Choosing a career may be one of the most important things you do in your life. Often, people are young when they choose their career and that can make the decision even more difficult. How can you possibly know what the right career for you is? How can you possibly make the decision on what you want to do for the rest of your life — or at least for a major portion of it? How can you possibly invest the potentially large amount of money that education may cost in this one decision?
Many people rush into choosing a career. It can be wise to take some time to think about it for a while. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a choice that you make right away. You might even take a year or two — or sometimes even longer — to explore job options and try on jobs to help you decide on your future career. You can even look into Atlanta startup jobs if you want to try a different career path or to just gain experience.
There are some factors that might help you choose your career more wisely though. Here are 4 things you should think about before making the big decision.
Things You Like to Do
Although you might not be able to have a career doing the things you like to do (that’s not to say that you can’t), understanding what you like doing can help you learn more about yourself. The simplest way to figure out what you like to do is with a list.
Grab a pen and paper and or open a file on your computer and, without thinking about it too much, writing down everything you like doing. I mean everything you can think of. Reading, skateboarding, using social media, talking on the phone — write down every thought that comes to mind.
Once you’re done, you might have a very long list. That’s ok.
When your list is complete, start making connection. What do the things you like to do have in common? Are they outdoors activities that require physical skill? Are they activities that involve a lot of social interaction or are they solitaire activities? If you can make some connections between the activities you can get a better idea of what type of career is right for you.
You can also ask yourself if any of the activities can lead to a career. If you love Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, you might make a great social media manager. If you love to read, perhaps you should consider a career as a library technician.
Things You Are Good At
Things you like and things you are good at are not necessarily the same thing. You might be really good at some things that you didn’t even consider putting on your list. Do you like them well enough that you might consider doing them for a long time?
It’s time for another list! Take at least 15 minutes and write down every single thing you can think of that you are good at.
Once you’re done, compare the two lists. Are there duplicates? If there are, this is a strong sign that you’re going in the right direction!
Job History
Let’s talk employment. You have likely had a few jobs in the past already. It’s time to consider what you did and didn’t like about them.
Time to grab some more paper. In fact, grab one sheet of paper for every job you’ve ever had — even if you were only 12 years old when you had the job. Write the job title at the top of each sheet. For each job, write down:
- Your duties
- The skills you needed
- 3 things you liked about the job
- 3 things you hated about the job
- Why you stopped doing the job
Once you’ve done this for every job you’ve ever had look for the similarities. Did you love the fact that you got to work outside on several jobs? Did you hate having to be on the phone? Are any of these jobs things you would do again?
Knowing these things will help you know what you DON’T want in a career and will give you some clues as to what to look for in a career.
Training and Education vs Pay
Chances are, you are going to have to get some training to embark on your future career. So, you will need to consider the training options that are available to you. Do some time researching schools and training programs in your area? Are you able to move to go to school? How much do you have to invest in school? Are you willing to get student loans? Are there bursaries and grants available to you?
School can cost a lot of money. And if you invest your own money or if you get loans, you need to consider if it is going to be worth the investment. How much does a typical job in your career pay when you are starting out? How long does it take to advance and get raises and promotions?
These can be difficult questions to answer. You can do research online to find out some typical statistics of a career that you are interested in but sometimes the best way to get real info is to talk to someone who actually is employed in the job that you want. You can meet people that have the job you are interested in by going to networking events, talking to people you know and asking them if they know of anyone you could set up a meeting with, or even by cold calling/emailing people.
Use a combination of methods to find out what you need to know. Networking, informational interviews, Internet research, and other techniques will give you answers and will give you a better idea of what kind of training you need and whether or not the investment is likely to pay off.
Conclusion
Whether you are choosing your first career or your second (or third or fourth) you will be much more likely to stick with it and to be successful at it if you’ve put some thought into it. If you have considered the 4 factors above, looked for similarities and connections, and seriously thought about the investment of education, choosing a career will not be so challenging.
