How self Reflection can help you Choose the right Career Path
When it comes time to choose a major in college or a future career, it can be tempting to turn to outside sources for help in making your choice. Maybe you feel tempted to ask your parents or friends for their opinions or ideas, or you might be busy looking up career salaries on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website to try to find the highest earning position. But there is more to choosing the right career than asking others for their opinions or choosing a path based on statistics or quantitative data. Your search for the perfect career should always start with a serious and honest assessment of your personality, goals and dreams.
Here are some questions you should consider asking yourself before you choose a career:
What subjects am I interested in studying? Would I enjoy focusing on that same field for the rest of my life? How much money would I need to earn to support the lifestyle of my dreams? How much time do I need to support the lifestyle I want? Should I work full time or part time? Do I want a flexible schedule or the same hours every week? What would I find fulfilling? A career which gives me influence? A career which allows me to help others? One where I can study and become more knowledgeable about the world? Something else altogether? What kind of job would suit my personality? What are my needs in terms of social interaction, space and autonomy?
You could try taking a career assessment test or a personality quiz to get a better idea of what kind of profession might suit you, but even that is just a starting point. Everyone is unique, and nobody fits perfectly into pre-defined personality types. You also may want to read up oncareer informationrelating to various fields which interest you, so that you can get a better idea of what you’d be doing each day if you worked a particular job.
A lot of people believe that what they need to do in order to be happy is choose a good career, and then plan their lifestyle around that career. In reality, many people are much happier if they do things the other way around. Ask yourself what lifestyle you imagine yourself enjoying in the future, and what you would need to do in order to attain that lifestyle. That can give you some ideas as to what to aim for in terms of salary, work hours, corporate culture and more.
Once you have a portrait of what your career needs are, you can then search for careers which could fulfill those goals and give you the lifestyle you want. Using that information, you can then work on choosing the best possible major or certification program which will allow you to embark on your chosen career path.
