isyss
How do I decide what career I would like?
#career #career-path #help
18 answers
Christina Schmitz
Christina’s Answer
I would recommend you taking a variety of classes when you get to college, in areas that you are interested in. You can also look for any internships available to see if you would like the career.
Kim Gravell
Kim’s Answer
Hi Isyss,
You have been some excellent guidance already. One additional thought to consider is to gain insight into your natural strengths and then build your career path from there. My favorite assessment is StrengthsFinder. The resulting report will provide insight into your true strengths and what educational/career opportunities may be a potential for you. This may help you target your options to pursue the recommendations given to you by other mentors. Best of luck to you.
Kim recommends the following next steps:
Holley Winikoff
Holley’s Answer
You've already received a lot of great advice. I would just add that what you start doing may not be where you end up. It's totally fine to start in one career and then change paths, so don't put too much pressure on your first job. For me, I received my degree in accounting and started working in accounting. Five years in, I decided to pivot and move into marketing and sales. No matter where you start, you will no doubt gain skills that will benefit you down the road. Best of luck!
Alejandro Chavarria
Alejandro’s Answer
I´d recommend to think about the things that you really like to do, because one of the keys for a successful career is that you are willing to do that and enjoy it, this will keep you motivated to learn even more, for example if you like technology you can study something related to engineering.
Deirdre Paone Cohen
Deirdre’s Answer
Peter Georgellis
Peter’s Answer
When looking for a career...ask yourself what interests you the most...what are your strengths...speak to people who are in the industry which you wish to pursue and most importantly don't be afraid to pursue your passion...i started off in an electrical engineering course and changed career paths during my studies and ended up in the Telecommunications / IT Industry.
Peter recommends the following next steps:
Alejandra Salgado Ramirez
Alejandra’s Answer
Hi Issys, for me it was a difficult decision to make. But I always try to think about how do I see myself in the future and what will be something that if I do it everyday I will be happy with. Think about what do you like to do? How will you feel about doing that specific job? What strenghts do you have? What are your strongest skills? And try to make a decision based on that, always remember that if you make a mistake, you can always change your career path.
Pro Professional
Pro’s Answer
Mikaela Ryan
Mikaela’s Answer
I would recommend talking to family and family friends who are in different careers and see what their experiences are like. You can also explore different classes once you enter college to see which ones you find most interesting. Once in college, internships can provide a good idea as to what a particular job or career would consist of and if that is something that you could see yourself spending everyday doing. It is important to find what interests you the most and something that can make you happy long term.
Brandon Johnson
Brandon’s Answer
Navya Mangena
Navya’s Answer
Take the time to read through the day to day responsibilities of the jobs you are interested in. Then try to match your current skill set to the skills needed and see where you are wrt to what these jobs need. Try to reachout to people in your network who are in these positions and know their experience, pros and cons. There is always a chance you come across something yo are more interested in and switch careers or do a combination of both things.
For example, I did my Bachelors in Computer science. I was into Software for a few years. then I founf Finance more interesting. I did a masters in Finance. Now my work involves a bit of both with more focus on the Finance industry. Think about these possibilities as well.
Erika Sheldon
Erika’s Answer
For me as a HS student this was so tough to answer. I knew I wanted to go into a career that I could make a decent salary but also something that I would enjoy. I took a step back and evaluated what I was good at and which industries I could apply them to. For me I was good at Math but I also liked puzzle like challenges. However, when I started college I didn't know what to major in so I started college with an undeclared major when I came across accounting. It had both the puzzling and math aspects I liked while offering an array of job opportunities that would provide a decent salary.
I would say take a step back and see the things you enjoy and are good and go from there.
Thomas Wenig
Thomas’s Answer
In addition to what everyone above has said: read. Read on a variety of topics, especially on those you know nothing about, so you know what's out there and where your interests are. There may be opportunities out there you don't even know about, jobs you can't even imagine--and therefore consider--until they are exposed to you. Reading is still the easiest way to explore ideas. This is the advice I would give to a younger version of myself if I could.
Savannah Bond
Savannah’s Answer
Tejaswini Palav
Tejaswini’s Answer
Hi, Please understand what interests you the most and then only think about this. Don't choose a career due to pressure from society. Otherwise you may give it up later on. If you love your job then you would excel in it. So choose a career that resonates the most with your personality.
Gloria Ortiz
Gloria’s Answer
I actually knew my major when I went to college at 18. I did not graduate with that major. I wanted to write so I chose Journalism as a major. I even chose my university based on that major. However, I did not consider how competitive a project like that would be. So when you look at majors, learn as much as you can about what having that major entails. Consider majors that appeal to you. Unless the job that you want would benefit from a specific college, I would say choose a college based on its overall benefits, not just based on a major.
Since you are just starting your college experience, you should not feel a lot of pressure to decide on a major just yet. Most of your major work is done during your junior and senior year. I would suggest that you work hard on the general courses that you need to take at your university – English, History, Math, etc. I would also recommend that you challenge yourself with the elective courses that you take. If you do not really know what you want to major in, you should start to look in places where you have never looked. Take the elective that you don’t even know what it is. That will expose you to new experiences that may catch your attention. Or you may find that something you don’t think would be a good major is actually what you want to do. You should not be afraid of majors where you are not quite sure what you will do with it as a job. I ended up graduating with what is the equivalent of a Liberal Arts degree at a lot of universities. And what do I do? I am an Instructional Designer.
I would recommend you also find ways to see other people do jobs that you are interested in. This is called job shadowing. It would be great if you could follow them for a day to see what it really entails.
Gloria
Simeon Snow
Simeon’s Answer
Zoltan Palffy
Zoltan’s Answer
I encourage you to explore in life as many things as you can, with friends, with your family, with your relatives and get to know how they exceeded with their careers. Ask them how they approached new challenges, or if they had a clear picture before what they would like to do for a living. I am sure many of them will tell you that they had no clue what life will bring them, and while they have discovered new fields in their lives they have become more and more sure about what they'd like to do, which has two components:
- Love what you do: Find a career/job that you enjoy doing and can't wait to learn more about it, and you will never get bored
- Earn your money: Look for a career path that can support your non-work related activities as well, such as establishing a family, traveling and do your hobbies to avoid burn out
The more things you try and learn about, the more knowledgable you become on many fields which gives you the confidence to go and become a subject matter expert on a certain topic(s) that really catches your interest. Never stop discovering new stuff until you find those things that really interest you, because at the end of the day the job you've done with great enthusiasm will make you happy and confident about yourself.