Career Information for North American Studies Majors

It is important to understand that employers hire people, not degrees. The skills and knowledge you develop as a result of your education, as well as in your work and community activities, have the greatest impact on hiring decisions. Listed below are some key skills and knowledge you will acquire as a result of your university education and your focus on North American Studies.

Specific Knowledge Skills
Valuable Transferable Skills
Some Career Options for North American Studies Majors
Potential Employers
Websites

Specific Knowledge Skills

• An awareness of how to effectively evaluate and examine past, present and future North American life
• The ability to explore topics and issues relevant to Canada from a variety of perspectives
• Knowledge of how to compare North American culture/society with international cultures/societies
• A solid understanding of North American geography, economics and political systems
• Skills in gathering information, conducting research and evaluating the needs of North Americans
• A comprehensive knowledge and understanding of selected North American problems and issues 
• An understanding of how the unique North American climate, geography, government policy and culture  impact on the continued development of North American society
• The ability to identify and examine the key factors which affect the continued development of North America for the purposes of extrapolating information and planning for future development

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Valuable Transferable Skills 

Information-gathering and Communication Skills

• The skills required to identify and access a wide range of relevant information and resources
• The ability to compile and organize facts and information and to comprehend and apply new and/or unfamiliar information to different situations and settings
• Skills in preparing interesting, creative and informative presentations which target diverse audiences
• The ability to develop effective reports, presentations and materials using current technology

Thinking, Planning and Organizational Skills

• The ability to learn, understand and interpret information and apply knowledge to new situations
• The ability to set priorities, meet deadlines and effectively plan/manage time, data and resources
• Problem-solving skills and the ability to make well-reasoned decisions, think creatively and search for, identify and consider all sides of an issue
• Skills to effectively analyze and interpret a wide range of information and data to discuss, support and/or reject ideas, opinions, reports, theories and proposals

Teamwork and Management Skills

• Skills enabling you to work effectively as part of a team by identifying your role and contributing, through leading, teaching, motivating and/or encouraging others, to the objectives of the team
• An understanding of how to successfully identify, plan and contribute to the goals of a team/project
• The ability to oversee, supervise and/or contribute to a project from beginning to end including determining outcomes, planning details, making decisions, assigning roles and completing tasks 

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Some Career Options for North American Studies Majors

(Additional education, training or experience may be required)
  

For more career options and job descriptions, visit the following sites:

Career Cruising - www.careercruising.com. Please contact the Career Centre at 519.884.0710 ext. 4495 or careercentre@wlu.ca for the username and password.
Career Insider (Vault) - Access through the library website at www.wlu.ca/library. Click ’Find Articles and More’, click ’Databases by Title (A-Z)’ and then ’C’ - Career Insider (Vault). You need to access this resource from a Laurier computer or through the library’s remote access service.
National Occupational Classification - www.hrsdc.gc.ca/noc   
 

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Potential Employers

 
Websites

Department of Canadian Heritage
Association for Canadian Studies
International Council for Canadian Studies
Canadian Studies: A Guide to the Sources
Canadian Museum of Civilization 
Canadian Studies Directory of Online Resources in Canada

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