Choosing a career
Choosing the Right Career, Degree or Course
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
When deciding what courses and career to choose (at whichever age!), it is important to consider motivation, ability and personality....what you want to do and what you can do (and whether you will fit in). This includes consideration of desired lifestyle and location besides where natural talents and abilities lie. To ensure maximum fulfillment, enthusiasm and drive in your career, thorough consideration of interests, values, ambition, and potential motivators and incentives is necessary. Are current goals and rewards really those favoured by you, or are they actually your teachers', parents' or peers'? What drives you as a person? What do you enjoy doing? What do you really want out of life?
What motivates you?
While interests tend to be broadly established by one's twenties, other needs may be dictated by external factors, such as financial requirements, or a preference to live in a certain area. Values, such as a wish to 'give something back', or a need for 'greater life-work balance' can often develop later in life, perhaps on having a family. It is frequently assumed that all people are motivated by money, but some individuals would prefer a lower paid position, which is interesting and stimulating to one which is very lucrative yet mundane repetitive and boring. Then again, not everyone seeks promotion and the headache/challenge of responsibility. This needs to be explored (bearing in mind that interests and personality will change and develop with time).
What strengths and talents do you have?
A person's ability to perform a task further depends on natural talents and aptitudes, education and learned skills. Look for evidence of capability (e.g. demonstrated technical, communication, visual or logical problem solving skills). If not employing psychometric measurement, (many schools have unused and therefore wasted data on students' scores in verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning), clues regarding aptitudes can often be gleaned from your academic grades, plus individuals tend to like activities for which they have natural talent. What subjects had the best grades - what do these have in common? What comes most naturally - verbal, numerical, logical or visual/practical tasks? What additional knowledge, skills and experience, perhaps from outside school do you have on which to capitalise? Are there as yet undiscovered talents? Think compared to peers as well as relative talents for you. Look for occupational matches and consider whether a traditional academic or more vocational route would suit you best.
How much of your success is down to liking the subject or teacher? It is surprising how often one finds that individuals, through sheer determination and training, have proven successful against the odds. Think how much more comfortable and easy it would be if building on natural talents!
What are the implications of personality factors?
Your personality will also have major implications regarding type of career: should you be dealing with people or with things (e.g. if you are a strong scientist you could be either a doctor or an engineer); ought you to be working with facts or with subjective subject matter (e.g. being talented with words could be useful in both law and journalism); and are you best placed in a maintenance or change-oriented position (e.g. if strong numerically are you the accountant/credit controller or the operational researcher)?
Temperament has implications regarding role: do you have leadership ability or are you a team member/support type; or perhaps you are better suited to being an independent adviser or consultant? The possible level or seniority will depend to some extent on ambition, drive, aptitude and experience, but personality and ability/desire to multi-task and handle pressure and responsibility should be considered too.
Individuals can further have a personality mismatch with the organisation. Some thrive on the structure and bureaucracy of a large organisation and cannot cope with a dynamic, unstructured and unpredictable small firm. Some suit non-commercial rather than business settings. Yet others would be best suited to self-employment.
What strengths do you have in terms of personal qualities, behavioural traits and interpersonal skills? What could be considered a weakness? Turn this around - where could this trait in fact be considered a strength (e.g. a night watchman may not need to be outgoing and good with people)?
However, it is important to remember that personality factors do change with time and can be situational. If one has fallen out with peers, one may appear temporarily rather withdrawn. Stress can stem from a temperamental predisposition, but can also be externally evoked; if stressed, a person may be impatient, irritable and bullying to others, but reversed, an aggressive style can also contribute to problems for the dictator (who may have to face other's rebellion and obstructive behaviour)! Thought needs to be given to your usual behavioural responses, which admittedly can be different at school, at home and out with friends etc. - who actually are you? Matching your personal style to the career type, level, role and organisation can enable you to be who you really are at work too, rather than straining to simply play the part every day.
It helps to view a career as a journey rather than end in itself!
Choosing a career is a complex business which many people find scary and perplexing. So many people are held back from their dream careers through fear of failure. Others 'fall into something' and remain stuck in that rut for years. Fortunately, a 'career for life' is a thing of the past, and most people these days feel they owe it to themselves to fulfill their potential and to be the best and happiest they can be, even if this means changing careers as they grow and develop. To be satisfied and successful at work (which obviously takes up an enormous proportion of life), you will clearly need to invest in some serious self-analysis, meditation and research. Professional career consultancy with a qualified psychologist employing psychometric measures is best, but if funds are limited, try the 'career bible', 'What Color is Your Parachute?' Ten Speed Press.
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