ALT-1 How to Choose the right Career
Choosing the right career is essential to secure a stable and happy future. In order to choose the right career, you must consider several factors including personality, interests, and strongest skills; required education; stability and demand of the career in the current economy; desired income; benefits; willingness to travel; mobility; and work environment. You should also utilize several resources to help you choose the right career including career books, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, career counselors and job shadowing.
The first factors you must consider to choose the right career are your personality, interests and strongest skills. An extrovert would enjoy interacting with people most of the day; an introvert would enjoy working independently most of the day. Maybe you would enjoy a combination of extroverted and introverted work activities. You must also ask yourself if you can handle a high volume, high pressure, fast paced job working long hours with travel or if you prefer a slower paced job with less pressure and responsibility. Brainstorm what interests you. Examples of interests include writing, drawing, cooking, machinery, animals, health, science, finance, music and business. Think about what your strongest skills are. Examples of skills include writing, math, building or fixing things, research, presenting, selling, negotiating, computers and helping others. The right career for you will match your personality, interests and skills.
You must consider the required education to choose the right career. You need to ask yourself whether you can afford the education, are willing to pay back thousands of dollars in student loans after graduation, whether you will have the time to study and whether you will be able to commit to the education considering your current life circumstances. It is harder to go back to school when you have children to take care of or if you need to work full-time to pay your bills. Some institutions offer online courses. You may qualify for grants or scholarships to help pay for the education.
The stability and demand of a career in the current economy is important to consider. After the recession, some career areas lost demand or disappeared altogether. Some types of careers are the first to be cut by a company during a recession. Careers that always seem to be in high demand include healthcare, engineering, accounting/finance and business administration/management.
Other factors you need to think about when choosing the right career include desired income, benefits, willingness to travel, mobility, and work environment. Do you desire to live a lavish lifestyle, buy lots of things and have a large family? If so, you will need a higher income. The downside to having a job with a higher income is you usually work longer hours at the office. If you are content living a simple life with less possessions, less time working and more time with family, a lower to middle income is right for you. Some jobs require travel so you will need to determine whether you can handle being away from home or your family. You need to consider your career mobility. Do you want the flexibility of being able to move and live in different places? If so, you will need to have a career where you can find a job anywhere. Work environment is also important to consider when choosing a career. You need to consider whether you want to work indoors or outdoors, in an open cube or private office, in a quiet or loud office, with other people or alone, or in a small or large company. Consider what benefits you desire in a career such as health insurance, paid parking, day care and a retirement plan. Certain career areas may not offer company group health insurance for example.
Finally, utilize resources to help you choose the right career. A career book called What Color is Your Parachute by Richard N. Bolles is an excellent book to help you determine what career is best for you. The Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the government and available online gives detailed information about the job duties, education required, income, and demand/outlook for numerous careers listed in an A-Z index. You may also consider paying to see a career counselor or doing a job shadow in a career you’re interested in. Doing a job shadow can reveal what a career would be like in the real world on a day to day basis.
