Choosing a Career: Where Do You Start?

One of life's biggest questions concerns what we will do with the rest of our lives. What will you do 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year?

A career may be 10 years in the future for you, but it's not too early to start planning.

I started working when I was 16. One year later, I had a different job. Later, I had five jobs within one year! I was certainly successful at getting jobs--but not the right job!

Somehow I thought my high school guidance counselor was there to counsel other people. Career selection seemed in the distant future.

Later my university told me where their career planning office was, but they didn't force me to go. I wish they would have.

Take a look at your interests. Take a look at jobs that are interesting. What do you enjoy doing? Look at adults you admire. What do they do? Would you enjoy it? Could you learn those skills?

If you know you want to be a farmer, auto mechanic, librarian, rocket scientist or dentist, that's great. Begin planning now.

Talk to your school's guidance counselors. Even if they don't know much about your interests, they have books that can help. Those books list possible occupations, average salaries, job demand, education needed and many other facets of employment success. Counselors can also help you determine your employable interests and skills, and what people with personalities like yours enjoy doing.

Your counselor can't do the decision making for you. But please go. You don't want the race to start without you.

- By Michael Morrison

Taken from Youth 90 magazine