Career Path of Young Adults

It is all about following your passion - choosing a career seems to be an easy decision, at first. If you would look more closely, and if you were going to analyze it better, you would see that finding the best career to choose is quite tougher than what you have thought. This is a very crucial decision that everyone has to make.  With the dozens of career options that are made available for you, it is quite hard to decide on which path you should choose. People who have been having difficulties choosing their career have found one better way to solve their problem, and this may simply work for you too.

There was a time when there were taboos associated with some careers but that is really not the case now. Today, careers are chosen on the basis of your competencies and likeness for a particular field instead of just going by the regular norms. So the first thing that you should do here is understand and explore whether you are taking the right path or not. You may think that you seem to like a particular subject, but do you have the core competencies or skills to deal with their explicit nature?

Here are some questions that you should ask yourself prior to choosing a career path based on likeness and competencies - and help you uncover your hidden passions, while combining the realities of life-

What do you like and love?

When it comes to the passion question, you are really in a dilemma at times because in most cases, there are more than one thing that you love and want to pursue. The benefit here is that you have more than one career option to pursue so you have some room for experimentation. Often the problem is that if you have aspirations and a likeness for a particular career, you will not be able to pursue the same due to constraints like finances, unavailability of the right education, etc. But the thing is that if you are really confident about a particular path of career, you can make it happen. Here you have to take a chance with your skill inventory and try out different modes of counseling, mock tests, etc. to see if you really have the knack for the same. Ask friends and family members to guide you here because they know what your inherent skills are.

Action Plan - Make a checklist of your tentative career options and then proceed asking friends and family or even your counsellor to guide you on this. Narrowing down your options makes it easier to pick a choice as per your passion and likeness.

Are you ready to take risks

One problem that a lot of youngsters often face is that they choose careers that are safer subconsciously, terming it as their passion. In general, any student getting out of college or choosing a career post college is promotion-focused and prevention-focused. Those who are focussed on promotion are the usual classic creatives and entrepreneurs. They are the ones who make the most of the available opportunities and are optimistic. Then there are ones who are focused on prevention. Their mantra is status quo and everything they do is prevention-oriented thinking. No right or wrong exists here. So along with your likeness explore this competency.

Action Plan- Take a test to determine this attitude or if you are certain about being more of a safe player, choose a path that meets your intrinsic nature.

A suitable environment for your passion to thrive

An array of personality tests is conducted to find out the right kind of environment for you to thrive in. Remember that a shy person may like to pursue a career as a scientist but wants to stay in the background as a researcher. And then there are some more extroverts who choose public speaking and frontal roles in this process. So along with your inherent traits and likeness for a particular subject, your inherent personality is highly contributory. Depending on your personality type that is extroverts and introverts, this decision is made. Author Susan Cain of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, says that both 'introverts and extroverts can both thrive in roles better suited for the opposite personality type’’. So here it is your passion that takes the lead and pushes your competencies to a whole new level.

Action plan- Don’t let your shyness be a hindrance in choosing a career path that involves facing the masses or interacting with people regularly. As you pursue a career that you love and are passionate about, you will naturally overcome this issue.

Does your career likeness meet your financial demands?


A sad but unfortunate question that you must ask is whether your passion and competencies for a particular skill meet your lifestyle demands and cover your financial expenses. There are going to be some stringent years of hard work and you would be awarded later for the same. But are you willing to compromise on those initial years and sacrifice on your lifestyle? Consider the amount of control you will have over your own time, your salary and the amount of travel involved, among other factors. If you have a loan to repay or some other financial responsibilities, you need to device a plan for picking a career path that is closest to what you like but is also rewarding.

Action Plan- Workout the kind of lifestyle you had imagined for yourself. Does it include traveling, eating out and partying, a house of your own - then you need to make a tentative budget around this and see if the career you like is at par with the same. If not, then are you willing to live simply and compromise on this lifestyle. If a quite apartment in the suburbs is your style then you can settle for something that satisfies your passion but pays lower.

Where do you want to live?

You have a passion for gardening, farming, etc. but you are currently living in a city like NY. Then the chances are that you will have to relocate and give up on many luxuries. Moving to a place closer to the suburbs or where farming and similar activities thrive are ideal. Similarly some careers may require you to keep traveling so much that you will not really have a real home like photography or wildlife, etc. Along with your passion for that career, workout the geographical, social and economical changes that you will have to pick.

Action plan- Think about these pros and cons before pursuing a career option. More than often, you will notice that they are not really a hindrance if you have the right combination of passion and competencies for a particular career.

Are these your goals?

If you are one of those people in life who always knew what you wanted to do as a child, then you are luck that you can identify your career path and pursue the same with inherent competencies. There are some for whom goals are all about saving lives, working with animals and kind of other similar charity work. Then there are some who want to earn lots of money become movie stars, business personnel, etc. But no goal is too big or small. If you have it in mind, you can make it actionable.

Action plan- At the end of the day, it is all about placing your self-discovery path together and work on how you can put together things that you like and your core competencies.

Some hindrances that you may face-

Careers based on values

Are there any values that you cherish a lot and are dear to you? Often, one finds that the core values and principles are the most difficult to tackle, in terms of religious beliefs with which you live your life. But the thing is that religious, family and social values should be a part of your influencing factors and not a hindrance to the career you choose.

Peer or family pressure

Don’t just seem to take a liking for a particular subject because your brother or sister aced the same. Often, you will see many generations of the same family members become doctors or engineers because their forefathers were so. On the other hand, some just take on their family business for the sake of convenience, rather than picking an interest. Family is there to guide you and help you in this process. Don’t let your career path get restricted because of some tradition or norm that has been going on in your family.

Relationships

Again, right now everything seems to be focused around the love of your life. And if choosing a career path that you like takes you away from them, you might reconsider other options. The point here is that if you are in love with someone, choosing a career you like has nothing to do with the same. Relationships do continue over a period of long distances and gaps. So instead of just shunning a career opportunity that you are passionate about, think about ways to work things out.

Career guide and counseling

You can use a career guide or counselor to understand your core competency for a particular career. There is a particular career guide for each job description. Sometimes, these guides can even give you some tips on the things that you would expect with this particular job, and give you some suggestions on the career options that are best for your personality and for the education that you’ve finished as well. This guide also includes a detailed plan on the things for when you are deciding on your career. If you are looking for a career guide, make sure that the guide would also discuss the different companies and the things that you can expect at the same time.

There are different career options available for you – but remember, you should make up your mind and choose only one career. This is the best way towards success, and you should take this seriously – make a decision and think about it more than just a couple of times. This is the path that will shape your future.

Hobbies Becoming Careers


Don't you just love watching Masterchef Australia and see the home cooks, with a passion for cooking, turn this hobby into a career. Doing something that you are ardent about is intriguing and motivating. But it can also be lucrative monetary wise if you put in a bit of handwork along with creativity. Here are some hobbies that can be converted to careers-
 
Cooking

Have a passion for cooking? Then with the least investments you can start off with home deliveries, home restaurant or even take part in one of these cooking competitions. Another idea would be to start off classes at home, which can be done on weekends and during free time. If it works you can make it a full time career.

Gaming

You love professional video games and playing but how about getting into making and creating your own games. This works for puzzles and video games too (if you have knowledge of animation). Making creative games is the latest fad as people want something newer. Think of new options as a video game tester or trying out and creating new board games too.

Music

Be it a local band or simply singing, music is something that everyone enjoys. But if it is more than a hobby for you, think about this as a serious career. You can even join the armed forces and be a part of their music band! You can teach music or become a DJ to play mixes. You can also manage musical events or organize birthdays and weddings as part of the music team.

Blogging

If you have a flair of writing or taking pictures, then blogging is the new career option. You can consider creating your own website or making your own blog. Write about travel experiences, places to see or write movie or gadget reviews or post interesting recipes. You can also post pictures and photographs, especially if you have a passion for photography too.

Gardening

Organic gardening has become a rage these days as people want fresh and healthy food. Think about a home garden that caters to neighborhood markets for organic products. You can also grow flowers or become a landscape designer.

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