Career Research Resources

Discover what different jobs are really like

Careers You Can Actually Get

Expand your possibilities—discover jobs you never knew existed

Professional Cuddler

Get paid $80/hour to provide platonic therapeutic touch and comfort to clients

Golf Ball Diver

Scuba dive in golf course ponds to retrieve balls, make $100K+ selling them back

Pet Food Taster

Taste-test dog and cat food for quality control at major pet food companies

Netflix Tagger

Watch shows all day and tag them with descriptors to improve recommendations

Customer Success Associate

15,000+ open roles

Companies are desperate for people who can keep customers happy

Sales Development Representative

20,000+ open roles

Every company needs people reaching out to potential customers

Registered Nurse

200,000+ open roles

Healthcare systems are experiencing critical shortages nationwide

Customer Service Representative

They train you—just need patience and good communication

Full training provided

Sales Development Representative

Learn on the job, usually with a mentor and scripts

2-4 week bootcamp

Administrative Assistant

Organization and basic computer skills get you in the door

On-the-job training

AI Prompt Engineer

2023

Write prompts that make AI tools work better—coding optional

Creator Economy Manager

2021

Help influencers and creators turn followers into income

Sustainability Coordinator

2020

Make companies greener (finally getting real budgets)

Why Research Careers?

The best way to know if a career is right for you is to learn what the work is actually like—not just the job title. These resources help you discover the day-to-day reality, salary expectations, required skills, and honest pros and cons from real people.

Research Strategy

1

Browse Broadly

Week 1

  • Watch 5-10 "day in the life" videos on YouTube
  • Read O*NET descriptions for interesting jobs
  • Scroll through career subreddits
  • Use our Career Chat to explore options
2

Deep Dive

Week 2-3

  • Pick 3-5 careers that seem promising
  • Read Glassdoor reviews from employees
  • Join industry-specific communities
  • Take a Coursera intro course
  • Reach out for 2-3 informational interviews
3

Reality Test

Week 4+

  • Try to do the work (project, freelance, volunteer)
  • Shadow someone for a day if possible
  • Talk to people who left that career
  • Check if your assumptions were correct

Red Flags to Watch For

  • Everyone complains about burnout or poor work-life balance
  • Big gap between job marketing and reality
  • High turnover - people leave quickly
  • Gatekeeping: "You need to sacrifice everything"

Green Flags to Look For

  • People are enthusiastic, even about challenges
  • Clear growth path and career progression
  • Transferable skills useful beyond this one job
  • Sustainable pace - people stay long-term and are healthy