How Do I Choose My Career Path

Use Proven Career Assessments

How to Choose the Right Career Path in 7 Simple Steps

Choosing a career is a different process for everyone. Google career assessment and youll return about hundreds of thousands of results. Do these assessment things actually work? Should you shell out money to take online quizzes? Clearly, theres a big market for career aptitude tests. Monster reviewed some and picked our top 10 free career assessment tools.

You can also try taking John Holland’s SDS an assessment that helps determine potential occupations and corresponding work environments based on your personality type.

The test is based on the scientific findings of award-winning psychologist, John Holland, who invented the Holland Codes, a system that places individuals into one of six categories: Doers, Thinkers, Creators, Helpers, Persuaders and Organizers. Each category corresponds to a variety of different career paths. The test isn’t free, but if it helps you find your true calling, itll have been the best money you ever spent.

Choose A Career After Working In Management

If youre in a managerial position and looking to move up the corporate ladder to the executive ranks, youll need to assess your functional career path.

First, you need to determine which functional career path you are working in. Do you have experience in business operations, project management, customer service, engineering, finance, contracts or human resources?

Next, you need to determine the functional career path youd like to pursue at the executive level and whether you have the relevant experience. Consider again your area of expertise. Whether its engineering, finance, contracts, project management or a combination, you likely have skill sets as a manager that can translate into executive career opportunities.

Determine what experience you have, decide which executive path you want to pursue and, if it doesnt already, ensure your management-level experience aligns with your executive potential and career timeline.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the advice of University of Phoenix.

List Down The Occupations You Want To Explore

You probably have many ideas of where you’d like to work based on the many personal qualities you identified during the first step. Combine them into an overall list to ensure stay organised. Afterwards, scan for career paths that you have listed multiple times and write them on a fresh page. Then label them as occupations you’d like to explore.

Next, identify the careers in your list that you find appealing. They could be the occupations that you have some information on and want to explore deeply. Include also the ones that you have little knowledge of but are interested in as they could enable you to learn new things.

Read Also: 123test.com: Career Aptitude Test.

If The Academic Pursuit Is Out Of The Question Consider Taking Courses

The great thing about courses is that they can help you develop a new skill in a matter of months. They can also be an excellent way to network with people in your field. If you are not sure what type of career you want to pursue, taking a few courses in different fields can help you figure it out. For example, if you are interested in working in the medical field but are not sure what type of job you want, consider taking a few courses in biology or medicine. Alternatively, if you are interested in the business world but are not sure what type of job you want, consider taking a few courses in marketing or accounting.

Choose A Career Based On Your College Degree Program

If you graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, what type of career would you look for? What skills have you learned during your college career that will help you get your foot in the door? In other words, to get the best return on the investment of your college education, you should choose a career option in your field of study.

So, if you have a degree in information technology, you have probably acquired specific skills and experience in such areas as PC Help Desk, Microsoft Systems, Cisco Networking and Information Assurance. It makes sense, then, that you would seek a role like that of an IT manager. Your bachelors degree, along with one to two years of PC Help Desk knowledge and maybe a certification or two, can help you stand out to hiring managers as a quality candidate with the right skills and experience for the job.

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What Are My Interests

The activities you enjoy doing in your free time can give you insights into the careers that would be satisfying and fulfilling for you. To figure out your interests, ask yourself:

What hobbies do I enjoy?
Do I prefer spending time indoors or outdoors?
Do I enjoy working with people, animals, data or books?
What activities would I miss the most if I could no longer do them?

How Can I Gain New Career Skills

Utilize your current position. Look for on-the-job training or opportunities to work on projects that develop new skills. See if your employer will pay part of your tuition costs.

Identify resources in the community. Find out about programs in your community. Community colleges or libraries often offer low cost opportunities to strengthen skills such as computing, basic accounting, or business development. Local chambers of commerce, small business administrations, or state job development programs are also excellent resources.

Take classes. Some fields require specific education or skills, such as an additional degree or specific training. Don’t automatically rule out more education as impossible. Many fields have accelerated programs if you already have some education, or you may be able to take night classes or complete part-time schooling so that you can continue to work. Some companies even offer tuition reimbursements if you stay at the company after you finish your education.

Volunteer or work as an intern. Some career skills can be acquired by volunteering or completing an internship. This has the added benefit of getting you in contact with people in your chosen field.

How To Choose A Career: 10 Most Crucial Things To Consider

Choosing a career path, at times, may seem like a giant leap to some future college students one that can appear daunting and overwhelming. Students can figure out which direction to take by answering simple questions.

Lets look at the 10 biggest things to keep in my mind when looking past college to enter the real world.

Certificate Programs In Healthcare

How to Choose an IT Career Path

Many healthcare agencies prefer potential employees to possess certifications. Being certified also usually means higher pay and is needed to remain competitive.

Certifications available to healthcare workers include the following:

CNA : in Texas, nurse aides must complete a state-approved program before being eligible to sit for the examination.
CPR : certification is offered through the local Red Cross at training centers.

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I made a complete career change when I started my training at Southern Careers Institute. I needed a stable career to continue providing for my growing family. SCI provided me with the medical terminology and know how that I needed to understand and acquire a career in the medical field. SCI taught me that it doesnt matter where you are in life right now you always have room to advance and learn.

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What Are My Values

Everyone has values or things that are important to them, such as financial security, social justice or work-life balance. These values can help you decide what type of career to pursue. Here for instance, consider a job that pays well if you value financial security, and consider the type of hours you’d like to work to achieve work-life balance and what career may offer that to you.

What Is My Personality

Your personality is the way you think, feel and behave. It can be an important factor in guiding you towards a specific career, so consider several aspects of your personality as you reflect on your future.

Are you a leader or a follower?
Do you prefer to work alone or in a group?
Do you prefer to cooperate or compete with others?
Do you enjoy helping others or prefer to empower them to do things themselves?
Are you a thinker who focuses on ideas or are you a doer who takes action?
Are you a creative and artistic person or do you thrive with structure and routine?

Get Required Trainings And Education In The Career Of Your Choice

Register for the required trainings and education in the career you have opted for. Enhance your skills by connecting, networking, educating, taking trainings and keep contributing in any short term assignments in-line with your career. Do not leave any gaps in your study, education and expertise that are needed to get a profession in your chosen career field.

How To Choose A Career Path: Get Experience

My career path after business studies in Europe

Choosing a career path can be a daunting task, especially if youre not sure where to start. The good news is that there are a few things you can do to help you make a decision. In this blog post, well share four tips on how to choose a career path thats right for you.

1. Consider your interests and passions.

One of the best places to start when choosing a career path is to consider your interests and passions. What are the things you love to do? What makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning? When youre thinking about your interests and passions, its important to be realistic. For example, if you love to travel but also have a family, a career that involves a lot of travel may not be feasible.

2. Research different career options.

Once you have an idea of the types of careers that might be a good fit for you, its time to do some research. Not sure where to start? Try looking up job descriptions on the internet or talking to people who work in the field youre interested in. This will help you learn more about the day-to-day tasks involved in different careers and whether or not theyre a good fit for you.

3. Consider your skills and strengths.

4. Get experience.

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Write Your Career Path Action Plan

A career action plan is a written document that outlines each of the things you need to do to achieve your goals. It is a road map that will take you to your destination. Include all your short and long-term goals in the plan and the steps for accomplishing each of them. Write out the barriers that you expect on the way as well as how you can overcome them.

Overcoming Obstacles To Career Fulfillment

It’s always challenging to consider a huge change in your life, and there may be many reasons why you think changing careers is not possible. Here are some common obstacles with tips on how to overcome them:

It’s too much work to change careers. Where would I ever begin? Changing careers does require a substantial time investment. However, remember that it does not happen all at once. If you sit down and map out a rough plan of attack, breaking down larger tasks into smaller ones, it is a lot more manageable than you think. And if the payoff is a happier, more successful career, it’s worth it.

I’m too old to change careers. I need to stay where I am. If you have worked for a number of years, you may feel that you’ve put too much time and effort into your career to change midstream. Or you may be concerned about retirement and health benefits. However, the more you’ve worked, the more likely you are to have skills that can transfer to a new career. Even if you are close to receiving a pension or other benefits, you can start to plan now for a career transition after retirement.

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Discover Your Personality Type

A personality type is a set of personality traits that can be grouped. There are multiple methods for discovering your personality type, many of which focus on your responses to different situations. Different personality types may naturally gravitate toward different interests and develop different strengths, including careers.

Different tests list common career choices for each personality type. If you take a variety of tests and one or two careers appear across multiple tests, that specific career is likely worth researching. Some popular tools you can use to identify your personality type include:

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

This questionnaire is a self-reporting inventory that includes introspective questions to identify your psychological preferences. Using this information, the type indicator system classifies people based on four key dichotomies. With this information, you can identify your personality type out of 16 options.

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter

This is a self-assessment questionnaire. While it is similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, it more closely identifies roles that match each temperament type. The questionnaire focuses on behaviors and temperaments rather than preferences.

The Jungian Type Index

This self-assessment can provide you with an overview of your personality type and recommended careers by identifying Jungian cognitive functions or explanations behind certain psychological preferences.

Ask Yourself Who Are You Right Now

How to Choose a Career Based on Your Interests | Indeed Career Tips

Think about who you are, what youre good at and what you enjoy. This will help you choose career ideas that match your skills and interests.

Here are some useful questions and activities to explore:

What subjects have you enjoyed studying at school and beyond? Why? Is it because you like the person teaching you, or theres something about that subject you can really relate to?
What subjects have you done well at, and why?
If you had to pick a favourite out of words, numbers, visuals and physical activities, which would it be? Could you see yourself in a job where your top choice formed a big part of what you do every day?

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How To Choose A New Career Path

If youre in the career market, then this article is for you. Northwest Career College offers career coaching to help guide students through career exploration and decision-making.

This includes exploring majors, career paths, skill sets, work experience, and internships. We want our students to have a clear idea of what they are good at so that they can find their perfect career path!

In this article, well be discussing how to choose a new career path that suits your skills and interests.

How To Choose A Career Path

Your career path should account for your goals, future plans and personality. Considering these factors can help you choose the right starting position and make strategic decisions over time.

Follow these steps as you prepare a career path:

Outline your career goals

What are my strengths and aptitudes? Soft skills? Hard skills?
Do I want to specialize in certain technical skills or take on management roles?

Once you answer questions like theseand any others that are important to youyou can better research potential careers paths. Its also important to revisit your career goals as you grow personally and professionally to ensure your goals remain achievable and aligned with your interests.

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Career Planning 4 Step Planning Process

Knowing Yourself

Exploring what is out there

Making Decisions

Career planning is an ongoing process that can help you manage your learning and development.

You can use the four step planning process whether you are:

an adult returning to education or adding on skills
an adult changing job or career.

Career planning is the continuous process of:

thinking about your interests, values, skills and preferences
exploring the life, work and learning options available to you
ensuring that your work fits with your personal circumstances
continuously fine-tuning your work and learning plans to help you manage the changes in your life and the world of work.

You can revisit and make use of this process all the way through your career.

The career planning process has four steps:

Step 1: knowing yourself

Begin by thinking about where you are now, where you want to be and how youre going to get there.

Once you have thought about where you are at now and where you want to be, you can work on getting to know your skills, interests and values.

Begin by asking yourself the following questions:

Where am I at now?
Where do I want to be?
What do I want out of a job or career?
What do I like to do?
What are my strengths?
What is important to me?

Step 2: finding out

At the end of this step you will have a list of preferred occupations and/or learning options.

Step 3: making decisions

Ask yourself:

Step 4: taking action

Begin by asking yourself:

Still Not Sure What You Want To Do

I completed my graduation in engineering and now I

It probably isnt going to happen that youll fall into a job that you love straight away. It takes time, persistence and hard work. In the meantime, any experience is good experience. If you have absolutely no idea where to start, just choose anything that way, you’ll at least start acquiring skills that are valuable in any workplace and learning about the kinds of things you do and dont like in a job, and about what its like to be employed. The good thing is, its not a big deal to shift careers. You can always change to something else down the track.

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