A tradition started some 20 years ago on the Seattle campus, Career Discovery Week (CDW) has since expanded to all three UW campuses. The event is the result of a collaborative effort between the UW Alumni Association, Career Center and various corporate sponsors.

Despite the name, CDW is only partially geared toward networking job opportunities.

“The focus of CDW is helping students to discover and learn more about all the career fields that interest them, and helping students to develop the job search skills necessary to pursue those interests,” said Don Gallagher, co-chair of CDW and a member of the UW Alumni Association.

For many underclassmen, this means finding a major of interest or getting a feel for what kind of outlook that particular field of study has in the employment world.

Many departments will be hosting seminars throughout the week that detail the career outlook for students interested in their respective majors. Some are specially designed to accommodate the current state of the economy.

“Whether you’re a freshman trying to see what to major in, or if you’re a sophomore testing the waters in a particular major ... we try and have something for everyone,” said CDW co-chair Emma O’Neill.

Seminars began yesterday, and many students seized the opportunity to find early help picking a career. Like many other freshmen, Bing Chen is not using CDW as a way to find a job, but rather to see what’s out there.

“I think it has been a good starting point,” said Chen, after attending his first seminar on Monday. “At this point, an internship would be great because I want experience and not pay.”

With graduation a few years away, the economy remains an uncertain factor in the decision-making process for many underclassmen, but the drive to explore is undiminished.

“I still have a few years,” Chen said. “I’ll give it time, but I think experience is what I’m looking for right now.”

Chen’s interest in electrical engineering and international business have driven him to attend seminars relating to those two categories, but not all of CDW is departmentally specific. In addition to the specific academic fields, seminars like “Student Involvement as Resumé Builder” are run to provide an alternative to strictly scholarly methods of career-building.

The seminar targets undergrads that are looking to get involved on campus and use those experiences to build a successful resume to supplement their work history.

“A lot of CDW is departmental, and we want to create some interdepartmental involvement,” said Jennifer Drumm, a member of the CDW Steering Committee and Dawg Daze Coordinator. “Students need to keep their options open.”

Though full-time careers are still too far away for most freshman to consider, CDW is still a useful opportunity for underclassmen to start exploring their interests and options.

“We’re encouraging students of all classes to be proactive, to make connections and get involved,” O’Neill said.

Reach reporter Brian Hsu at news@dailyuw.com.