This web page is meant to provide information and resources to help you navigate your career development as a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) student. We are here to support you and answer your questions throughout your job or internship search. Feel free to browse the Fleishman Center resources to educate yourself about your rights.
This web page is designed to be open to all Binghamton University students, faculty and staff regardless of race, color, national origin, or sex, and is consistent with all current governing federal and state nondiscrimination law.
Your Career and Professional Development Support System
The Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development supports DACA students in an effort to expand access to career resources, employer connections, and guidance that empowers students to explore career paths, develop skills, and prepare for the workforce.
Programs, workshops, and events to help you gather career information, gain skills and build connections
1:1 career consulting drop-in sessions and appointments tailored to your needs including:
Job and internship search strategies, including disability-friendly employers and tips on disclosing a disability
Post-graduation planning including graduate school search
Resources to get you started
Career planning for undocumented and DACA students often involves navigating additional layers of complexity, including work authorization considerations, employer policies, and identifying pathways that align with both your goals and eligibility. At the same time, many students in this community pursue a wide range of academic and professional interests and bring strong resilience, creativity, and determination to their career development process.
This section is designed to provide guidance and resources that support informed decision-making, including strategies for understanding work eligibility, exploring alternative career pathways such as entrepreneurship, and connecting with organizations that offer legal, academic, and professional support. These resources are intended to help you move forward with clarity and confidence.
The Fleishman Center has developed ThePath to Career Confidence and Clarity to help students identify what stage of the career journey they’re in. It’s a simple four-step journey all about helping you go from understanding yourself to making confident career decisions. We’ve designed it to help you explore your options with purpose and reflect on what you learn along the way. If you’re unsure which stage you’re in or need help developing a plan, make an appointment with the Fleishman Center! It can be helpful to talk to a career consultant in person or on Zoom!
This is the first and most important step in figuring out your career path. Before you can connect with different jobs, you need to understand who you are. This means thinking about your interests, what’s important to you (your values), what you’re good at (your skills), and what drives you.
Ask yourself:
What truly gets you excited?
When do you feel like you’re doing your best work?
How do your personal values guide your choices?
What challenges might you face, and how can you overcome them?
Now that you know more about yourself, it’s time to connect that knowledge with different career paths. This will help you find careers that bring you confidence and clarity. Our goal is to help you narrow down your interests to a few areas by doing some focused research.
Ask yourself:
What do I already know about different job opportunities?
Have I explored a variety of options, or just a few?
Am I ready to do some research to find facts that will help me make good decisions?
If you’re at this stage, you’re ready to explore and take action! Getting hands-on experience is key. Take the career areas you’re interested in and find ways to get involved.
Here are some ideas:
Internships
Job shadowing (following someone at their job for a day)
Volunteering in your community
Getting involved with campus clubs or activities
Studying abroad
Doing research
Think about: What kind of experience makes the most sense for the area you want to explore?
You’ve gained valuable experience and are closer to feeling confident and clear about your career! Now it’s time to get more experience, improve your skills, and grow your network.
Think about:
What events or opportunities can help you connect with more people in your field?
What experiences or skills are you missing?
We’ve compiled a list of 5 top resources to support your career journey. Click each box below to learn more about the resource. See the resources section for a more comprehensive list.
Provides career development, entrepreneurship tools, and educational resources for undocumented individuals.
Dream Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding educational access and opportunity for students from immigrant communities. The organization provides scholarships, mentorship programs, college and career readiness support, leadership development opportunities, and resources designed to help students navigate higher …
For many college students, building a professional network starts with job fairs, internships, and part-time work. But for DACA recipients and undocumented students, those traditional paths are often limited or inaccessible due to legal, financial, or bureaucratic barriers. That doesn’t …
Everyone says networking is key to landing jobs and internships and more—but not everyone tells you how to do it. That’s where our new Networking Questions Resource comes in! This guide helps you navigate conversations with employers and alumni by …
This resource offers a variety of questions categorized by topic, plus a collection of customizable networking outreach message templates for different situations like connecting with alumni, faculty, recruiters, and mentors. Use these tools as a guide to structure your conversations and outreach, but remember to always personalize your messages to show that you’ve done your research and added your own voice.
Dream Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding educational access and opportunity for students from immigrant communities. The organization …
My Documented Life is an online resource hub that curates scholarships, internships, fellowships, graduate school funding opportunities, career resources, and …
National Immigration Law Center (NILC) is a nonprofit organization that provides information, advocacy, and resources related to immigration policy, educational …
