How do you pick a career path? It’s a loaded question, with answers that can be simple or complicated, and, at the end of the day, individual — just like you.
There seems to be three interconnected buckets that help determine how we pick a career, and we all fall into each of these buckets at some point in our lives:
- Natural talent
- Passion
- Process of elimination
Natural talent:
We all have talents. Embrace this as a fact; because it is true. If you don’t embrace it, call your mother or your best friend. Now, see if you can name a few of your own, make a list and think about how your talents would shine in any given career choice.
Passion:
Everyone says; “If you don’t love what you do, then what is the point?” It is a time-honored truism; you will spend more time at work than anywhere else, so make sure you love what you do while you are there.
Now granted, there are some people who are fortunate enough to know what they “love” early on. Good for them! But that is not the case for everyone. So, just like we all have a talent, we also all have a passion or at the very least something we really like to do. Identify those things, and keep them close while you consider your career choices. Seriously, this is a really important bucket. Don’t discount the fact that you have a lot of things you like to do, because there is a long list. And don’t discount how often we hear that “happy people” do what they love. It’s like a broken record, so play it in your head, over and over until you get it.
Process of elimination – not just for test taking!
So what do you do if you still can’t seem to embrace that much-touted natural talent everyone raves about and still don’t know what your passion is? Gravitate to what you like (see Passion Bucket) try things out, and simply cut the things that don’t fit. Keep in mind, it is common for people to start a career and have it lead into something altogether different, so why limit your “starts” in the first place? Repeat, try things out! Volunteer, apply for internships, job shadow, do whatever you can to test the waters. The fact is there are lots of opportunities out there to experience just about any career before committing. Take advantage of those opportunities and try a few things on for size. At the very least, you will learn something new and possibly make a friend.
Now, tie it all together and add a dose of practicality, because someone has to pay the bills, and that someone is likely you. It is time to research. Take your buckets, see what career paths start to bubble to the top and find out everything you can about them.
- What are the requirements (college degree, training, experience) for those jobs?
- What are the trends for those jobs in the future?
- What are the typical salaries for those jobs, starting, middle and end?
- Where are the jobs geographically?
- Do you know anyone in the career you can interview? Can you find someone?
The list of questions depends on your individual situation — go back to leading statement of this post.
How do you pick a career path? It’s a loaded question, with answers that can be simple or complicated, and, at the end of the day, individual, just like you.
One last note to stick in your pocket as you embark on your career quest: you can always change your mind. They say people change careers an average of three to five times in a lifetime. So don’t get stuck thinking you will get stuck. And remember to check your buckets regularly because you never know when you might have something new to research.