Choosing the right career
I'm not 40 years old, nor have I worked for very long time. So I decided to just address people who are doing their school education and have not yet thought about their career. If you don't fit into that category, still read it and add on to what I have said(maybe in the comments section) and make it more helpful.
Here goes..
When is the right time, one must start thinking about his/her career?
I guess, one should start when they are in the 10th standard(even better if before, but one needs a bit of maturity).That is when you are at the cross roads, you have to think, discuss with your parents and others and finally decide what you are going to become.To start with, I have come up with four very general categorizations at that juncture in life, they are very broad and will just give you an idea.
What things should influence your decision making on a career?
Of the four, #4 could to a large extent influence your decision and probably change it.
# 1.>> If some part of a subject / subject itself from ur academic life has influenced / interested you very much. Like if you are very good at computers / math / biology etc, You can choose the engineering or medical profession. Note there are over a dozen different specializations on the engineering front and the decision to chose the one for you should be made at the start. For medicine, you can make up ur mind over the course of your study.
#2.>> If you excel in a particular sport and if it is feasible (financially as well as time wise) for you to take it up seriously. A lot of sports require you to spend atleast a couple of hours every day and more on weekends. You should strike a balance between sports and study. No matter how good you are at sports, you cannot dropout from school, it is the very basic education one needs.
#3.>> If you have a particular trait which can form the basis of a career.I have listed a few, each of which can lead to a separate career.
good Communication Skills and very creative - press person / teaching profession / advertising etc
good writing skills - press person / writer / entertainment media etc
painting, very creative - painting / fashion designing / interior designing etc
music / singing / acting - music / film industry
interest in films + creativity + a bit wealthy - ad / stage shows / film industry
Most people possess a multitude of traits and these are the kind that can get into a lot of interesting jobs. Such people should think about pursuing a career based on these traits rather than the usual engineer/ doctor profession.
#4.>> Is your family OK on the financial front? If they do not require or expect you to work and earn for them, you are a very lucky person, you have the freedom to choose, you can work out your career choice based on the above points.
However, if your family is in a situation wherein you HAVE to work, its best to go in a direction that is less risky, the engineering profession I would say. These days anybody can get into the software field, if they put in the little effort in the right place.
How to nurture your talent and travel in the right direction?
Now that you have decided which direction to go, you have to take the next and probably the most important decision which is 'how do u proceed'. It is like, you have chosen the road, now you have to chose how u travel. For most of the decisions, the first step in the right direction is chosing to study in a University / school that would give you the specialization that you need. Engineering Universities / Medical Universities / Music Universities / Film Institutes / Fashion Institutes etc, today you one can learn anything under earth.
The options are right there, first list down the the top universities / institutes that fit your bill, then sort them based on quality of training / education, employment opportunities, reputation, proximity etc. Once you have chosen the right University, its very easy, all that you have to do is focus, work hard and enjoy what you are learning.
For Sports, one has to finish atleast schooling and then identify trainers / find people in that particular sport field and from then on it is just you, your effort and a bit of luck.
Once you have made your first step, there is no stopping you, all you have to do is be focussed, put in the effort, before long, opportunity will knock at your door.Only thing that you should be very particular about is you don't relax after making the first step, because it will be the time when you are going to learn the very basics of what you are probably going to do the rest of your life.Just like the basement of a building, it should be very strong. Also choose the right friends, a lot of times it is the people around you that help you become what you are.
So in short, think, evaluate options, discuss with near and dear ones, take the first step, the rest will follow.
the enigma
Resources that you could use
1.https://trainandemploy.qld.gov.au/client/jobs_careers/job_career_planning/cho
osing_career/index.htm
2.https://duke.edu/~aje3/career.html
3.Google your way through the internet.
