When you are still in secondary school, choosing a career path can feel scary and overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. Even though adulthood and working life may seem far away, the decisions you make now can shape your future in powerful ways.
Since a large part of your adult life will be spent working, it is important to begin thinking early about the kind of career that truly suits you. Choosing a field you enjoy and feel passionate about will make studying, practising, and growing in that career both meaningful and rewarding.
These are some key points to keep in mind as you make your choice;
1. Examine Yourself:
You are the one who is going to need to study and do the work; therefore, it is extremely important that you understand your strengths and weaknesses in various areas in life.
You need to know;
Your Interests and Passions;
You need to think about the things you naturally enjoy doing and the subjects you enjoy studying. Do you naturally love dealing with numbers and like solving maths or physics problems? Do you love agricultural science and the outdoor activities involved? Or maybe you are more creative, you love creating various artworks or enjoy cooking and planning meals. Whatever your interests are, it is valuable to consider that first. Studying and working are both difficult, but “the blow will be softened” when you enjoy what you are doing.
Skills and Strengths;
It is also important to know your skills and where your strengths lie. You need to know which subjects are easy for you and what you naturally excel at. When I say “easy”, I mean you enjoy the subject and get good grades, and even when topics and concepts are complicated, you are able to research, practise, and study, and you excel. You need to be aware of the subjects you are generally knowledgeable about. Maybe you are good with computers and understand various concepts in technology – this could mean software development or computer engineering are good career fields for you, or maybe you know a lot about the human body and how it functions – this could mean you would like to go into medicine. Whatever your skills and strengths are, make sure you find them. Everyone has areas they excel!
Values and Beliefs;
Essentially, you need to think about your values. Do you want to earn a large salary? Do you want to serve people or your community? Do you want flexible work hours or a more strict schedule? Are you open to travelling whenever your job demands it? You must know what you are comfortable with, so you choose and pursue a career field that suits you.
If your religious practices and customs are important to you, you need to choose a career field that does not compromise your religious beliefs and practices.
2. Your Options:
Now that you have some personal information to work with, you need to find out what job titles are out there. When you find job titles you are interested in, you need to know the courses you can study at University to apply for those jobs.
After finding the courses you can study that suit your chosen career field, you need to know the subjects you need to be good at and the grades you need to make to apply for those courses. You also need to know the tuition and other expenses, so you can find out if it is affordable for parents or guardians. All this would provide a lot of information, so you know and understand your options.
3. Your Job Prospects and Outlook:
Over the years, some careers die out while others come into existence and bloom. Jobs in the digital and IT/Technology fields are on the rise; there are so many options from marketing to engineering to building networking infrastructure. Jobs in these fields are blooming right now and not slowing down in the foreseeable future.
It is important that you research the trends and demands for your chosen career field to avoid investing in a career that may not be in demand in the future.
4. Your Potential Salary:
You must also consider financial stability and earning potential when choosing a career. Yes, it is nice to do what you love, but it is very important that you choose a career that can support the lifestyle you want.
You should research to find out the average salary for the career(s) you are considering, and compare the salary to the general cost of living in your area or the area you would like to live in in the future. As an adult, there are always bills to pay! So you need to make sure you can afford to pay your bills with the salary of your chosen career.
5. Work-Life Balance:
Work-life balance is the division of one’s time and focus between working and family or leisure activities. Different careers have different requirements; some careers require long work hours, such as nursing or careers in the hospitality industry. While other careers require you to travel, this could be within your city or outside your country or even your continent.
You need to ensure you choose a career where you are comfortable with the demands and still have the time (and sanity) for whatever is important to you outside of work, such as your family, friends and whatever (healthy) activities you enjoy.
If you go through these factors and give each one careful consideration, you will be able to choose a career path that is just right for YOU!
