How to Find Your Career Path
From an early age, most of us wonder who we want to be “when we grow up,” as if we all should have some single career goal that we have been working towards our entire life. Unfortunately, this is a little tricky. And, unlike previous generations, many people do not take up work immediately after graduating from high school and college and then stay on until they retire. We are encouraged to find our “career path” – whatever that means – and follow it, but where do we start? Here are some ideas.
Think about what inspires you.
This is the first obvious step – we all want to have fun and really love our careers . (Perhaps the biggest sign that you’re on the wrong track is that you’re afraid to talk about your job.) While passion isn’t the only requirement for being happy with your career, many will say it’s still is necessary , if only because passion is what will help you get through difficult times. You can also ask yourself if there is a job that you would like to get for free .
Remember what you are good at
Maybe you are not very enthusiastic about any particular career, or you like multiple fields of work and cannot choose just one. Then it’s time to reflect on your personality and focus on the skills you have . When in doubt, you can apply “Don’t do what you love. Do what you are ” advice.
Take the test
Well, you say, what if you don’t know what you’re good at or don’t even know what you are interested in? Career assessment tests in college or even high school can help narrow things down (perhaps with the Myers-Briggs personality index … but take that with a grain of salt ), but if it’s been a long time since you’ve taken these tests , there are other types of assessment tests you can take.
This one from Rasmussen College matches your personal skills and interests with a potential job. (And they also have an interactive wage and employment growth chart .) For potential programmers, SwitchUp recommends a career as a programmer based on your preference. There are also collections of other professional tests .
You can also find a career that suits your motivation with this assessment test . While these tests can be helpful, they are not the final stage in your career.
Try an internship
If you have wage flexibility, an internship can be a great way to test an industry or career type – and end up getting a full-time job (especially if you have no previous experience). Even if it doesn’t turn into a job, or you find it is the wrong career for you, an internship can help build your network of contacts where you can get advice on career and work issues. (Not all internships are about just grabbing a coffee. For example, internships at Google , although hard to find, give you real work.)
Find a mentor
A mentor can help you take your career to the next level and give you inside information to help you make sure you’re on the right track. Here’s how to ask someone to mentor you . Once you find a good one, take advantage of everything they have to offer, including advice, connections, and answers to questions about the industry in which they operate.
If there is a career you are already interested in, you can also check to see if any companies or people in that line of work would let them shade for a few days to see what it really is.
Discover an unconventional career
We all know what popular professions are available to us – doctor, lawyer, teacher, computer engineer, police officer, store owner, etc. If you are not inspired by typical decisions, know that there are thousands of unusual jobs that you may not be. heard. – possibly hidden in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Handbook of Occupations .
MoneyWise has a list of 41 dream jobs that pay well (toy maker! Mystery shopper!), Thrillist highlights 17 more (luxury bed testers ?!), and Chron lists a few more .
Ask other people
Perhaps the best way to discover new careers is to ask others about their careers – provided that you are in contact with people who may not all work in the same field. Your LinkedIn network (or other social networking sites, but especially LinkedIn) can be a good place to start looking for information. Also, keep in mind that your local library reference librarian can recommend career resources.
Use the formula G + P + V
The ideal career path for you is likely to fit the G + P + V formula , which stands for Gifts + Passion + Values. Think about your strengths and passions, as we noted above, and your values - what is non-negotiable in the way you work?
Make a career plan
As with most things, your career will benefit if you have the right goals and plan. Maybe you think you want to be a writer, but the next step after that is editing. (Do you really want to do this?) Or maybe you want to go from editor to restaurant owner. (How are you going to get there?) Map out where you want to go, with specific milestones, as if it were a four-step project .
See your career as a stepping stone, not a linear path.
Of course, all these plans and ideas are never set in stone. Also, keep in mind that you can start very excited about a certain career and then fall out of love with it. If that happens, there are ways to get new inspiration at work .
Above all, remember that your career is a marathon, not a sprint, and it can turn out to be a very winding path that can be combined from all your experience into a hopefully rewarding career .
This story was originally published in August 2014 and was updated on February 4, 2021 as per Lifehacker’s style guidelines.