Career…still Undecided??

Career…still Undecided??
-“I don’t know what I like” “I am confused about what I want to do” “I don’t know what I want to do”. Many students are quoting their current state of mind and a very frequent question we get from them concerns the choosing of a future career path. For high-school-age students, there’s a lot of pressure to articulate some kind of plan for what you want to study, and how you’d like to translate that into a career and many don’t have a clue. But the truth is, a decision has to be made and now!! The time limit is less and the final decision has to be taken. So here’s a quick reference check:

• Which academic subjects interest you the most? Create a list and find you favorite school subjects to the list. Try to be specific. For science and math, be specific about the subject area or level—biology, chemistry, algebra, , and so on.
• Make a list of your hobbies. Think about everything you do in your free time, including fun activities, stuff you consider picking up when you want to charge yourself up, and what you care about.
• Write about why you enjoy them. For example, do you bake because you like to eat fresh cookies, experiment with recipes, or decorate with icing? Find are there any formal ways of entering the field, for eg: does it require a short term course or a long term study route is enough
• Note the commonalities among why you enjoy your hobbies. Do you like the creative side of things? Analytical? Mechanical? Once you have this answer, try to gather the information and find careers that are in alignment with the same. Note, it may happen the career in consideration might not be available directly; maybe you will have to go the conventional study route or take up some courses which lay the foundation for the same.
• With the amount of information available online, you can easily try to find what the career/ jobs entail, the skills you need in the field, and the training or education that will prepare you.
• Once you have a career field — or a few — in mind, dive deeper to learn what it’s like to work in that field. Talk to people who work in the field you’re considering. Connect with people through your family, friends, and learn more about their work.
• If you’re struggling to identify your strengths, weaknesses and character traits, taking practice psychometric tests [aptitude tests] could bring them to light. A professional career counsellor can help you figure out what your strengths are, then help pair you with careers that maximise your chances of success. Having a conversation with them can help you discover careers you might never have considered — or even knew existed — on your own.

Finally, remember, it’s your decision and try to take a timely one. It’s time to take interest in your career and become proactive, as it is your future!