Find Career Mentor Programs

by Peter Vogt

MonsterTRAK Career Coach

Wouldn't it be nice to have someone in your life who knows all about the career or field you want to get into and how to succeed in it?

That's what mentors are for -- and finding one isn't as hard as you might think. Hundreds of formal mentoring programs exist for college students and recent graduates. Whether run by colleges and universities, professional organizations or government agencies, mentoring programs offer access to professionals who can serve as career (and life) advisors in person, on the phone or even via email.

Here's a small but wide-ranging sample of mentoring programs available to help students:

The GEM-Nursing Program

Sponsored by the Women's Bureau of the US Department of Labor, the Group E-Mentoring in Nursing (GEM-Nursing) initiative links high school and college students ages 15 to 21 with mentors in the nursing field via email, a Web site and special events.

MentorNet

MentorNet pairs female college students studying engineering, science and mathematics with mentors in their areas of interest, who communicate with students via email.

Public Health Mentor Program

The University of Minnesota's School of Public Health offers the Public Health Mentor Program , which matches more than 100 students each year with professionals who share their career interests and advice.

Minority Access to the Professions Scholars (MAPS) Program

MAPS, sponsored by the Office of Minority Student Affairs at Middlesex County College in New Jersey, brings minority students together with mentors in the professional world.

Anthropology Mentor Program

The National Association for the Practice of Anthropology offers a mentoring program to help advanced graduate students in the field connect with professional anthropologists.

Dietetic Student Mentoring Program

The Los Angeles District of the California Dietetic Association's student mentoring program is open to any college junior or senior who is studying in an accredited program located in the district.

Each One Reach One

Sponsored by the California Court Reporters Association, Each One Reach One matches students who are studying court reporting with working court reporters.

Big Sister Mentoring Program

Stanford Women in Computer Science, an organization within the Computer Science Department at Stanford University, has created the Big Sister Mentoring Program to assist female students who have expressed interest in computer science careers.

Tri-Mentoring

The Office of Career Services at the University of British Columbia offers the unique Tri-Mentoring Program, pairing juniors and seniors at the school with faculty or industry mentors in their fields of interest. In turn, these students become mentors to first- and second-year students in their academic departments.

Dairy Program E-Mentoring

The Agricultural Marketing Service of the US Department of Agriculture created its E-Mentors program so that college students could learn more about the day-to-day activities of USDA marketing specialists, auditors, graders and inspectors.

Career Mentoring Program

The Career Mentoring Program at Clinton Community College in Iowa pairs students from across the campus with alums and other professionals working in careers and fields of strong interest.

Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program

The Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey sponsors its Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program to allow students interested in becoming entrepreneurs to interact regularly with the people who have actually done it.

No matter where you go to school or what your field of interest, you can probably find at least one mentoring program that will meet your professional needs.

To learn more about mentoring in general, check out the following resources:

• National Mentoring Partnership
• National Mentoring Center
• International Mentoring Association

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