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Finding the Career Path for You
If you’re not sure where you want your career to go or if you should pursue something new entirely, try not to freak out. Lots of people feel this way at some point or another. Whether you’re simply feeling unmotivated or want to explore brand new employment possibilities, here are a few ideas to help you fix your current career funk.
Internships
If you’re flexible when it comes to getting paid, an internship might be the ideal way to try out a career as something like a public interest attorney, journalism, nursing, or any other career that might involve an internship. Internships might potentially even lead to an actual full-time job. Even if you discover that it isn’t the right career for you or doesn’t result in a job, it’s helpful for building your professional network and gaining experience for your resume.
Take a Test
Maybe you don’t know what you might be interested in or what you’re good at. Career assessment tests in high school and college can help you when it comes to narrowing down the field. If you do know what you want to do, like join the medical field, there are special tests, like the MCAT, that you’ll need to take to get into medical school. If this is your plan, to go into the medical field specifically, you might want to take an MCAT class before taking the test. For other types of career assessment tests, like those first mentioned, you won’t need to study.
Try Something Unconventional
We’re all aware of the popular careers that are available. Some of them you’ll need a post-secondary education and degree for – like careers in medicine or the law. However, if you’re uninspired by jobs of this nature, there are thousands of other opportunities available. There are even some really surprising and unconventional options, like becoming a chocolate inspector or a panda caretaker! Spend some time exploring the less common. You might be surprised at what you find.
Find a Mentor
Mentors can help you take your career to the next level and by give you the insider insight you need to figure out whether or not you’re on the right path. If you’re interested in a specific career, you might want to check and see if any people or companies in your chosen line of work might allow you to shadow them for a day or two to find out what doing that job might really be like.
Ask Around
The best method for exploring a new career is to simply ask people about their jobs. This is assuming, of course, that you’ll be in contact with people who aren’t all employed within the same field. A good place to start finding people to talk to about this might be your LinkedIn network, or on social media sites. You might also spend some time at the library — most have some type of career assessment/exploration services. Ask the librarian to help you figure out how to use them.
Jumping into a career without researching it first is incredibly risky. Take the time to explore and to find something you’re good at and actually enjoy. That’s the key to a happy, fulfilling, and productive professional life.
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