A career is an individual’s life path in the professional space. Many people choose to pursue a career due to its potential benefits, such as gaining greater knowledge and expertise, carrying more responsibility, or earning larger salaries.
Discovering a suitable career can be time-consuming, and your profession is likely to evolve throughout your lifetime. You may find yourself altering roles or sectors as you pursue different passions, ambitions, and needs. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey, individuals born between 1957 – 1964 held an average number of 12.4 occupations between 18 – 54 years old!
According to a survey conducted in 2020, the average tenure of an employee is now around four years. Automation, gig employment, and underemployment are all factors driving this change, signifying that careers must adapt in order to stay relevant.
Struggling to decide on the right career path for you? We’ve got your back! Check out our list of effective tools and questions that will help structure your thought process, giving you clarity about which careers are best suited to achieving your goals.
Investing one-third of your life working is no small commitment, so it’s essential to find a career that aligns with who you are and what you want. To begin the process, start by exploring yourself, your aspirations, and how these fit into the larger picture of work. Utilize this list to get started!
Take a critical look at yourself.
Are you looking for a job that makes the most of your strengths and values? Finding an occupation that doesn’t just fulfill you financially but leaves you recharged and enthralled is not only possible – it’s attainable! Consider these queries about yourself:
- What do I love doing?
- What matters to me most in life?
- Who am I uniquely designed to be around people, tasks, or hobbies?
Knowing how you would answer those questions can help guide decisions on what career path may bring out the best in who you are. Pursuing your passion might lead to great things—but understanding where your interests lie will yield more tangible results.
Consider your reasons and motivations.
After making a list about yourself, focus on understanding what motivates you to work. Would you rather have an occupation that provides more freedom and flexibility, allowing you to work from any location? Or maybe one with a better entry-level salary than most alternatives? It’s essential to recognize your priorities since not all jobs will fit perfectly in line with everything you want. See below for an example of how someone might organize their own priority list and consider creating yours as well!
- Salary
- Autonomy
- Benefits
- Work/life balance
- Career growth
- Flexibility
Visualize your long-term objectives.
Picture your ideal life – what does it look like? Jot down both professional and personal ambitions to understand what you may need to do in order to reach them. Do you crave a promotion from the managerial level up to an executive role within a firm? Is buying property on your long-term list of aspirations?
When dreaming of traveling, are weekly journeys something that makes sense for you or more occasional trips away from home that pique your interest? Get creative with what kind of lifestyle aligns best with who you want to be!
Creating a list of your goals can help you focus your job search and make it more tailored to the future. For instance, if you plan to continue working within the same field in 10 years’ time, take some time to explore which industries are likely to expand over that period, as well as those sectors that may be less desirable due to advancing technology or other external influences.
Gauge your abilities and aptitudes.
If you’re looking to gain a better understanding of yourself, there are a variety of tests available for evaluating your personality, strengths, and even potential career paths. Although it’s important not to rely too heavily on such tests as the answers they provide can be overly limiting or prescriptive.
Instead, use them as an opportunity to delve into deeper self-reflection in order to compile a complete picture of who you are and what motivates you. When applicable, be sure to take advantage of any helpful insights that these assessments may have revealed about yourself.
Delve into industries.
Aside from sectors, researching various industries can be a beneficial way to identify which ones could potentially fit you best. Check out existing fields and consider if any of them appear worth looking into further (for example, some common American industries are energy-related businesses, consumer goods companies, as well as media and entertainment organizations).
Jot down those that interest you the most, then pursue more research for information about major roles available in these areas, career paths they offer, and predicted growth opportunities.
Leverage professional guidance to take your goals and ambitions to the next level.
To gain direction and clarity on your career path, you can consult a vast array of guidance materials in addition to processing the areas mentioned above.
If you’re in college, make sure to take advantage of all the career resources your university or college offers. A counselor or advisor trained and experienced in helping students-turned-professionals transition from school to their chosen field can be immensely helpful for you during this crucial time.
Conclusion
Finding a career that perfectly suits you can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. From understanding yourself better and deciding on the kind of lifestyle you’d like to live through researching industries and taking advantage of helpful guidance resources – a solid foundation will help make this journey much more accessible. Follow the steps above to begin narrowing down your possibilities and discover what best works for you!
