Pathfinder Summary II.
This Pathfinder Summary II involves asking you a few questions about Chapters 15-29.
The Pathfinder has 29 chapters that are divided into four main sections: 1) Living a Life You Love, 2) How to Get There From Here, 3) Designing Your Future Career, and 4) Marketing and Job Searching. In many of the chapters, the author has what are called “Inquiries” that encourage you to answer questions, think about your own experiences/desires, and confront some of the common issues people face in figuring out their lives. Make sure to do the inquiries and genuinely reflect on the chapters as you read them.
1. Chapters 15-17 deal with different types of personality assessments. Which assessment was the most relevant/informative to you and why? What did you learn about yourself in doing the assessment? What are at least two benefits of personality assessments? What might at least two limitations be of personality assessments? What might sociologists say about personality assessments?
2. Complete Inquiry 13 on “Temperament.” What is your “personality type” and how do you think you’ve developed your personality? What are your thoughts on whether you actually “fit” your personality type? How might this insight about your personality type be useful in your everyday life, especially in terms of your major(s) and possible career choices?
3. What does Lore say about mission, passion, meaning, and purpose in your life? Why is each important in terms of career choice(s)? Watch/Listen to the following TedTalk (6:00). What is Trespicio’s general argument about passion and career choice? How does her argument relate to Lore’s perspective on passion/meaning/mission/purpose? What might sociologists say about our cultural emphasis on purpose/passion as it relates to a career? What might such an emphasis mean for individuals and also greater society?
There is a Tedtalk link:(
4. While you may have your heart set on a particular profession, brainstorm a list of TWO possible career choices that you could see yourself doing. For each career choice, discuss 1) why you’re interested in that career, 2) why you’d be successful in that career, 3) what are two obstacles in pursuing that career, and 4) what those around you (family/friends/partners) might think about that career choice. Which of the two is your top career choice? Why is it your top choice, and what skills and talents (the book makes distinctions between each of these, so discuss both) do you have that would ensure your success in that particular career?
5. How does Sociology as a discipline fit into the two possible career choices you’ve just discussed (in question #4)? How might this specific course (Sociology 1) influence your future education and career trajectories? How might having a Sociological Imagination help you succeed in any future career choice going forward in your life?
