7 Guidelines for choosing a career
By Rabison Shumba
Life is essentially a string of decisions that you make each and every day. One of the greatest decisions you will have to confront is related to what career you will pursue in life. Some people find it very easy to pick on a career and pursue it passionately while there are a number who find themselves in confusion when this decision is due. In a number of instances, after selecting a career, some find themselves having to make an about turn largely because of a feeling that they would have chosen the “wrong” career. The question therefore remains; “What is the best career choice for me?” This is not a question that one should try to answer in one minute. As far back as primary school level, teachers probe school children on what they would like to be when they grow up. At that stage the school children are not as aware of the opportunities that exist in comparison to their secondary or post secondary school counterparts. The answer keeps evolving as awareness and exposure increase in the person’s life.
Below are some guidelines or considerations that one needs to look into in the process of selecting a career. These steps will help you align yourself closer to what you will probably be able to do for much longer without losing interest.
Realize you are in charge – A career decision should never be relegated or delegated to other people. Growing up comes with it the element of taking responsibility for decisions that one makes in life. Other people can recommend, guide, suggest and encourage you based on their own assessment of what you seem to be good at. The decision is entirely yours to make. Once you make that decision you should take responsibility for the consequences that come with it; whether good or bad. You should never find yourself in a place where you have other people to blame for the career path you are pursuing.
Know and align yourself to your purpose – One question that you have to answer in life is “Why am I here?” Purpose is essentially the things you can do for life even if you were not paid to do them. The reason why people hop from career to career is because they would have selected a career based on wrong assumptions such as how much money they can get or how trendy the career is. Take time to search and assess yourself critically. It is important to begin asking yourself this question even while still in school because it has a bearing on what you choose to study or pursue in life. What is the one thing that makes you unique among your peers? Capitalize on your uniqueness. The fact that you could be having a brother who is a happy mechanic does not mean you will be happy when you also become a mechanic.
Increase your awareness and exposure – In life you can never go past your level of awareness. You can increase your awareness by engaging in discussions with those already in the careers you want, reading more around your area of purpose and even travelling to other parts of your country or world. You may have a passion for helping people; by travelling to a hospital ward to speak to a doctor, you may realize that you probably do not want to help them medically but rather through counselling. Awareness helps you to refine your decision on the career you want.
Look beyond the financial benefit – It is good to have a job that gives you a good salary to be able to sustain your desired level of living. However, money should not be the only consideration in your career selection process. Surveys have been done and conclusions made that money does not lead to job satisfaction. What is usually more important is whether you enjoy what you do. Does this entail you converting your hobby to a job? Indeed, in a number of instances many people have managed to enjoy life after making their hobbies their occupations.
Know your capabilities – It is important to understand your capabilities to determine what you really want. List down all the things you know you are capable of doing. It is not enough to simply desire a specific career path while you know that you do not possess the attributes that a critical in that area. Trying to force yourself into a career where your capabilities fall short leads to frustration. For example; are you a capable story teller, are you analytical in your thinking, do you pay attention to detail, do your enjoy working with people? Etc. Asking yourself these questions will point you towards an area you need to pursue.
Be willing to take risks – You will not always step into your ultimate career on first attempt. Sometimes you may misjudge your own purpose or lose passion in a chosen career. It is not wrong to have a career change if you feel that you are in the wrong field altogether. Every career decision has an element of risk. Successful people are those who are willing to still make decisions even though they do not seem to be popular ones. You are not limited to the career choices that your family members have chosen ahead of you. I was among the first few people in my community to venture into computing. It was a new phenomenon and risky but I was willing to make this unpopular subject a career.
Bring solutions to specific problems – One of the common cries from young people is that there are not enough career options to choose from. However, there are as many career options as the number of problems or inconveniences that mankind faces. Instead of always looking for careers that exist, look for problems you can solve with precision and you will create employment for yourself and others who chose to help you. If you are willing to solve a specific problem in your country or community then you probably have chosen a career path in the process.