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Jobs >> Jobs Articles >> Career Feature >> What Do You Need To Decide On A Career?

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Career Feature

What Do You Need To Decide On A Career?

 Dated: 04-15-2010

When it comes to deciding your life's work, chances are, you're not just going to want to get a "job." Certainly, jobs can take care of monetary needs, and getting a job just for the financial security is certainly something that you will probably want to do at least at certain times of your life. For example, you may work a variety of jobs while you're in school both to pay for school and to get job experience for later on in your career.

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When it comes to actually deciding on your career itself, though, you're going to want to choose something that you're both talented at and love to do. So, for example, if you love to work with numbers, and if you like helping people figure out what to do with their money, how to invest it, and so on, you may want to embark on a career as a financial advisor. Or, for example, you may want to become a certified public accountant.

That's just one example; there are many different career choices out there, and you need to zero in on what you're good at and what you love to do before you really make a choice.

Do what you love

Many, many people go into a chosen career because their parents wanted them to, for example, or because other family members have gone into the same career path, such as being a doctor or lawyer. But perhaps you have different interests, and if so, do everything you can to nurture those interests. For example, if you really have a bent for visual artistry, maybe you can parlay those skills into becoming a graphic artist, a scene designer, painter, interior decorator -- really, the sky's the limit. There are many things you can do if you have an eye for color and creativity, and are good at drawing or sketching, too. Although you certainly can pursue the traditional lifestyle of "painter" or "artist" as we might traditionally see those pursuits, you also have many other options available to you if you have talents in the visual arts.

Have a "day job" if what you love to do doesn't exactly fit into the realm of a 9-to-5 job -- at least at first

This isn't necessarily something you'll need to do if your chosen career is something that's already going to make you a very decent, stable income, such as being an accountant, an engineer, and so on. But if what you love to do is something a little bit more nebulous, like writing, have a day job even if you want to become the next "Great American novelist," or something like that. If you do that, you can support yourself while you pursue your dreams. Remember, the point is never to give up your dreams, but to make sure you can take care of yourself WHILE you're pursuing those dreams.

Of course, you're lucky if you find a career that you love and that fits perfectly within the parameters of what established society needs. With that, you both get to do what you love and can probably fit yourself pretty seamlessly into a career that has already been laid out for you. So, for example, if you like working with people and you find the medical field fascinating, maybe you want to become a doctor, even specializing in a particular area, such as if you want to become an endocrinologist. In that case, there's an established protocol you'll need to follow to actually become an endocrinologist, such as first going to college for premed, and then moving on into medical school, then specializing in endocrinology.

Some career paths aren't quite as well laid out, such as if you want to get into the arts, but you can still pursue them to your heart's content as your passion; as you do this, try to find jobs that are going to support you and that nonetheless support talents you have in other areas. For example, maybe you really want to become a musician, and you have the training to do so, but while you break into the music industry, you work as a daycare provider. If you love children, this is a perfect fit to both do what you love (even for your day job) and still pursue your ultimate dreams.

What's the most important aspect of finding jobs you like and a career you love? It's the balance you strike between being able to take care of yourself financially and being fiscally responsible, and pursuing your true purpose at the same time. When you find a career you love, as a wise man once said, "When you love what you do, you'll never work a day your life."

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