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EXPLORING CAREERS IN LASERS, PHOTONICS, AND HOLOGRAPHY Portions Reprinted, Updated and Web Enhanced from Shoebox Holography
 Would you take a trip to a country you knew nothing about? Would you go to a college that you had never heard of without doing any research? Probably not. But many people decide on their future careers without knowing anything about them. Or, they decide on a career option, but discover when they get to college that they do not have the academic background to take the courses they need to graduate. Kind of gets in the way of your plans for the future, huh? Here's a few easy steps to follow: 
Ask yourself these questions:
Most of us get the greatest enjoyment out of doing things that interest us. A job is no different. Make sure that any career you select is one that fits in with your interests–the things you like to do. People who enter the field of lasers & photonics generally enjoy: 
Some of us are good with our hands, and some of us are not. Some of us have strong mathematical abilities, and some of us do not. Knowing where your natural strengths and abilities lie and how these fit into your career interests is an important component of career exploration. People in laser/photonics/holography careers generally have:
 What are my work values? What's important to me in a job? Do you want to make a lot of money? Have a flexible schedule? Work from home? Travel? Help people? Generally we are happiest with those jobs that fit in with the things that are important to us, so make sure that when you're looking at career options, you consider how the job will fit in to the things you value in life. There are a lot of on-line resources that can help you identify your interests, abilities, and work values. Try: 
What are "soft skills"? Soft skills are a set of skills that influence how we interact with each other. It includes such abilities as effective communication, creativity, analytical thinking, diplomacy, flexibility, change-readiness, and problem solving, leadership, team building, and listening skills. The goal of soft skill training is to give students opportunity to learn and practice new patterns of behavior and in so doing to enhance human relations. Each skill and ability video below may be viewed using either Windows Media or RealPlayer.
Once you've identified your interests, abilities, and work values, now you can begin to explore occupations that fit in with who you are. These are some of the issues you should explore:
Find out what job duties and responsibilities the job typically has. This can vary from company to company, so it's a good idea to not only look at generic job descriptions, but to also explore the descriptions for actual job openings. Some of the jobs in the field of lasers, photonics, and holography include:
In today's economy, most jobs have fairly high educational expectations. By some estimates, up to 80% of jobs requires some education beyond high school. When you explore a career, it's critically important that you look at the courses you must take in high school and college in order to be prepared for the occupation. Most careers in the laser and photonics fields require at least a 2-year technical or associate's degree. Higher level positions in research or management generally require at least a bachelor's or master's degree.
Is this a growing occupation? Will there be jobs available in the region of the country where I want to work? Will there be jobs in this occupation 10 years from now? Search for careers that have a strong outlook and look like they'll be around for a while. Careers in lasers and photonics are what we call "emerging careers." Advances in the field are creating new job opportunities in a variety of industries, which may fuel extensive job growth.
Naturally, you'll want to know how much money you can expect to make in this career. Just remember that salary ranges vary depending on the part of the country you're living in, the type of company you work for, and your level of education & experience.
Will you be working indoors or outdoors? Will you work alone or with others? Is it shift work? Will you be working around loud machinery?
Most of us don't want to stay in the same job for the rest of our lives. Try to find out how you can progress in this career and what other jobs you could move into. Also find out what you need to advance. Experience? More education? Both? To further explore answers to these questions, try these on-line resources:
If you can answer "yes" to most of these questions, then you've probably found yourself a career. Is it in lasers or photonics?
*Frank DeFreitas Holography Studio contributed video footage to SPIE "Light At Work"
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First Things First
Now that you've begun to explore the world of lasers & photonics, you may be wondering if this could fit in with your future career planning. Absolutely! In this section, I'll give you some information on things to consider when you're exploring careers in general. I'll also share some Internet resources that can guide you in your search for careers in the field of lasers and photonics.
Now that you've explored your interests, abilities, and work values, and taken a look at the careers that fit in with them, it's time to make some decisions. Here are some things to consider when you're making the decision:
