The Oxford dictionary describes ‘career‘ as an individual’s course or progress through life, as a matter of fact, a distinct portion of life. It can also be ascribed to remunerative work and for a student’s ‘career’ it would be his education and higher degrees related to his particular field. In Latin ‘carrera’ means race.
1. Concept of Career
Each and everyone of us in this living world need a variety of things. To earn these things we do need money. Money can be earned through a job or some do it with the help of business.
- Each one of us is proficient at one’s own work. But how do we choose this work to earn money? Why all of us have to work in a variety of fields instead of choosing the same and make a living out of it? Well, there are numerous answers to the question asked above. Like I said not everyone of us is prominent at most things except the thing that we are into. This thing that we do for our living is our profession/occupation
- This profession is sought by us due to the interest we possess in that or may be due to the money that it would earn us. We try to extend and progress our lives in this way. This is our ‘career’
- Over one’s lifetime an individual dons various roles in his/her life or at work. This is nothing but his/her career. To describe it in an organizational manner ‘a career is the progress of an individual up a hierarchy in his profession’
A career can be expanded both horizontally and vertically.
2. Career Options
Into the late 20th century the world noticed an increasing change in the way people were shaping up their careers. Until then career had nothing to do with one’s education.
Once a person felt he was eligible enough for a job he would take up any profession to earn his livelihood no matter what his educational background was.
But things started to change drastically owing to the number of choices that were being available as we began exploring our thoughts in a much wider fashion.
This change started a need for higher education and skills and thus a proper career sketch has become mandatory for every individual.
An assessment of one’s career would put the individual at the right place enabling him to use his potential to the fullest.
3. Choosing a Career
Assessing your career can be both qualitatively and quantitatively demanding. A mistake made while choosing your career might have disastrous effects on the rest of your life and this may be can’t be rectified at a later stage.
Let us look at the most important factors that would help shape your career in the best possible way.
4. Know Yourself
The first and foremost thing that one should take into account while choosing a career is his interests.
- Everyone of us have our own interests and these interests play a huge role in knowing our careers. For example, Michael Jordan would not have been a great basket ball champion if he was not interested in it nor would have Roger Federer been the tennis player that he is.Your interests are your likes. Put your interests to the right affect
- Like, choose the right field of education which would match your interests
- For instance, you want to become a journalist, study maybe literature or some pertinent course relating to journalism
- You want to become a sports person look at the opportunities that are available in your respective sport and try to pursue them
- See if you need a higher degree after your education that would help you progress
5. Know Your Opportunities
Always be on a vigil about the available opportunities in your field of interest. It is not a difficult task to keep up to date with the available opportunities in your field.
- The advent of Internet has made life very much easy as you have a number of job sites now-a-days
- If you are a student keep a track of what the Careers Advisory at your University has on offer for you
- Take up intern-ships that would not only prove useful as a working experience but would also fetch you money
6. Take a Decision
Identify the true values and motives behind making a career decision.
- Consult with your parents or people already into the field which you want to take up and know the ups and downs related to it
- See a career counselor if need be
- Once you have explored all the options in your interested field be ready to take a decision. Think it over, see if you are happy with the choice you have made
- Just remember that the ultimate decision is yours and only yours. Most decisions taken fare well, only a few might end up mediocre
7. Execute Your Decision
“Dare to dream and care to achieve”.
- Decisions alone do not accomplish your mission. You need to execute them
- You need to constantly keep updating your knowledge, not just in your field but also acquire some universal skills like computer literacy and a good command over grammatical English
- If need be alter a few choices to suit your career
Remember that you are not actually choosing a career but you are choosing a career path to suit the ever changing economic demands.
You might be choosing a particular career may be for power, social status, prestige, stability, creativity, degree oriented, benefits, variety, risks involved, socially useful or you may be passionate about it. No matter what your motives behind your career choice are, always make sure you are happy with it.
A bad career choice unsuitable to your personality or unable to challenge your mind is harmful.
“Do not fetch success but fetch excellence – success would come fetching you.”
