Changing careers is much more popular than ever before. Whether a individual choice or an economic necessity, individuals are waking up to the idea that they have to do something else. This thought is both liberating and terrifying at the same time, especially in today’s struggling economy. The good news is that there’s a lot more information and help available today then ever before - and most of it is online and free. In this post we’ll discuss some of these many cost free alternatives available specifically for the Twin Cities Metro Area (Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota).
Libraries are a excellent place to start researching career choices. In general, libraries are a vast often-untapped source of job search data. Being a large metro region, there’s a multitude of high quality libraries offered in the Twin Cities. Most counties and large academic institutions usually have well organized library systems, often with much of the information accessible online.
Hennepin County is the largest country in the Twin Cities Metro Area. As a result, it has an extensive library system which has an wonderful website titled \"Jobs and Careers\". This website has links to many Minnesota-focused job resources and online databases, including career research, salary surveys, community resources, and help/information for those out of work. The University of Minnesota is the largest educational institution in the the state of Minnesota (one of the largest in the nation). It has a large on-line library with a wide-variety of resources offered. other government websites, some patience is required to filter through all the detail available.
The State of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development publishes a website titled Positively Minnesota. The website has areas distinctively focused upon at job-seekers, users exploring new careers, those with disabilities, as well as veterans looking for work. The website includes a multitude of data on state provided employment websites, publications, and other resources. Just about too much information in one spot, but it's well organized and frequently updated.
The State of Minnesota also has over 50 Workforce Centers (several in the Twin Cities but also state-wide) where you can go for help and assistance. Each center is staffed and provides many of it’s services without charge.
iSeek careers is a Minnesota-focused career site that was much harder to find than it should have been, because it's an awesome website. This website has a very nice free section on career study and a database of 500 careers to browse. They have a 'Find a Job' area that has regional-specific information including employers, job openings, salary information, and top careers. A lot of the same tools the bigger sites have, but with a Minnesota-angle.
Though not Minnesota-specific, the Occupational Outlook Handbook (put out by the Federal Government) is a very good place to research careers. Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Occupational Outlook Handbook is an priceless free source of investigating potential jobs and careers. For each career, the handbook lists the education and training requirements, earnings, expected job prospect, and the working conditions. The handbook is kept up-to-date and published every 2 years.
There are just a few high quality, free resources available to the Twin Cities Career-Changer. Take a look!
If you'd like to learn more about Minnesota Job Bank Jobss or MN Job Banks, be sure to look into the Minnesota Job Bank HQ.
