How Do I Choose A Career That’s Right For Me?

As the old saying goes, “find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” As the average person will spend about 100,000 hours of their life working (roughly 12 straight years), or more, it’s important to find work that you enjoy, feel good about and that challenges you in a good way. In this article we’ll walk you through some initial steps toward finding such a career for yourself.

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JOB AND A CAREER

You’ll likely have many jobs, and the estimated average of about 5-7 careers in your lifetime. So what’s the difference between a job and a career?

In general, a job is something you can do short-term or just for a couple of years to get yourself financially stable. Many people hold jobs over the long-term too. The primary goal of a job is to earn money. “At least it’s a paycheck,” you might tell yourself. There are fewer obstacles to getting a job since often there is no special training or education required. 

A career, on the other hand, is usually something you know you’re in for the long-haul. It’s work, a cause or an experience that you’re dedicated to because it aligns with your values or gives you satisfaction in addition to a paycheck. Having a career usually entails getting specific training or education, though not always, and there’s more room for professional growth across the span of your career than there usually is in a job. Careers often fall into categories, or groups of jobs that have overlapping themes or interests.

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GET TO KNOW YOURSELF

The journey to success in any area of life starts with identifying your personal values. Your personal values are your core beliefs and guiding principles shaping the roles you play, your interests and passions, and frame your thoughts and words. In essence, your values are a compass that help you make decisions and choices.

Read this article, Six Steps to Discover Your Core Values and take notes for yourself.

Another way to identify your values is to take a self-assessment survey. While these surveys are a helpful (and often entertaining) way to see yourself in a fresh light, it’s important to know that you don’t have to fit into the box the survey wants to put you in.

University of British Columbia created a core values downloadable worksheet to help you. Let us know what you think and what values you identified.

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CONNECT YOUR VALUES AND INTERESTS TO CAREERS

Once you understand your personal and cultural values, you can begin to connect them to your interests. From there, it’s a short step to identifying careers that incorporate or compliment your values and interests. Some ideas to narrow in on career-related interests include:

  • Take this Career Cluster Interest Survey, to identify career clusters (groups of jobs that have overlapping themes or interests) you might enjoy exploring. This survey asks you to rate the activities you enjoy, your personal qualities, and school subjects you like;

  • The Career Bridge Survey, takes into account the activities you like to do, your personality traits and subjects that interest you. The automated results rate 16 different career clusters from best to worst fit based on these factors;

  • Explore internships (learning while getting paid for a limited amount of time on the job) or job shadowing (visiting a business for a day or a week) opportunities to get a sense of what you might enjoy doing;

  • Ask a trusted relative or elder for advice and reflection. Listen to what they think you’d be good at or enjoy;

  • Attend job fairs and internship fairs to learn about different jobs and careers;

  • Explore current job trends.

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In this 8-minute video, Dr. Tapiwa Chiwewe explains how NOT being an expert can help you creatively solve problems. While you're watching, think about how your values and curiosities might guide you to creatively solve problems in different employment fields.

ASK FOR HELP

Your instructors serve as valuable resources when it comes to career exploration. Talk to your instructors about your career goals and share your interests with them. They can serve as great mentors and can help you learn more about different occupations and industry requirements within particular fields. They may be directly connected to the industry they teach about and can help you get connected to opportunities.

Your work experiences and life circumstances will undoubtedly change throughout the course of your professional life, so you may need to go back and reassess where you are on this path in the future. No matter if you feel like you were born knowing what you want to do professionally, or you feel totally unsure about what the future may hold, you can find a career that feels rewarding and helps you achieve your goals.

Members of MHA Nation can also request to be paired with a mentor through MHA Education Pathways. This program connects MHA members to mentors who can help them navigate higher education, vocational training and career development.

CAREER SEARCH RESOURCES

  • Taking Control of Your Future , an activity designed to help you assess where you are, where you want to be and the basic steps you can take today to help you get there;

  • Build Your Future, this website can help you determine which career in construction may be right for you. Options include: architect, carpenter, concrete finisher, electrician, heavy equipment operator, mason, plumber, project manager, and welder; 

  • What Is The Difference Between A Job And A Career?

  • How To Make A Career Choice When You Are Undecided;

  • Do What You Love! How To Identify And Pursue Your Passions;

  • O*Net Online has a comprehensive database of career and job information including Bureau of Labor Statistics information on growing careers, salary information, and is searchable by location;

  • MyNextMove lets you search for information about hundreds of jobs based on keywords, by industries, or undecided. You can take a quick assessment to obtain a list of possible careers to explore;

  • Road Trip Nation helps you explore your interests and the careers they could lead to. Includes helpful information such as median salaries, job growth rate, typical education level and alternative job titles. (This resource is affiliated with Santa Monica College but you do not need to be affiliated with the college to use it);

  • Workforce Ready offers free certificate programs to help you jumpstart your career with valuable professional skills;

  • Career Coach, is a great job search and resume prep tool from Santa Monica College in California (you do not need to be affiliated with the college to use this tool). You can also take a personality assessment through this link;

  • Candid Career, allows you to select from thousands of video interviews with professionals in a wide variety of careers to learn more about what they do;

  • Think you might like to work for yourself by becoming an entrepreneur or start a small freelance business? Arlan Hamilton, who built a venture capital fund from the ground up– while homeless (!!!)-- has some fantastic resources for you.

job readinessDyana Valentinejob search, job ready, careerComment