Select a Career

Let's look at a simple three-step process that'll get you thinking more specifically about your career choices:

Step 1: Get to Know Yourself

Think about your interests, hobbies, special skills, personality traits, and extracurricular activities.

• Do you enjoy the theater? Sports? Collecting comic books? Working at a senior citizens' home?
• Can you write? Draw? Solve complicated math problems in your head?
• Do you work best alone or with a team?
• Are you a problem solver? A creative, "big picture" person? A people person? A number cruncher?
• Do you like to work with computers? Young children?
• Do you want to design the cars of tomorrow? Clothes for the stars? High-tech buildings that are energy efficient?

Step 2: Get to Know Your Career Options

Make a list of the career options that best align themselves with your interests and strengths.

• Do you like to volunteer for service organizations? Maybe you'll want to consider a career in social work.
• Do you like to analyze how things work? Maybe a job in research and development for a large corporation is in the cards.
• Do you like to travel? Maybe a job with a travel agency or an airline would be right for you.
• Are you interested in a career in the military?

There are somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 different occupations in our world today. You don't need to explore all of them, just the ones that interest you.

There's no substitute for learning about what's involved with the day-to-day job responsibilities than hearing it directly from the people who are doing it. How?

• Network with others in the field you're considering.
• Check out industry blogs and participate in online forums.
• Attend industry forums and trade shows.
• Conduct informational interviews or "shadow" individuals working in the area you'd like to.

Step 3: Get Off the Fence (Make a Decision)

It's time to choose. Or, at least narrow down you choices.

• Go with the decision that seems best, based on your careful planning and research.
• Many people change careers between five and eight times over the course of their working lives.
• No one major will prepare you for every job you may ultimately have.