A guide to choosing a career

Making a career choice is one of the hardest decisions a person must make. It could heavily influence a person's future. How do you know which career is worth pursuing if you don't know or you can't decide what to do? Before choosing a career, spend some time evaluating your options to find the best job for you.

Evaluate yourself

Identify your talents, skills and values. This will enable you to determine careers that are suitable and not suitable for you. You can examine other people who have the same traits to see the type of work that they do. Moreover, consider the things that you are interested in doing. List down the reasons for why you want to pursue them. If financial gain is the primary consideration for wanting a career, ask yourself if you would be happy in choosing it in the future. You can also use several online tools, such as career tests to help you identify your interests and sample careers that match them. Though these quizzes can't tell you what your perfect career would be, they could help you find out your personality and where you could fit.

Research different career paths

After evaluating yourself, research on the types of careers that are suitable for you. Make a list of the best jobs that are appropriate for your talents and skills and also interest you. To further narrow down your career choices, look at the educational and skill requirements for the job, the possible advancement opportunities, income range, stability of the position, location of the workplace and working environment. Talking to someone already working in the career you are considering can also guide you and give you a preview of what is expected of the roles are specifically entailed in the job.

Train for your chosen career

If you are committed to pursuing a new career, invest your time and effort into training for your chosen career. Earning a degree and taking trainings related to what you want to do is the logical step to beginning your career. Identify the qualifications and skills that you need and make a plan on how you can acquire them. If you want to make some career changes, doing internships, attending trainings and taking additional courses could prepare you for making the changes possible. The acquired knowledge and skills from the field is just as important as the educational attainment for experienced professionals when they are considered for a new job. Make a career plan indicating where you want to go in your chosen career and how you can get there. Having a clear plan can help you stay focused on your goal of finding a job which best fits you.