Questions? Reach Out
Marie Kropp
Senior ESC for Career, Transfer and Academic Advising
845-687-5119
Career Exploration Online Resources
Websites:
- Occupational Outlook HandbookThe Occupational Outlook Handbook is a publication of the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics that includes information about the nature of work, working conditions, training and education, earnings and job outlook for hundreds of different occupations in the United States.
- O*Net OnlineThe Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is developed under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA) through a grant to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Videos:
- What They Don’t Teach You About Career Fulfillment in SchoolRyan Clements talks about the roundabout way one gets to their career(s). Ryan’s passion is empowering others to find fulfilling work, and living their “inner greatness”.
- Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True CallingEmilie Wapnick talks about multipotentialites superpowers. Author, entrepreneur and artist, Wapnick was blessed with so many interests that she was unable to pick just one.
- “How to know your life purpose in 5 minutes“At a class reunion, Adam Leipzig talked with the 25% of the people who were actually happy in their work. They knew their life purpose because they knew (1) who they were (2) what they did (3) who they did it for (4) what those people wanted or needed, and (5) how they changed as a result of what you do. Make sure you watch to the end.
- How To Find & Do Work You LoveScott Dinsmore’s mission is to change the world by helping people find what excites them and build a career around the work only they are capable of doing. He is a career change strategist whose demoralizing experience at a Fortune 500 job launched his quest to understand why 80% of adults hate the work they do, and more importantly, to identify what the other 20% were doing differently. He shares three surprisingly simple practices for finding and doing work you love.
- Stop Searching For Your PassionTerri Trespicio - conveys in her TED Talk, “To live a life full of meaning and value you don’t follow your passion, your passion follows you.”
Human Services Tracks at SUNY Ulster
The Direct Support Practice Certificate Program trains practitioners to provide direct service and support to individuals, families and groups in the community. Students learn multiple roles of direct support workers in public and private sectors.
Graduates of the program will have skills that are in use in virtually any human services setting. The program incorporates skill standards established on a nationwide basis through the Community Support Skills Standards Project, thereby ensuring consistency in direct support service.
Career options to consider:
- Child Care Centers
- Group homes for people with intellectual and/or development disabilities
- Day treatment programs for persons with mental illness
- Residential treatment facilities
- Eldercare and respite programs
- Foster care agencies
- Jails and alternative correction programs
- Short and long-term rehabilitation centers
- Crisis centers
- Day habilitation programs
- Assisted living/skilled nursing facilities
- Sheltered workshops
Employment opportunities from local agencies:
Students who complete this program earn an Associate in Applied Science degree as well as the certificate in Direct Care Practice. The program is sufficiently comprehensive to qualify graduates for a variety of entry‐level positions in public and private sector human service agencies.
Career options to consider:
- Case aide in family and children's services
- Probation Assistant
- Income eligibility examiner
- Teacher's aide
- Child care worker in residential facilities
- Nursery schools
- Child and adult daycare centers
- After-school programs
- Group leader/Recreational counselor in mental health agencies, elder care, family planning, HIV and AIDS prevention services, residential programs from youth
Obtaining a Bachelor's or higher degree after completing this program will qualify you for positions of increased scope and responsibility, including supervisory and administrative positions in fields such as social work, counseling, education and mental health.
Students who complete this program earn an Associate in Science degree, with a strong academic foundation for future study in the fields of human services, psychology, and social work.
A graduate of this program who then earns a baccalaureate or higher degree will be qualified for direct service, supervisory, and administrative positions in fields such as social work, human services counseling, education, and mental health.
Explore Local Businesses
- Ulster County Human Services BusinessesConsider these business as places for potential employment.
Professional Organizations
- AMHCA - American Mental Health Counselors Association
"Our vision is to position clinical mental health counselors to meet the health care needs of those we serve while advancing the profession." - NADSP - National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals
Mission: To elevate the status of direct support professionals by improving practice standards, promoting system reform, and advancing their knowledge, skills and values. - NASW - National Association of Social Workers
Founded in 1955, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies. - American Psychological Association
APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 133,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students as its members. - OPWDD - New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
"The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is responsible for coordinating services for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, Prader-Willi syndrome and other neurological impairments. We provide services directly and through a network of approximately 600 nonprofit service providing agencies, with about 80 percent of services provided by the private nonprofits and 20 percent provided by state-run services."