Career Planning

Making a Career Decision

Whether you are making a career decision for the first time or looking to make a change from your current career, it’s important to remember that there are no “quick fixes” – believe it or not, someone once did a survey that showed people spend more time deciding what car to buy than they did deciding on a career. We know that you will take the process a bit more seriously, so our goal in the Career Planning & Advising Center is to help you gather the information that will make your decision clearer and more effective.
 
You need to consider two types of information:
Information about yourself (self knowledge)
Information about jobs (the labor market)
 
Self Knowledge 
Have you ever had a job that you didn’t like? If so, how did it make you feel to get up in the morning and go to work? Were you motivated to do your best? Obviously, having a job that is not a good match for your personal characteristics is not the happiest situation. So when you are making a career decision, you need to take into account several kinds of information about yourself to increase the odds of a positive match:
 
Interests
To put it simply, what do you like? Think about school, work, and hobby activities. An interest doesn’t have to be work-related to give you important information about yourself and potential careers that match! Evidence shows that people who like a certain career tend to have similar interests.
 
Abilities
What are you good at? Do you have things that you have learned at school or on the job? Are there other skills you just seem to come by naturally? No matter where you acquired them, skills can be other indicators of career fields that may be good fits.
 
Work Values
What is important to you in a job? Why do you work? Okay, so maybe you haven’t won the lottery any time recently – but if you really got to choose, what are the things you seek in a job that would make it a good match? A good salary, variety, travel, pleasant co-workers, opportunities for promotion – all of these are examples of work values, which, of course, may or may not be met in particular careers. Your own values are very personal, and may also change over time – but it is important to consider them in your selection of a career.  
 
Personality
Ever had an unpleasant experience with a customer service person while out shopping? The kind of situation where, no matter how polite you were, it became increasingly clear that this was a person who should NOT be helping the public? While extreme, that’s an example of how personality comes into play in career choice. We all have situations where we feel more comfortable and can do our best. We all have ways of processing information, dealing with people and projects, and getting our energy levels up. All of these relate to personality factors, which also should be considered whenever you make a career decision.
 
Labor Market Information

Once you have taken into account how your personal attributes and characteristics apply to different careers, it’s important to pull in relevant labor market information:
 
Do you have a particular salary level you need to support your family and/or lifestyle? As you already know, all jobs are not created equal in terms of the money they provide! What salary range can you expect from the occupations you are considering?
 
Do your educational plans mean that it will be two, perhaps four or more years before you are ready to enter the labor market? It’s definitely a good idea to check out the employment projections for your career field. Does the outlook for growth mean that you are likely to find a job when you’re done with your training?

Ready to get some help to make your decision?

How can you help me map my career path?

How can I get more information?