The key factors to consider when choosing your career path
Photo by Vojtech Okenka
Finding your dream vocation can be easy or hard depending on where you are, what you want, and how much you are willing to work to get there. Every career is possible for everyone if they are willing to put the hours in and keep moving forward.
What do you like
The first thing you need to think about before choosing a career path is whether you would like to have that profession or not. You cannot just think about going on a certain path just so you can earn the most amount of money, but if you are stressed and depressed while working that job, then all that hard work that you put into it is gone to waste and all that money cannot heal you from all that suffering. What you should know is that if you want to be something, even though you may not like the salary you will be given, you should still think about it hard. So if you want to go for a job as a pastor, mechanic, or gardener, you can do that, just do your best to get the knowledge to do it professionally. You can go to schools that will teach you all the things you need to know; there are even online options for almost any career path that you would choose. For some careers, you do not have to have a degree, you just need to get the knowledge. Nobody will ask a mechanic where his degree is but they will just ask for their expertise. You can go online and learn so much about anything, just be motivated.
Your skillset
Depending on what you know, you can choose many different career paths that you will enjoy. For example, if you know how to code to some degree, then you can develop those skills more, and then you will have many options to choose from because programmers are the most sought-after people today. If you have a particular skill set but it does not align with what you would like to do, you should try to adjust it and create something that can apply to that career path. For example, you may not think that being a good speaker can help you in medicine but that is not the case. Even though you must know the field that you are working in, the skill of talking can be very useful when talking with patients and colleagues. Whatever skill you have now needs to be developed, no matter if you can use it now or not. In the same way that you learned that skill, you can forget it. By developing it regularly, it may someday in the future be of great help to you.
The money
Even though money is not the determining aspect that you need to have in mind, it is an important one. There are many jobs out there that are really well-paid and that you should consider when choosing your path. What we would suggest you do is have in mind what you would like to do and what your skill sets are so that you shoot for the highest-paying jobs that are available in that career path. You do not need to settle for jobs that everybody can do but look for the best way you can climb the ladder and reach the professions with the highest wages. The sooner you start thinking about what you can do to get the edge over the others who are on the same trajectory, the more likely it is that you will achieve it. You should know that with hard work, you will have to let go of many things that you like to do. We would illustrate this through one of the most famous basketball players ever Kobe Bryant. Once he got his NBA contract he could have played back and enjoyed his life but he wanted more. He would wake up at 4 AM and workout on his own and then he would do another session with his teammates. While his teammates were developing at a regular pace, he was developing at twice the speed. Never will talent be better than hard work, keep that in mind.
Is it realistic
We all should shoot for the stars if we are capable of doing that, but for some people, it needs to be said that it is better to shoot low if they do not get their act together. You cannot succeed if you do not put in the necessary work. Why should you waste your money and time pursuing something that you cannot be? You need to wake up and realize that you need to either change now or go through an easier route. The more you continue going the wrong path, the more it will suck you in. The next thing you know you wasted years of your life and have nothing to show for it.
The time
Photo by Yury Kim
You need to realize that to get somewhere, you need to spend time on the journey. So if you want to practice medicine, for example, you have to know that it will take a lot of time and effort before you will be in the ER. If you are not so young anymore, you need to think about whether you have the time to go on a career path. Do not stop halfway and not be able to continue further because you need to do something else now.
Research
You need to find out as much as you can about the path you need to take to come to the end goal and about the career itself. You do not want to be in a situation where once you have spent considerable time learning something, you cannot continue anymore. If you’re training to be a banker, for instance, and you discover that bankers make money by stealing from other people and are incredibly crafty, you’ll either have to abandon everything you’ve been doing or keep doing something you hate.
Without proper dedication and planning, you won’t get to the heights that you desire. Constantly think about ways to improve and stick to your plan and hopefully, you will achieve much more than you planned.