Prepare for Your Future
Are you transitioning into the Education field or looking to advance your career? Review these resources and tools to prepare for your next step:
- Take the short How Can We Help You? career quiz. You will receive a list of career resources based on your career goals.
- Review the Career Exploration page.
- Research career paths in Education and related fields using O*Net, MyPlan, or CareerOneStop.
- Review the What Can I Do with This Major? Education Career Guide (external).
- Visit the WaldenU.edu website to learn about potential career options for your degree program.
- Create a Career Plan to organize your career exploration activities.
- Watch a recording of Discover Career Planning Resources: Education Programs for additional ideas on how to prepare for Education careers:
Discover Career Planning Resources: Education Programs
Engage and Connect
Develop leadership skills, expand your connections, find career advice and mentors, and help support Walden’s commitment to building a vibrant and inclusive community of care. The activities below can help you get started:
- Walden University offers student and alumni organizations, honor societies, and special interest groups to get involved:
- National Honor Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS)
- Kappa Delta Pi (KDP)
The international honor society in Education. - Multicultural and International Student Club (MISC)
- “Each One Teach One” Peer Mentor Program
Note: This program is open to students and alumni who are pursuing or have completed Education programs at the master’s or doctoral levels. Contact Dr. Judi Blakely at: judi.blakely@mail.waldenu.edu for more information and to join as a mentor and mentee. - Student Success Seminar
Note: This seminar is open to students who are pursuing Education programs. Contact Dr. Judi Blakely at: judi.blakely@mail.waldenu.edu for upcoming meeting times. - Walden University Alumni Ambassador Program
- Professional associations provide opportunities to network with educators and thought leaders, attend professional development events, deliver presentations, join committees and much more. Refer to the blog article, Benefits of Belonging to a Professional Association, for additional ideas on how to get involved.
Here are a few associations in preK-12 and Higher Education to consider joining:
PreK-12
- American School Counselors Association
- Association of American Educators
- Association for Middle Level Education
- National Association for Bilingual Education
- Council for Exceptional Children
- National Association of Special Education Teachers
- National Education Association
- National Association for the Education of Young Children
- American Association of School Administrators
- Association of Teacher Educators
- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
- National Association of Elementary School Principals
- National Association of Secondary School Principals
Higher Education
- American Association for Adult and Continuing Education
- American Association for Higher Education and Accreditation
- American Association of Community Colleges
- American Association of University Professors
- National Student Success Advising Association
- National Association of Student Affairs Professionals
- Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
- National Association of Colleges and Employers
- US Distance Learning Association
Tip: Use CareerOneStop’s Professional Association Finder Tool to search for additional associations related to Education careers.
- Facebook is a powerful social media tool to network with Walden University students in Education programs and other professionals in the Education field. Find a Walden University Facebook Group for your Education Program by 1) degree level and 2) start date to connect with other Walden University Education students. Join these additional Facebook Groups and others to connect with the broader Walden community:
- Walden University
- Walden University Career Planning and Development
- Walden University Student Organizations
- Walden University Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) Honor Society
- Walden University Multicultural & International Student Club
- Walden University Campus Civitan Club
- LinkedIn is the largest professional networking site and an important tool to help you establish a professional online presence, build an online network, follow thought leaders in the Education field, and join LinkedIn Groups based on specific interest areas. Many associations, societies, and organizations also have their own LinkedIn Groups. Follow these Walden LinkedIn Groups and others:
- Walden University (largest Walden LinkedIn group with 177K followers)
- Walden University Career Planning and Development
- Walden University National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) Chapter
Tip: Career Planning and Development’s Networking tab offers online and offline networking tips and the Launching with LinkedIn video to help you get started with LinkedIn.
Explore Careers in preK-12 Education
Whether you are actively job searching or researching job requirements, these Education-specific sites can help you uncover the knowledge and skills you will need to prepare for preK-12 career opportunities:
Explore Careers in Higher Education
View these resources to prepare for career paths in higher education and related areas:
- Doctoral Resources page: one-stop page for doctoral-level career exploration and preparation.
- Doctoral Career Pathways Conference recordings: There are four sessions for you to explore:
- Six common doctoral career paths
- How to gain experience
- Ways to market academic and professional skills
- Tools for career planning
- Career Pathways Guide for doctoral-level career paths including Higher Education, Policy and Advocacy, Organization Leadership and Development, and more!
- Watermark Insights: a resource hub designed for educators and administrators at higher education institutions. This site includes resources, blog articles, webinars, and more to empower student success.
- Curriculum Vitae Guide: a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to create or strengthen your academic CV.
Find a Job, Internship, or Volunteer Opportunity
Did you know that Walden offers two custom job search systems, interest-specific job boards, volunteering sites, and internship resources? Visit the Job and Internship Search page to access the following:
- Walden Job and Internship Locator: job board where employers can share jobs for Walden students and graduates.
- GoinGlobal: career management system with global and remote job listings all over the world.
- Popular and interest-specific job search sites.
- Volunteer and internship opportunities.
Build Resumes, Cover Letters, and More
Create a cover letter and resume to capture your work and volunteer experience, leadership activities, education, and qualifications.
- Visit the Resumes & More tab to gain resume and cover letter writing tips, watch career skills videos, and view custom samples.
- Build a resume or cover letter using the SkillsFirst career management system.
Tip: Refer to the step-by-step SkillsFirst Resume Guide and SkillsFirst Letter Guide documents to get started..
SkillsFirst is a self-guided career management system with 500+ templates and tools to help you create high-impact materials including resumes, cover letters, and career portfolios; and an interview prep function to practice interviewing skills.
Prepare for Interviews
- Visit the Interviewing tab to learn how to prepare for each step of the interview process.
- Use SkillsFirst’s Interview Prep tool to access 12,000+ mock interview questions, including questions for educators and administrators. Refer to the SkillsFirst Interview Questions Guide to get started.
- Watch the Interview Strategies webinar to build confidence when responding to challenging interview questions.