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How do you find the occupation that is right for you?

This may seem like a very simple question to answer, or it may be one of the most difficult and challenging problems you will ever face in your life.   If someone were to offer you $10,000, do you truthfully believe you could invest it wisely?   How would your values affect your buying decisions?   Where would you use the money?  Can you visualize yourself spending it on that new car, or putting it in the bank for your future educational expenses?  Your "time" is like that $10,000.  How you spend it will be your investment in your own future.  Four years of high school will prepare you for, college, military service, the world of work or Career College.  Your career decision is a serious one that takes 4 years in its development.  High school is not the end, but the beginning.

The Process of figuring it out!

If you look at deciding and choosing a career as a problem to be solved, you will find there are many solutions. One potential solution is to ask friends, guardians or other people in your life.  You could take tests to evaluate your values and skills. You could apprentice or job shadow. Another potential solution is to look at data to reveal where the jobs are and what sorts of things will be needed in the future. One of the best ways to solve this problem is to visualize yourself in your future career.  You may find your individual solution; however, the following scenario could start you on your way.

One Possible Solution

The first thing to do is to consider the potential careers that are open to you.  Think of yourself as being in an Italian bakery, and it has many desserts that you have never tried before.  You are standing in the beginning of your life, and looking at all the careers before you.  Which option is right for you?  You must choose, but how do you know.  How do you actually know which direction is the best path for your future.

Random Choice

Let's assume you search two thousand careers and you select 100 careers that seem right for you. These 100 careers now represent your values and beliefs.  It is necessary to narrow these 100 careers down to just 10 so you can completely research and evaluate them.  After you have considered such things as salary, job benefits, working conditions, health plans; you should narrow these down to just three.   Now you need to do some more in-depth research on these three. 

Contact and Interviews  

After you have researched these three careers, it is recommended that you contact someone in each one of your potential careers for an interview.   Develop your questions for the interviews from the facts and research you have conducted.  If you go into an interview with no preparation, your question might be one like this: "What kind of money do you make?"  Now that you have done your research, your question may be something like this: "I understand you can make between $50,000 and $75,000 in this field.  What kind of salary can I expect in this area?" 

Time for the Decision

After all of your research and interviews, you are now ready to make your decision.  Visualize yourself in your future career.  Dream a little bit and imagine yourself in one of these future careers.  What does it feel like?  What do you visualize yourself doing, and becoming?  What would your friends and family think of this career?  When you think of some of the difficult things in this career, can you ultimately overcome these and live with them for the rest of your life?  Are the people in your chosen career, the kind of people you want to be around for the rest of your life?  If the answers to most of these questions are "yes", then you will know: this is the right career for you and you think you.

This page contains important information that can help students with career choices.  If additional sources are needed, refer to the “Career” menu at the top of this page.  

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions a young person can make. This page contains some of the very best sites for discovering career choices available, financial aid , as well as college and technical career information.

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