Choosing a career is tough because
you are being asked to make a decision that affects the rest of your
life when you most likely don't have enough information. This
paragraph is devoted to giving you helpful tips for gathering the key
information for making this key decision. Remember you will probably
change your mind several times, but the sooner you figure out what you
want to be, the sooner you can begin working towards your goal. Think
about this, Tiger Woods started playing gold when he was three. The
Williams sisters were literally playing tennis as soon as they could
walk. The key is to figure out what you want to do, and then get
moving.
Steps to Choosing a Career
- Think about your interests. .
What are your passions? What do you really enjoy doing? Don't worry
if there isn't a career that fits the bill just focus on what you
like. Do you like to debate? Do you like operating equipment or
managing people? What ever you like doing there is a career that
incorporates your interest.
- Think about your strengths. What are you naturally good at? In
teems or clubs are you the one that organizes? Do you have a way with
words? Are the pictures you take better than most peoples? Ask your
friends, family members, teachers and classmates, what they think your
strengths are.
- Explore career possibilities.
Your mission should be to learn about as many careers as possible, so
you can avail yourself to the greatest amount of choices. Perhaps an
accountant may have become a car critic had he known of the profession
when he was making decisions. Maybe you don't want to go into outer
space, but are interested in working in the space program. It would be
your mission to learn about all of the jobs in aerospace. Talk to as
many career professionals as you can to get their perspective and use
online resources like www.4blackyouth.com/careers
- Do a reality check. Are the careers that interest you ones that you
can do? Do you want to be a basketball center but are only 5' 2"
tall. Are you interested in a career that requires skills that you do
not have. Are you terrible and math and have low test scores in that
area, but want to pursue a career like aerospace engineering that
requires the mastery of the highest levels of math? Is the career
field that you are interested in a growth or dieing occupation?
- Consider the life.
Once you have honed in on a few careers that meet your needs, think
about the lifestyle that the careers will provide you. You may love
the idea of helping people and everything that being a doctor entails,
but may not be able to stomach the sacrificial years of schooling or
the schedules that are often challenging to family life. Perhaps you
want to be a pilot, but dislike the constant travel. When you find
these dilemmas where you like the job, but not the lifestyle don't give
up. You may need to dig deeper. In the above example for the pilot,
you might pursue areas of piloting that don't require extensive time
away from home, like flight instructing, helicopter flying. Dig deep.
If you are like most people, you will
probably have to work most of your life. If you find something that
you love to do work will be a joy and not a chore as it is for so many
people who have picked the wrong career.