Choosing a Career -- Are You in The Game or on The Bleachers?

By Mindy Thomas, MS

Director of Career Planning and Placement

Pennsylvania Institute of Technology

Zig Ziglar, one of America's top motivational speakers, once said, "It's not where you come from that matters, it's where you end up that counts." Think about it. Everyone has a story. Everyone has challenges to face and problems to confront. Each of us are dealt a different set of card. How you handle those cards is up to you. You can sit back and complain about the cards, or play them and get into the game.you may get lucky. It's no different with your career: you can sit on the bleachers and watch your life pass you by, or get into the game and choose your own career.

Let's talk about how career decision-making was done years ago. Choosing a career was a hit-or-miss kind of thing that happened behind closed doors with family members. Or in a nanosecond, maybe someone made the decision for you or, better yet, you just did what everybody else did. There weren't many choices. But, today even with all the choices available to young people coming out of school, the struggle to determine what to do with the rest of your life is a never-ending process and challenge.

You are not alone if you are one of those high school students still searching or a person that still feels lost trying to figure out how to make your mark. Many of us were once on the "same page" as you.including me. Yes, I was clueless for most of my adult life .and, finally by a stroke of luck, managed to find the right career for me.

Imagine coming from a traditional Italian family where success was measured by who you married. And, it was more about marrying a doctor or a lawyer, not whether I could be one. Even the banter about becoming a nurse or a teacher so I could "fall back" on this in case something were to happen to my future husband was a resounding theme. What a way to decide how I was going to spend most of my working days!

Parents are right a lot of the time. I know that's tough to take since many young people are at an awesome age to know more about what is happening in the real world but, face it, you have a better shot today at making a solid decision about your career than your parents did. Absolutely, undeniably.you are in the best possible place today. You can secure a job. You can go on to further your education at a community college, or a two- year technical college. You can obtain an apprenticeship or even join the military. Even though the choices are confusing and overwhelming you need to understand two things before you jump into the process of career decision making.

First, since you will be spending far more time working at a job than sleeping or eating, you need to make an informed decision. I want you to think about how many people you know that hate their job. Do you really want to work at a job that you can't stand? Most heart attacks happen on Monday morning. They come from the stress of walking back into a job that is despised. Some of those folks start fretting themselves into a cardiac arrest on Sunday night. Is that the way you want to go out?

Secondly, instead of winging it, accept that this process is not a simple one and it's not an overnight decision. It takes time and effort. An informed decision about your career starts with you knowing who you are. You are probably thinking that you already know who you are but I am talking about really "knowing thyself". Again, this is not an overnight decision. We are talking about a process of self-understanding. This involves much more than "Oh geez, I love being on the computer and there's so much money to be made so I think I'll pursue a career in computers." I am speaking about evaluating your interests, your abilities and your aptitudes. Even looking at the realities of your life and financial commitments that you are willing to take are considerations that must be looked at seriously. This involves a series of assessments about you, including what you value in a position.

 

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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