It is not easy to choose a career. Often in life, a career chooses you. You can choose a course of study and pursue your interests but often there are no jobs in the field that you have chosen. Today people have several careers in their lifetime dictated by what jobs were available, their financial needs, and what they can envision themselves doing.
Educational Preparation
Choosing a career is much easier if the proper educational background is laid early. If you are one of the lucky people who know what they want to pursue in life you can make the right educational decisions. Otherwise, students need to be aware that the courses they take as well as how rigorous those courses are have long term consequences for where they could go in the future.
Studies find college students may not be prepared for the careers they want to pursue. And educators should make students aware of what careers are available and what courses they need to prepare for those jobs but often they do not. Students today are most prepared for English and social sciences, but much less prepared for science and math where the jobs are.
Career Aptitude Tests
You can explore career aptitude tests to choose a career. Testing is entertaining and can be revealing. The tests use a series of questions about your interests, about your style of working, and how you interact with other people. Remember, when taking a career aptitude test, it's important to be as honest as possible to get a true reading.
By answering the questions, a career aptitude test can help you figure out your natural preferences and strengths. Aptitude tests then try to match these preferences and strengths with a large database of careers. An assessment test can’t guarantee the perfect career - but it can be a wonderful tool to use to narrow down your choices or open up avenues you might never have thought to explore!
Ability, Skills, and Interests
Many test are available for self discovery on the internet. They test your abilities and skills, as well as interests and personality traits, if you are unclear about your direction try some of these tests.
Abilities are hard-wired in each of us at birth. They mature and can be measured after the age of fourteen. They are different from skills, which are developed through practice and experience. An individual who knows their unique abilities is better equipped to achieve happiness and satisfaction in their work and in their relations with others.
Where are the jobs today?
According to recent studies by the Department of Labor, professional and business services and health care and social assistance are expected to have the largest employment growth from 2008 to 2018.
They say that professional and business services will add 4.2 million jobs over that 10-year period while health care will increase its employment by 4 million.
Within professional and business services, consulting, computer systems design and employment services will have the most growth.
In the health care and social assistance and casino industry, the top gainers are home health care, services for the elderly and those with disabilities, nursing care facilities and employment in offices of physicians.
In conclusion
If your interest, abilities, education and skills line up with the needs in the job market then you will have a great career! If like most people they do not line up, do not despair. Most people do what they need to in order to support their family and find a career while doing their current job to the best of their ability. If you look, there are educational programs, on the job training programs and jobs that people never thought about that will come into being as the world changes. You might even create your own.
