Planning for the future
Career counseling
If you’re unsure of your career or academic direction, start with a visit to Counseling & Psychological Services. Career counseling and testing can help you increase self-understanding, identify career and academic options, and improve decision-making skills (Tang Center, 2222 Bancroft Way, third floor; 510/642-9494). See here for information on other counseling services for students.
The Career Counseling Library has an extensive collection of materials for exploring educational and career options, such as occupational guides, directories of graduate schools, and career exploration books. There are interactive computer systems to help you discover occupations that match your unique skills, values, and interests (uhs.berkeley.edu/Students/CareerLibrary; the small building in front of the Tang Center, 2220 Bancroft Way; 510/642-2367).
The Career Center also offers career counseling and assessment (see here).
Career Center
The Career Center prepares undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni to make informed decisions about their futures by providing comprehensive resources, programs, and counseling on career development, internships, employment, and graduate school. Some highlights of services and events are:
CalJobs, job/internship listings for both on and off campus positions, including full-time, part-time, and summer opportunities
On Campus Recruiting (OCR) employers visit the Berkeley campus to interview graduating students for positions
Career Counselors available for individual assistance
Career, Internship/Summer Job, and Graduate School Fairs representatives meet with students
CareerMail email notices about activities in your areas of interest
Graduate School Services advising and resources on the application process
Internships advising and resources on internship options
Planning Your Future self-assessment tools and decision-making assistance for career plans
Letter Service file for you to store your letters of recommendation to be sent to graduate schools upon your request
For more information, consult the center’s website or contact the office (career.berkeley.edu; M-F, 9am-5pm; 2111 Bancroft Way, between Fulton and Shattuck; 510/642-1716).
Professional Development Program
The Professional Development Program (PDP) promotes the success of underrepresented undergraduates in mathematics and science. Working jointly with the Mathematics Department, PDP trains math graduate student instructors who use new teaching techniques that foster collaborative learning through innovative curriculum materials and traditional, small study groups. PDP also provides research opportunities for students interested in graduate school in math, engineering, and science (education.berkeley.edu/pdp/; 230B Stephens Hall; pdpsteve@berkeley.edu; 510/642-5881).
SAGE Scholars Program
The Student Achievement Guided by Experience Scholars Program (SAGE) is designed to provide leadership, professional development, internships, tuition assistance, and mentoring for undergraduates from all majors who come from low-income backgrounds. Sponsoring companies and organizations provide UC Berkeley SAGE Scholars with comprehensive internships and tuition awards. Students are selected on the basis of financial need, academic status, and outstanding leadership potential. Students are supported throughout the program with team building events, professional coaching, mentoring, career development classes, and events coordinated with SAGE sponsors (sagescholars.berkeley.edu; 2223 Fulton Street #327; ucbsage@berkeley.edu; 510/642-2203).
Other resources
California Alumni Association (CAA) Cal Mentorship Program grants you access to an online database from which you may select one or more Cal alumni as a mentor (alumni.berkeley.edu/mentor). See here for more information about CAA.
College Source Online features more than 40,000 college catalogs in original-page-format at www.collegesource.org.
Student preprofessional organizations are listed in the Extra matter section.
Internships and summer jobs
Internships give you the opportunity to gain work experience, earn income, and find out about career paths you might like to follow after you graduate.
How can you find an internship or a good summer job? Visit the Career Center’s internship website (internships.berkeley.edu). You will find helpful resources, including information on pursuing positions in specific career fields, workshops, programs, on-campus recruiting for summer employment, career and internship fairs, and much more.
Begin searching in the fall semester in order to take full advantage of all the resources and listings available to you. Some deadlines are very early! Starting early allows you to balance more evenly the time required to conduct a successful internship and summer job search with other demands. Being well-informed will help you make better use of academic breaks to investigate internship and summer job opportunities.
Whatever the time of year, starting now is better than tomorrow.