Decide The Right Career Field
1. Begin by determining what you like to do.
A lot of people look to others to determine their career paths: teachers,
parents, neighbours, and peers. Think about people you respect and what they do
for work. Take time to map out your wants and to match your skills with skills
that are actively sought within certain fields of work. This will involve a
fair bit of research work but it is well worth it.
2. Identify the
skills you use when you're doing the things you enjoy. Look at the things
you are good at doing already. These will give you a very good indication of
what you are likely to enjoy doing by way of a career. For instance, perhaps
you like being with animals. Already this simple but important enjoyment opens
up a very broad field of work for you that encompasses such possible jobs as
caring for animals, veterinary work, animal advocacy, transporting animals,
calming animals (e.g., horse whispering), making animal clothing and feed
items, running a pet store, etc. Once you have identified a potential field,
you are then ready to match your skills.
3. Think of fields
broadly. A field of work is far more than a single job. It is an area in
which many jobs or trades are possible and you should be able to consider your
training and interests in terms of looking for a career path that will give you
a shot at at least five related types of jobs that are available within that
field. For instance, if you learn engineering, you might consider being an
engineer out in the field (such as oil production), a manager of a site, an office
manager, a trainer of engineering skills and a consultant in engineering. Or,
if you study law, you may want to be a lawyer in a large law firm, a lawyer in
a non-profit organization, a team leader in an office of any type (even
non-law), a manager of a company or a writer of corporate compliance manuals.
Realize that the breadth of the field will be determined in part by the
training you receive and also by your own personal, up-to-date "skills
set", as well as your willingness to try new things and to be retrained.
4. Consider
cross-field work. When working out what you would like to be and what you
will need to study to get to this point, give consideration to the
possibilities involved in crossing fields; for instance, many teachers are good
with word skills and hence make excellent editors and publishers. Think outside
the square your title bestows (or will bestow) upon you.
5. Learn as much as
possible about the qualifications required for fields that interest you. Library,
Internet and direct contact research will be required here. It is also helpful
to ask your school, local community services, university, etc. for assistance
in career choices and development. Your thorough research will help you to
determine quickly which areas you want to study in, as well as the depth of
study required. Dig deep and look at third and fourth year subject/skills
training requirements as well, so that you don't find any nasty surprises
awaiting you, such as additional time or harder skills that do not match your
interests or abilities.
6. Find people who
work in the field and learn from them. Once you have worked out which
specific jobs interest you, speak to those already working in these areas. This
will enable you to hear their suggestions and to ask them what they like and
dislike about the field in which they work. Sometimes you may even have an
opportunity to do some work experience with a place that interests you, to help
you to "get a feel" for the work involved.
7. Evaluate your
choice of field according to your own perceptions and the information you have
gathered. Assess the comments you've received, weigh these up with your
research work and add in your own feelings about your potential career path.
This is now the time to decide whether this career continues to appeal to you.
Do not forget to include the type of lifestyle you would like in the balancing
equation. If you make enormous compromises as to the type of lifestyle that you
ultimately want, you may be unhappy and live to regret this. As such, it is
wise to try and combine your career choice with a lifestyle balance, with minor
or short-term compromises rather than major, long-term ones.
8. Sign up for an
educational or training program in the career of your choice. While
studying, do not neglect to take advantage of networking opportunities and
chances to work in your career field either as a volunteer or in short-term
paid positions. These opportunities will give you the best possible feel for
the work and the types of people in the field that you will be working with. It
will help you to filter out any unneeded areas of study or to take on
additional subjects and skills training that may be of possible use and could
help to extend your horizons.
9. Keep positive.
When you are finally trained and ready to find that dream career, the most
important thing is to maintain a positive outlook about your life and to be
ready for change, difference and shifts in your comfort zones. This is the real
world and it moves rapidly; it is important to keep up with changes and to take
a positive approach by making opportunities out of challenges. However, always
keep what is unique about you because at the end of the day, that is the
special something many employers are looking for while they choose from many
skilled and educated workers available to them.
