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What are some good ideas to start off a career path?
What are some good ideas to start off a career path?
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6 answers
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Nicole’s Answer
If you're starting from scratch, I would suggest asking as many people as you can what they do, making a list, and shadowing when you can.
Ask your friend's parents and adults in the communities you're part of. This can be sports groups, religious groups, music groups, anything. Make a list of all of them and investigate them each. You never know what will spark your interest.
For example: Let's say one of your friend's parents is a dentist. Ask if you can shadow them for a few hours at work. Take note of what you like and don't like, then move on to the next career on your list. Maybe the next one is mechanic - if there is one that your family uses regularly, call them and ask if you can shadow them for a few hours.
I worked part-time in high school, which also helped me identify what I liked and didn't like about certain jobs. I would highly suggest this as well. I worked retail and food service, and while I'm not in those fields anymore, they helped me identify different hobbies that I enjoy.
Ask your friend's parents and adults in the communities you're part of. This can be sports groups, religious groups, music groups, anything. Make a list of all of them and investigate them each. You never know what will spark your interest.
For example: Let's say one of your friend's parents is a dentist. Ask if you can shadow them for a few hours at work. Take note of what you like and don't like, then move on to the next career on your list. Maybe the next one is mechanic - if there is one that your family uses regularly, call them and ask if you can shadow them for a few hours.
I worked part-time in high school, which also helped me identify what I liked and didn't like about certain jobs. I would highly suggest this as well. I worked retail and food service, and while I'm not in those fields anymore, they helped me identify different hobbies that I enjoy.
Updated
Raghuram’s Answer
List down 1-10 points on the some of the things you are most passionate about or your inspirations. That would be a good start . Then start ranking them in the order of most passionate vs average passionate ideas. Pick the top 3 and then start looking up people who have been working in that field for atleast 5 years. Connect with them using LinkedIn or facebook and ask if they can share their experience . Set up sometime with them to understand how they started and landed in that role . Those inputs from discussion will be valuable to start creating a career path .
Determine top areas of interest
Prioritize and pick 3
Connect with people who have minimum 5 years of experience in that field
Ask them to share thier journey
Gather inputs and create a career path
Raghuram recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Robert’s Answer
Experience. We all have to have jobs to make money, but try to find paid internships or jobs related to what you want to do. I had an internship in college related to my major and I hated it. I did find other things that I liked that let me to other opportunities. Even that experience taught me a lot and helped me get to the right place.
Updated
Rebecca’s Answer
Thank you for your question. A lot of students have a similar question. Have you thought about what you would like to do or what you have interest to work on?
Below are my suggestions :
1. Think about what you have interest like your hobbies, interest subjects, etc. and identify the related careers
2. Explore on these careers and find out what you have interest
3. Speak to someone who are working in these careers. Seeks guidance from your mentor, school career counsellor, parents, etc.
4. Shortlist 1-2 careers you have interest
5. Explore the entry criteria of the relevant subjects in the college
Hope this works! Good Luck!
Below are my suggestions :
1. Think about what you have interest like your hobbies, interest subjects, etc. and identify the related careers
2. Explore on these careers and find out what you have interest
3. Speak to someone who are working in these careers. Seeks guidance from your mentor, school career counsellor, parents, etc.
4. Shortlist 1-2 careers you have interest
5. Explore the entry criteria of the relevant subjects in the college
Hope this works! Good Luck!
Updated
Diane’s Answer
Hi Yong - determine, if you haven't, what are your interests and passions. I will tell you that whatever career path you choose make sure it's something you enjoy and gives you purpose. Once you have determined what career path(s) you are looking to consider reach out to others that are in those careers to ask questions or shadow them to gain a better understanding on what the day to day is like. Speak with a high school or college counselor as they are a wealth of knowledge and have material available to share with you. Most of all, don't feel rushed as this is an important decision.
Updated
Alex’s Answer
Some of the basics things you can start with is by narrowing down a manageable number of career fields you would potentially be interested in. Then research those careers and see what interests you the most. Like any career there are pros and cons, identify those and see what sticks out to you the most. There are several aspects to look for, as an example; are you okay working some weekends, if not, than being a Network Administrator may not be a good fit because you may need to be on call in case the network goes down at 1:00 am on a Sunday. Entry level salary also may play a big factor if that's on top of your list.
Once you narrow down at least 2 or 3 fields of interest, that's where the soul searching kicks in to figure what it is about those career paths you most passionate about and why. Although the above is not a comprehensive list of things to do to identify your passion, but it's a start.
Best of luck!
Once you narrow down at least 2 or 3 fields of interest, that's where the soul searching kicks in to figure what it is about those career paths you most passionate about and why. Although the above is not a comprehensive list of things to do to identify your passion, but it's a start.
Best of luck!