A career research paper is an essay or term paper that shows you have a thorough understanding of a specific career path. It must also meet all of the requirements of a research paper, including proper structure, spelling, grammar, and citations. Your paper should include all of the information that an average person would need to know about the field before pursuing it. The professional world is very different from academic life, and writing a career research paper can help you prepare for the transition from school to work.
An introduction, at least three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion are all included in a basic career research paper. Pay close attention to the length, references, and other requirements set forth your instructor. Any writing assignment necessitates meticulous attention to detail.
Some instructors will let you choose your career path, while others will make you choose something random or unfamiliar just to see how you perform outside of your comfort zone. Approach the topic career as if you were going to make it your own. One of the goals of the exercise is to open up horizons that were previously unknown to you.
You should concentrate on details specific to the field of study. The necessary education and training, income level, major employers in the field, and specific tasks and how and where they are carried out are all basic, essential details. Use other sources in addition to the company’s official website or press releases when researching a company to ensure a complete and unbiased picture. Your instructor may also be interested in hearing about why the profession appeals to you or how the process of writing the paper has changed your perspective on it.
For your career research paper, you may need to interview someone who works in the field. If at all possible, hold the interview at a location where your subject is comfortable, such as his or her home or workplace. Bring a recording device with you so you can concentrate on your questions and the responses of the subject. If the field is difficult to break into, you might seek advice on how to do so. Otherwise, you could concentrate on how your subject progressed from a low-level job to his or her current position.
Many professions have their own lingo and subcultures. Military and law enforcement personnel, for example, frequently use terms that are foreign to those who are not familiar with them but are instantly recognizable to others in the field — even those in different locations. Including such details in your career research paper may help it stand out. If you do, make sure to use quotes or otherwise identify invented words, such as “perp,” a law-enforcement term for “perpetrator,” so your instructor knows you’re not using them incorrectly.