5 things to consider before choosing a career

Your career can affect your life in both ways— right and wrong. It impacts your income, living style, family aspirations, personal fulfillment, old age, and retirement. Therefore, choosing a career is one moment in your life that requires your utmost involvement and consideration. 

You cannot choose a career solely because someone said or forced you to choose. You must never let others’ opinions and aspirations influence what you want to become and experience. Ultimately, you will live with your career choice for a significant part of your life, so choose wisely. 

If you are at an intersection in your life where choosing a career is upon you, don’t miss this article. In this article, we outline tips that you must consider when choosing a career that you feel like getting into.

Your interests 

What you prefer to do in your spare time can also determine your career. Consider asking yourself the following questions to figure out your interests.

• What do I like to do in my free time?
• What hobbies do I enjoy?
• Do I like to spend time around people and rally support for them? Or is it books that inspire me the most?
• What would I miss the most if I didn’t get the time to do it?
• Am I interested in listening to people’s stories and like to relieve their pain?

If you can answer these questions, you will find your career idea. For instance, nursing can be one consideration if you like helping people. You can enroll in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Online or on-campus program if you fulfill the course’s admission requirement. Similarly, social work can be a career choice if you like to be a part of the change in society. 

Your values

We all have values we try to adhere to in our personal and professional life. What values do you hold? How do you want your life to be? Think about your values.

Is it work-life balance, honesty and integrity, financial independence and security, or social justice? 

If financial independence is your priority, you must be inclined to get into a career that pays really well. And if you value work-life balance, consider a career where you are generally not required to do overtime. 

Your personality

Your personality refers to your individual pattern of thinking, behaving, and feeling. How you feel and behave can help you decide your career. Therefore, consider several facets of your personality before deciding on your career. Consider the following:

• Are you a team player, or do you work alone?
• Do you follow or lead?
• Are you collaborative or competitive?
• Do you take the lead in idea generation or prefer to be part of the action?
• Do you empower others to do their own work or help others?
• Are you organized and structured or creative and artistic?

The above mentioned are some ways your personality displays itself to the outside world. If you are creative, IT, art and design, fashion, etc., might be suitable for your career. On the contrary, teaching can be an option if you are organized and go by structures. 

Your skills

Another aspect is to think about the skills you possess right now. Everyone has some skills regardless of whether these skills are properly utilized or not. You can characterize your skill set in two broad categories: soft skills and hard skills. 

Soft skills: Soft skills include communication skills, customer service, cultural awareness, organization skills, networking skills, leadership ability, critical thinking, and analytical skills. 

Hard skills: Computer programing, financial analysis, culinary arts, payroll, compensation, etc., are some of the hard skills.  

Some people emphasize more on hard skills gained through education and formal learning processes. But soft skills are as, if not more, necessary for career choice and success as hard skills. Therefore, you must appraise both of them. 

If you wish to have a career that does not match your skills, there is a way around it too. You can develop both soft and hard skills through learning. 

For instance, if you have a management degree but now want to go into culinary arts, you can opt for short culinary courses or become an apprentice of a chef. So, don’t let a lack of skills get in your way of pursuing your dream career. 

Job prospects

Besides your skillset and interests, you also have to consider the job availability. Update yourself about the jobs available in the industry of your chosen career. 

Also, consider the lifespan of the available jobs. Does your field characterize jobs that might make you obsolete in a few years because of technology? If yes, then you must choose a career that has better prospects and offers you job security. 

Conclusion

Choosing a career is an important decision in your life. Spend some time discerning various aspects affecting this decision. Consider your interests, goals, aspirations, personality, job security, skills, education, etc., before finalizing a career path. After considering all the aspects mentioned in this article, we hope you will have some clarity about your aspirations and goals.