Let’s  start with understanding the difference between a job and a career:

What is a Job?

A post of regular employment, full-time or part-time that a person does to earn money.

What is a Career?

An occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training, undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress.

What most people end up doing is chasing a job and not a career, and then a few years down the line end up resenting it. Think to yourself, would you want to be stuck in that situation?  If you are going to be doing something for the better part of your life, 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, you owe it to yourself to make sure you choose wisely.

Today, there are an array of things that you can choose from. Fortunately for our generation, we have the freedom to turn our passion into our profession. We no longer have to choose from the same list of traditional career choices. So why not make the most out of this privilege that we now hold.

Now, how DO you make the right choice, select the right path, you ask? Well, we have accumulated a list of questions you need to ask yourself first:

What are you passionate about?

This might sound like the most cliché question ever, but it is also very important. If you do not love what you do, it will end up being just a job that you slog in for several hours a day, maybe for the rest of your life. Your work will stop being ‘work’ if you truly love it. And if you think that loving your work is unrealistic then perhaps you need to pause and re-evaluate.

What are you good at?

All of us have something unique, some of us just discover it earlier or later than others. If you think that you possess no extraordinary talent, then you just haven’t looked hard enough. Once you discover that one thing, you can actively push yourself into being better at it because if you are really passionate about something it is much easier to learn to be skilled at it.

Does it make sense financially?

When there seems to be so much instability all around, it makes complete sense to wish for a secure and good-paying job, but that in no way means you have to compromise. The smartest thing to do would be to list down your passions and skills that you possess and then research the jobs that match your criteria and have long-term growth opportunities.

Research on the Skills that you need to master:

For any profession, there would be a list of skills that you need to master (be certified in) in order for any company to have you on board. Look into how will you gain a particular certification, do you have enough personal finances to support you? Is this investment going to give you the desired return?

Study the Market:

With trends changing so rapidly, you do not want to get yourself into something that will not be desired in a few years or if you get your degree and then 4 years down the line find yourself amidst a situation where there are too many professionals alongside you but not enough jobs. Researching how many people can be enrolled in a number of universities in your area, for the same degree that you are interested in can be a good indicator of what to expect in a few years.

Is the Environment a Right Fit for you?

You need to figure out whether you are someone who would much rather be outdoors, on your feet getting things done or someone who would want to work indoors in an office. You need to make sure that your job matches your personality.

We hope that these points help you in making the right choice. We would love to hear from you in the comments below on how one of these points helped you get some clarity in choosing the best career fit for you. See you on our next blog. Until then, Stay Home, Stay Safe.