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Choosing your career is arguably the biggest moment in your life. It’s a decision that can shape the rest of your life and deem how you spend each and every day after you’ve made the decision. There are many people out there that choose one career and then switch to another one at some point in their life. They’ll move between various jobs before finally finding something that they enjoy enough to stick with.
Generally speaking, there’s nothing wrong with living your life this way and trying out different careers until you find your dream job. The only problem is that you can spend years of your life doing things that you don’t enjoy and limit the time you have working in a job you do enjoy. So, it helps when you can choose the right career from the start. That’s what this blog post is all about, you’re going to learn so much that will help you make the right career choice. Regardless of whether you’re a student who’s 16 and getting ready to pick their subjects and consider what universities they want to join or an adult who’s had a job but wants a change. Everything in this post will help you choose the right path for you.
Make yourself a cup of tea/coffee, sit in a comfortable chair, and start reading this amazing guide:
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Degree or No Degree?
We start things off with an age-old question, degree or no degree? In modern times, there’s often a big argument between two different groups of people. You have your academics that preach about degrees and tell students they need to go to University of they won’t find a good job. Then, you have others who have found success without a degree and say there’s not as big an emphasis on educational qualifications as academics think. I find that the debate surrounding degrees and university is almost always the cause of many wrong career choices.
The problem is that many kids will go to university and choose a course that they’re not really passionate about. They just choose to go because they feel pressure from their teachers and parents as it’s seen as the right thing to do. So, they go to uni and get a degree in a course that doesn’t excite them and could leave them in no better position to get a job than before. The result is that they’re looking for work and will often go for a job they could’ve got without a degree just so some money is coming in. This is what sets people on the path of jumping between jobs before finding their true passion.
The whole point of this section is to tell you that you don’t technically need a degree to get a good job. If you’re in school and don’t know what to do, then don’t apply for uni ‘just because.’ It could benefit you to take some time out and go on a gap year to try and find what you enjoy the most.
However, I also want to say that there are plenty of jobs where you do need a degree. These tend to be very technical jobs that you need proper education to perform – like many healthcare jobs. To find out if you need a degree or not, you just have to do the research. Go on job seeking websites and type in the careers you’re interested in. If every job says you need a degree, then you can’t avoid university. But, if you find that a degree isn’t essential, don’t waste your time studying, get work experience and get into your chosen field as quickly as possible.
Figure Out What You’re Passionate About
Enjoying your career is a lot easier when you’re good at what you do. Let me rephrase that, it’s a lot easier when you’re good at what you do and passionate about it too. There are millions of people out there that get stuck in jobs they hate. But, they grind it out and force themselves to work because they need the money. Eventually, they move on to another job they don’t like, and this cycle can continue all their lives. There are many people out there that spend their life working in careers that they don’t enjoy and aren’t passionate about. Then, there are millions of people who are passionate about their careers and love going to work every day.
A big part of choosing the right career is figuring out what you’re passionate about. It helps if you figure this out from a young age, as it makes your life a lot easier. If you know what you’re true passion is when you’re a student, then it almost shapes your life for you. You’ll know if your passion demands a degree or not and can look at gaining work experience, etc. But, if you don’t know your passion when you’re young then don’t worry. A good way to figure it out is to make a list of things you like doing. What are your biggest interests, and what do you think makes you the way you are? You’ll jot down many things, and then you can see a correlation between everything. You might see that you love helping people, you care about health and you spend a lot of your time looking after your siblings and ensuring they’re okay. In which case, you could be passionate about healthcare careers and start looking at nursing, HCA, and midwife jobs. Or, you may find that you’re creative, you love drawing, and you spend a lot of time on your computer messing around with software. In which case, you could be passionate about a web-related career and look for jobs in graphic design, web development, and networking.
Different people have different passions, don’t let anyone tell you your passion is worthless. This is something a lot of creative people have to deal with from parents and people of authority. If you express an interest in design or something creative, you’re often met with people telling you to get a real job, and there’s no future in that industry. Don’t listen to them. If you’re passionate about your job, then you’re more likely to be good at it. When you combine your ability with this passion, it drives you forward, and you’re keen to be the best at what you do. You’ll always find work and have a better chance at being successful if you follow your passion.
As I said at the start of the piece, many people take years before they realise what their dream career is. Usually, when the penny drops and they find the right career, it’s because they’ve figured out what they’re passionate about. Generally, the reason it takes them so long to figure this out if because of another thing I mentioned. They rush into careers and perhaps go to university following something they’re not passionate about. At the end of the day, the earlier you figure out your passion, the better. Having said that, there are probably many people reading this that are in full-time work and don’t like what they’re doing. To you I say; follow the advice I gave and write a list of what excites you and what makes you who you are. Do this as soon as possible, and you can figure out your passion and start thinking about changing careers before it’s too late.
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Research & Experience
The final thing I want to touch upon is research and experience. You can’t underestimate how important these two things are in helping you choose the right career. Research can help you prevent bad decisions. Too many people pick a career without doing any research at all. They just think they’ll like the job, and decide to pursue it. Again, this is so common in kids that are applying for uni. Just pick any course that looks cool and don’t actually research what the course content is and how it can help you get a job – sounds great! Then, you have the people that actually spend hours, sometimes even years, researching their desired careers when they’re young. So, when the time comes, they know what career path to pick and how to get started in it.
Research helps you figure out how you should plan your attack, so to speak. You can find out so much about a career if you just type it into Google or ask people who work in the same career you’re interested in. You can find tips on how to get started and advice on how to get ahead in your desired industry. Likewise, experience is an absolute must. You should go on work experience to get a taste of your desired career. This is a great idea if you have a few career ideas and aren’t sure which is the best for you. Spend a few weeks work experience in different places, and you’ll soon find out if the job is right for you.
If you want to find the right career and enjoy going to work every day, then you should take all of this information on board. Choosing your career isn’t difficult when you know the right way to tackle this big decision.
