When I went to the cite, I first selected the Explore Careers section and saw that there were assessments available; since I am currently also taking psychometrics: test and measurements, I was interested in this feature (careeronestop, n.d.). I took the interest assessment first and it gave me 78 total results and listed 53 of those as the ‘best match' (careeronestop, n.d.).

I found that this was not very helpful overall because they ranged from entry level jobs to doctoral level and included architecture teachers, psychologist, and tour guides (careeronestop, n.d.). I like that this feature allows you to see so many career options, including those you hadn't considered, but at the same time it could overwhelm someone who is looking there for help.

When searching the Find Training section, I did run into some problems but also found useful information (careeronestop, n.d.). I tried to find trainings or programs near me that were about autism or applied behavioral analysis but there were no results.

I generalized to psychology and only colleges and their 4 year programs populated (careeronestop, n.d.). However, there was a professional development option and when I searched ABA it did recommend some very legitimate organizations relating to behavior therapy and autism (careeronestop, n.d.).

I went to the salary information page and was very disappointed (careeronestop, n.d.). I tried looking up autism, registered behavioral technician, behavior technician, positive behavior support specialist, and behavior with no avail. It appears they have no information on what I do now, RBT, or what I will do when I graduate, PBSS.

I finally just generalized to psychologist in the salary search. This brought up a chart that listed what the top psychologist make, the middle, and the lowest (careeronestop, n.d.). This listed as psychologist all other, it did not differentiate on type, specialty, or where they work and it also listed the statistic as the entire U.S., not by state or region (careeronestop, n.d.).

Overall, I was not very impressed with the website (careeronestop, n.d.). I felt that there was a lot, and I mean almost too much, information that was too broad, not enough specifics or details. I felt that they touched on the topic of jobs in the lightest sense but did not delve into the specialties of the field.

I feel that so much broad information and lacking in specifics could confuse someone searching for employment or career guidance even more. Even though I am a big proponent for doing almost everything online, I feel that for a lot of people having a person help sort through and weed out some options and making suggestions could be a big help. Even though careeronestop has a lot of information and helpful aspects, I really feel that O'NET or the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook are much more helpful when it comes to getting information on careers.

Career One Stop. (n.d.). Your source for career exploration, training, & jobs.

O'NET OnLine. (n.d.). O'NET online.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Occupational outlook handbook.

Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey (2017) explain that one-stop career centers have many advantages. For example, individuals can create and continuously add to their E-portfolios where resumes and other important career-related documents can be sent to potential employers (2017). Another advantage of online one-stop career centers is that the database can be frequently and easily updated to reflect changes in career information (2017).

Using the Career One Stop (2017) I researched the occupation of vocational counselor. Career One Stop (2017) has an Occupation Profile for each career listed on the website. The Occupation Profiles consist of descriptions, videos, outlooks, projected employment, wages, education and experience, knowledge, activities, skills, abilities, and related occupations (2017).

I was extremely interested in the career video; however, it seemed very outdated and was not interesting to watch. The skills and abilities sections were quite vague, but the knowledge and activities sections provided in-depth information that was relatively informative and answered a few questions I still had.

I appreciated the information provided in the projected employment section, but the one sentence provided in the job outlook section was not helpful. I think the information regarding training in local areas was especially helpful, in addition to the license information and requirements that are posted. I believe that the interview and negotiation sections on the website would be extremely helpful for those searching for their first career or those changing career fields and would like to be better prepared for interviews.

References

Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. E. (2017). Career development interventions (5th ed.). London, England: Pearson.