url=http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/autho=100155003;dbname=WorldCat;done=referer;FSIP

Also Known as: WorldCat OCLC Catalog [more]

Magazine and Newspaper Articles

Academic Search Premier Restricted to faculty, students, and staff at The University of Missouri
http://proxy.mul.missouri.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=aph
Contains popular magazine and scholarly journal articles. To find information on careers: 1) Go the Advanced search. Take your career, and try searching it as a SUBJECT. Examples: SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS, DENTISTS. If needed, add another keyword search line for things like VOCATION* or CAREER*. 2) If you have found the NAICS code for your career by using the Occupational Briefs or some other source, you can also search the database for articles by NAICS code. [more]

LexisNexis Academic Restricted to faculty, students, and staff at The University of Missouri
http://proxy.mul.missouri.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic
Newspaper articles and TV news transcripts [more]

Further Research

The following sources are helpful for finding recent "numbers" and statistics on people working in various careers, as well as on prices, minimum wage, etc.

 

 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/
Statistics on prices & inflation, spending & time use, employment & unemployment, pay & benefits, productivity, workplace injuries, and international labor statistics. Some statistics are available at the state and county level.

United States Census Available only from within the Health Sciences Library.
http://www.census.gov/
Population, housing, and economic figures from the U.S. Census.

 

ASSOCIATIONS: It can also be helpful to look for ASSOCIATIONS, which are membership groups that help people in a given field network, get continuing education, work with governments or industry groups in the interest of the profession.  Association Web pages will give you some perspectives on current concerns and interests of people working in a particular career today.  Check Google by searching for the career plus the word ASSOCIATION.

Careers in Specific Fields

Hints for finding books about particular types of careers, careers for certain majors, etc. in the MERLIN online catalog or in Worldcat:
  • Choose the Advanced Search so that you can limit your search to recent books
  • In the Advanced Search, use a word or words of your choice, e.g. PARKS OR RECREATION OR TOURIS*, on the first line.  On the second line, add the word VOCATIONAL, and specify that it be found in the SUBJECT.
MU Pages About Careers

 

Career Services for College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Careers in Biological Sciences (MU Division of Biological Sciences)

Careers in Educational Technology (MU School of Education)

Careers in Engineering (MU Engineering Library)

Careers in Sociology (MU Department of Sociology)

MU School of Law Career Development (MU Law School)

Career Exploration Through Writing (MU Libraries, for English Department)

University of Missouri Career Center