How to Choose the Perfect Career

Many people say there is no such thing as perfect, but you can get close enough in terms of career choices. However, you can’t look outside to make the right choice—you must look inside yourself. Here are some tips to help you choose the perfect career.

Get to Know Yourself

You may have heard this before, but the main strategy to choose the right career is to get to know yourself. Many people choose the wrong paths because they let outside sources influence their decisions. But if you know what you value, your likes, passions, and especially what you hate, you will make the right decision.

Let’s go deeper into each aspect. First, you should identify what you value most, and you shouldn’t compromise your values when it comes to choosing a career. For example, maybe you place great value in dedicating time to your physical and mental health, so a job with high levels of stress and too many hours of work each week may not be the best choice.

Second, you have to know what you are passionate about or at least what are the things you like to do most. Many people don’t find their passion until much later in their life, so don’t feel pressured. But what are those things that you choose to do when you are left to your own devices?

Third and last, you should identify what you absolutely hate to do and that you wouldn’t do no matter how much money they pay you. This may sound weird, but knowing what you wouldn’t do no matter what will help you narrow down your choices.

Do a Career Quiz

Career quizzes are an excellent option to gain insight into your personality. Many platforms offer career quizzes online, and each one gives different results. But the most common ones evaluate your personality and suggest careers that adapt better to your stronger traits. An excellent free career test will tell you at least which personality group is more substantial in you.

There are 16 personality types, and, obviously, every one of us is unique, so you shouldn’t limit yourself because of the results. But these types can help guide your choices. By knowing which type is stronger in you, you will know which career may be more comfortable and take advantage of your strengths.

The main aspects this test takes into account are if you are an extrovert or an introvert, if you rely more on feeling or logic, and things like that. Then, they suggest what careers will adapt better to your personality.

Research a Few Options

At this point, you can make a list of a few options that align with what you value and your personality traits. With this list, you will have to research everything about all the possibilities. You have to be informed to make the right decision, so you should use every tool at hand to find out.

You can research the average salary for each career at the entry, mid, and senior-level positions. Also, you have to know how difficult it is to break into the industry you are considering and how many job openings there are for each career. Finally, you should know what it’s like to work as a professional in each profession.

For example, if one of your choices is to be a data scientist, then the average salary for entry-level positions is $80,000, mid-level is $100,000, and senior-level is $130,000. The tech industry is suffering from a shortage, so entering the industry may be a little easier than other sectors. You can also look at the websites of major tech giants; most of them have “day in the life” videos on how it is to work as a data scientist.

What Are You Good At?

Now, you can narrow your choices to at least two or four careers. But, before continuing, you can identify what you are good at. What skills do you have and how will you apply them in the choices you have narrowed down? It is easy enough. Many people know what they are good at since they are kids.

It doesn’t mean you have to use precisely that skill. But, for example, maybe you’ve always been good doing different forms of art, so a career that needs creativity may be the right choice. Another example can be that you’ve always been good at talking with strangers, so a profession that requires a lot of talking with clients may be a good option.

It doesn’t have to be purely interpersonal skills. Maybe you are also good at things like algebra or statistics, so choosing a tech career can be the best option.

Identify the Profile You Need

After choosing a career that meets every requirement from what you value in life, personality traits, generous salary, and other things important to you, you can now start the real work—identifying the profile you will need. But, what does that mean?

It means looking for experienced professionals in your career of choice and going through their professional profiles. Also, looking for prominent companies in the industry and researching what qualifications they ask for the open positions you could apply to. This will allow you to build the profile of skills, experience, or studies you will need to achieve your goal.

In Summary

By now, you know everything you need to plan how you will be successful in your career correctly. Everything from studying and how to enter the market after graduation will help you prepare for any eventuality. It doesn’t matter if you are just finishing high school or if you are a career changer; these steps will help you make the right decision for once.

You have to get to know yourself, do a career or personality test, identify your skills, and what profile you will need to have; and did I mention research? Doing research will be essential to make an informed decision.