Explore Your Interests / Self Assessment

Discovering Your Path at Harvard

Career exploration is one of the most frequently discussed topics during advising appointments at the Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS). Exploration, curiosity, and building a broad intellectual foundation are at the core of the Harvard experience. 

 Whether you’re just starting to explore your interests or considering a change in direction, you are not alone. MCS is here to support you with tools, resources, networks, and one-on-one advising tailored to your goals. 

 Still Exploring Community 

 Within the Still Exploring Community, you’ll find curated resources to help you: 

  • Engage in self-discovery
  • Explore a wide range of careers and interests
  • Design a Harvard experience that reflects your goals and values
  • Develop transferable skills
  • Make informed academic and career decisions

Career Development Is a Lifelong Journey  

Career paths are rarely linear. Your interests, goals, and values will evolve over time — and that’s expected. In fact, the average American changes careers 3 to 7 times over their lifetime. 

Start by learning about yourself and how you want to make an impact in the world.  

Reflect as You Explore 

Explore Your Academic Goals 

  • Consider how your academic interests might shape or support future career directions.
  • Think about your concentration and how it aligns with your personal and professional aspirations. 

Reflect on Past Experiences

  • What have you enjoyed most in your coursework, internships, research, teaching, student organizations, or community service?
  • Which moments have made you feel most energized and focused? 

Understand Your Preferences 

  • What kinds of work environments and values resonate with you?
  • How do your skills, interests, and personality influence the types of roles you might enjoy?

Harvard Career Exploration Tools 

Scroll down for a curated list of career exploration tools, including:

More Career Exploration Tailored to You:

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Harvard College First-Year Students

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Harvard College Sophomores

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Harvard College Juniors

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Harvard College Seniors

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Harvard Extension School Students

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Harvard Griffin GSAS Students

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How to Choose a Career That’s Right for You—Even If You Have No Idea (Yet)

Figuring out how to choose a career can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re unsure where to start. Not everyone knows what they want to do from a young age, and with so many paths to consider, it’s easy to get …

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PhDs with Purpose Event Recap: International NGO’s feat. Dr. Anne Day Leong (UNICEF, USA)

Reflection written by Dr. Eileen Sullivan, PhD ’24 (Education), Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Boston Children’s Hospital

Many of us start a PhD because we want to help others, answer real-world questions, or make a difference. As you near the end of …

By Caroline Rende
Caroline Rende Associate Director of Graduate Career Exploration
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Resource Spotlight: The Humanities Pathway to Career Success

Career outcomes for Humanities concentrators face common misconceptions, but the facts tell a different story. The National Humanities Alliance, which represents colleges, libraries, museums, cultural organizations, and scholarly, professional, and higher education associations has just published a helpful new resource:  …

By Amy DiGiovine
Amy DiGiovine Assistant Director, Arts, Entertainment, Media, Pre-Law (First Years, Sophomores, Juniors), Advertising, Marketing, Journalism, Publishing, Fashion, & Sports
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Harvard College Resources

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Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Resources

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Harvard Extension Resources

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Firsthand Vault Guides

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Job Market InsightsIn partnership withLightcast logo

Find a career that aligns with your career interests, see current salary projects, and identify skills you need to apply for that next job or internship.

There are two ways to use this tool below:

  1. By Keyword: Search for the name of the occupation you’re interested in.
  2. By Industry: Not sure what job you’d like? Search by desired industry and see available occupations.

Type in a keyword to select a relevant occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

Explore all Job Market Insights.

Skill Building Courses

Discover & Communicate Personal Values

Taught by Henna Inam
Inspirational leaders can create transformation within themselves and their teams, in the form of pursuing services and missions that matter.…

Successful Goal Setting

Taught by Careercake
Even your loftiest goals are possible if you approach them strategically. In this course, join Aimee Bateman as she shares…
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Contact & Location

Phone
617-495-2595
Email
mcs@fas.harvard.edu
Address

Harvard University
54 Dunster Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

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Thursday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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The Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) is committed to ensuring access to a broad range of information and opportunities across all sectors. Our website contains external content that may be useful to our learners. The inclusion of external content does not necessarily constitute endorsement, recommendation, or agreement with the information.

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