Choosing a career is often a daunting task for most young people. Where do you see yourself ten years from now? The response to this question posed to young people is often “I don’t know!”. Adults looking back sometimes find their early choices for careers laughable. I wanted to be a ‘dikadee man’ at four years! We tend to gravitate towards what’s before us. Kids need exposure to real life situations to see and experience what people do for a living. It is difficult to see so far into the future. But there are some things you can and should do early in your life to make the right choices for you.
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Talk to teachers, parents, friends, their parents and other adults you encounter. Don’t be afraid to ask them what they do for a living. Ask them why they chose the career they are in. Read the careers section of the newspaper to see what employers are looking for. As you look around, you will notice that many people drift into their careers. Some go from job to job often unhappy with their choice.
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Inability to choose a career often stem from lack of knowledge about choices and what people actually do as a job. Before choosing, gain some exposure. Do some volunteer work, at school, in a hospital, or a business. Ask someone who you think can help to shadow them for a day or so. Observe what people do on their jobs. Which of these you think you would enjoying without getting bored.
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There are literally a myriad of choices for a career. There are high profile jobs in areas like medicine, law, engineering, social work, business, education and many other such categories. There are also the low profile jobs like bus drivers, government workers, counselors and such. Then there is a wide range of out of the ordinary career choices like being an airplane pilot, research scientist, journalist, writer and a host of jobs we hear about but seldom have an opportunity to experience.
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How do you make a choice? Take a look at your strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, what you are good at what you hate. Select a couple areas that you think you might like. Get some initial exposure by volunteering or shadowing. Try some summer work. Sooner or later you will gravitate to something that suits you best.
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Money is important but it should not be the first criteria for choice of career. You should enjoy what you do. People who do no enjoy their jobs, end up being stressed out at an early age.
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Remember, you are where you are because of the choices you made along the way. Choose a path for your career. Choose wisely and consciously. It will give you some direction and goals to aim at.