You don't have to know your career yet. Discover it through real experience.
Career Catalyst Collaborative (C3) helps people find a starting direction, try real work, reflect on what fits, and build relationships that move them forward.
A project of the Aquillius Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Start with a direction. Let experience sharpen it.
First, notice what energizes you, what you do well, and what matters to you. Find Your You is a guided reflection that helps you see those patterns. It offers a starting direction, never a career verdict.
Then test that direction through conversations, events, and real work as experiences become available. Reflect on what surprised you. Each experience gives you a clearer signal about what to try next.
Over time, projects and feedback can turn that direction into proof of what you can do and relationships with people who know your work.
Try the guided reflection → Nine modules · about 35–45 minutes · results before you decide to save
You don't think your way to the right career. You experience your way to it.
Discover
- See real workplaces
- Try without pressure
- Explore early projects
- Meet mentors + peers
Prove
- Real projects
- Employer feedback
- Portfolio built
- Vision + values tested
Belong
- Trusted by mentors
- Known by employers
- Shared vision confirmed
- Profession emerges
Ikigai — a guide for life
Ikigai is a Japanese concept sitting at the intersection of four things: what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. We don't own the idea — it belongs to the world. But we use it as the compass that helps people explore a starting direction before experience sharpens it.
Most people try to think their way to the right career. Ikigai helps you experience your way to it.
What you love
Surfaces through See and Try — what pulls your attention in real environments.
What you're good at
Surfaces through Do and Prove — what you do well when the work is real.
What the world needs
Surfaces through employer interaction — where your strengths meet real demand.
What you can be paid for
Surfaces through Belong — where passion, proof, values, and opportunity converge.
A useful next step for you.
Exploring your future?
Begin with a private reflection. See your results before deciding whether to save them. You can also stay connected for future C3 experiences.
Find a starting direction →Can you offer a real experience?
Help participants see what your work is really like through a conversation or exploratory experience. Tell us what you could host, and our team can follow up.
Supporting students?
Share a low-pressure starting point with students who are unsure what to explore. Contact us to discuss how real experiences could complement your guidance.
Available now: Find Your You, saved C3 profiles and student community invitations. Students can read community updates and resources; posting and comments are closed for now. Confirmed experiences will be shared when they are ready.
Explore your next chapter together.
Our private C3 Community helps students stay connected to C3 updates, resources and confirmed experiences. Sign up as a student to receive an invitation by email. Find Your You is optional; students who save their results can also choose to request an invitation.
Get connected to C3
Join as a student, check your email for your invitation, then start with the Start Here guide. You do not need a complete career plan. Student posting and comments are closed for now.
Open community — invited members only →
Keep your Journey private
Your saved C3 profile is separate from community posts. Posts are visible to other members; private assessment answers are not automatically shared.
View my saved C3 profile →Find a next step
Reviewed experiences and opportunities will appear when hosts, timing and participation details are confirmed. No registrations are open in the community yet.
Ask about participating →New Stay Connected signups marked Student automatically receive a community invitation by email. Students saving Find Your You results can request an invitation using the optional checkbox. Accept the invitation to finish connecting; community sign-in is separate from My Journey. Christian Miranda owns initial moderation and support. For private support or a community concern, email [email protected].
Stay involved as C3 grows.
We're building C3 together. Here's exactly what that means right now.
Volunteer to help build the platform
Give us one hour a week for eight weeks. Students, schools, employers, and parents — we need your input to build this right. Volunteer through our partner program at Impactful Giving.
Sign up at impactfulgiving.org
Scan the QR code or click below to join the volunteer program. Takes about 3 minutes.
Go to ImpactfulGiving.org ↗Stay connected with C3
Not ready to volunteer? Stay in the loop. Get updates about real experiences as they open up. Tell us who you are so we can send you what's relevant.
↓ Experience proves it.
↓ Belonging makes it real.
A project of the Aquillius Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit · San Diego