SBS College to Careers Class – SOCBEHAV 250

This class is unique because it is all about YOU. Everything you do in this class will benefit YOU in the present and the future.  This is not a simple “how to get a job” course, although the skills, insights, and materials you develop here will very likely help you to succeed in finding, qualifying for, and obtaining fulfilling career opportunities. Rather, this course takes a much more comprehensive and integrated approach, seeing professional development as one of several, interlocking elements of your personal SBS Pathways. You will learn about yourself and how to articulate YOUR STORIES and experiences to others. 

Class Description: SOCBEHAV 250: College to Careers is a one credit, highly-participatory course for students in which you will explore and plan your SBS Pathways – from college to career – as you:

  • reflect on the intersections among your academic, personal, civic, and professional values and aspirations
  • collaborate with classmates to learn and practice skills that will allow you to translate your academic, co-curricular, experiential, and work-related accomplishments into purposeful careers, service, or further study
  • cultivate the skills and vision of engaged and ethical leadership
  • develop a viable and personally meaningful plan and “toolkit” of concrete professional development materials to pursue your evolving goals.

Throughout the course, we will ask ourselves such thought-provoking and fundamental questions as: What do I value? What interests me and matters enough to motivate me to do the hard work needed to get really good at it? What do I think of as my strengths and weaknesses? What additional strengths might I have if I took inventory of my accomplishments? Where are my gaps, and what should I add to my ongoing intellectual, professional, and leadership repertoire so that I am continually growing and moving toward greater refinement of my goals? By addressing these questions across our semester together, you will both develop deeper understandings of yourself and your SBS Pathways and prepare yourself to “hit the ground running” when it’s time to seek out internships, graduate study, and/or meaningful job opportunities.

What past students have said: 

  • “I am really proud of the resume I have created using the knowledge I have learned in this class […]. Thanks for a great year and teaching me about important things I know I will use in real life!” -T.D.
  • “When I came into this course I was not sure what to expect. I knew that I would receive assistance with building my resume, which was all I wanted to know when I joined. I am so happy I took this course because you helped me to learn much more than I expected to. Essential parts of post-interview such as negotiating is something I would never have thought of on my own!” -K.P.
  • “Thank you for your help and for an amazing semester. Your class has been one of the most helpful classes I have taken throughout my time at UMass.” -T.M.