Figure Out Your Career Path

What Should I Do ? 

STOP LISTENING TO THOSE AROUND YOU.

Who is the person who can decide best what you should do with your life ? 

YOU.

Put yourself in-charge of all your life's decisions. This way if you mess up you cannot blame anybody and the buck stops at you, hence you are more likely to make better choices.

Interest: You need to know a lot of things besides what you are good at, in order to figure out the best career choice for you. Your Career Path will be defined primarily by your interest and desire to grow in that field. Skills can be learnt, knowledge can be gained, money can be earned in 10,000 different ways but interest and desire cannot be feigned.

Strong Areas: If you are good at Mathematics and do not want to take up Engineering or Computer Science- it is alright, it is okay. A passion for Mathematics is required for a lot of different fields such as Management, Law, Scientific Research and Teaching. There are a 100 different career paths wide open for you if you love numbers. A basic aptitude test or your class marks are enough to tell you what you are good at.

Personality: The next thing of great importance is your personality and working style, I maybe great at Mathematics or English but if I dislike working in teams, then I am better off as an academic researcher or as an entrepreneur.

You need to know your personality, your working style, your likes and dislikes before you kick start your career. (If you are already doing something you hate- you owe it to yourself to figure out what you want and then go for it. It is never too late to be, what you might have been.)

The Alternate Approach- For those who are good at everything or nothing at all.

Are you one of those people who have not even the slightest inclination towards any particular subject ? This happens in two cases - either you are top of your class and enjoy solving sums as much as you love writing poems or you are equally weak at all subjects, hence do not have any idea of what you might be good at.

Do not try to figure things out in a hurry if a clear answer eludes you. The best way to then find out the best career path is to try a lot of new things and figure it all out along the way. It sounds like a gamble yes but once you do the wrong thing you become really sure of what you want. Sometimes the more you try to figure things out and stick rigidly to one path, the more frustrated you get. You have to learn to let go and explore a bit before you settle down on a single career path. Most professionals these days have to multi-task anyway.

For eg. if you are a lawyer you would be writing reports, analysing cases, communicating with others, making oral presentations etc. It needs all the skills like writing, reading, listening, analysis and communication.

A mosaic career path is a good choice for someone who has no clue of where to go. Do everything, find what you love and discover yourself in the process.

Be Alert to Instinct Signals: A very important disclaimer for the alternate approach is that you have to be very aware of your inner voice, in case it tells you "NO GO" then listen to it and switch ASAP. The more time you take in figuring out the reality of a certain path, the more you will regret it later.

What is the best way to figure out the reality of a career path?
To work super hard like a maniac so that you can see what you are in for, very early on. You could also observe what your current boss is doing and know that at least for the next few years you would be doing something similar. If you hate it- get out as soon as possible.

Make Friends: But avoid making any sudden swings, every job you leave or path you let go of will still be a part of your life forever so make sure you do not antagonise anybody or indulge in unlawful behaviour. Leave with dignity, follow the process and make your way forward towards your new destination.

Make sure you make friends wherever you go, those are the people that matter in the end. 

- TCM