Your Career Path
June 22, 2010
The path that takes you from student to employee can be tricky to navigate. There are a few simple steps you can follow to ease the transition; consider your interests and talents, develop your skills, choose your occupation and, find a job.
By Martha Blythe, Ottawa Carleton eSchool
The path that takes you from student to employee can be tricky to navigate. There are a few simple steps you can follow to ease the transition; consider your interests and talents, develop your skills, choose your occupation and, find a job. Asking the right questions can help you to find the right answers . You can ask yourself, talk to Guidance councillors, professionals – starting with your relatives and teachers, career councillors, or do some research online. Other resources include career studies classes and clubs, as well as cooperative education programs like eCo-op. Take every opportunity to attend career fairs, go-to-work days, and informally interview everyone and anyone when you get a chance. As you set out to discover what career path you should follow, keep in mind that choosing your career is an ongoing journey of discovery that you can start by taking these few steps in the right direction.
Step one: ask yourself these questions and take note of your answers:
What subjects do I enjoy, and why?
In what subjects do I perform well?
Are there classes I haven’t taken but am very curious about?
If I could imagine myself waking up each and every morning happy to be going to a job, what would I be doing?
What is my dream occupation?
What do I do for fun?
What do I like, or did I like, about my current job or volunteer positions I have, or have had?
Now, do you see a trend or is there a picture forming?
The next step to finding your eventual occupation is to develop your skills. At this point in your journey you may not be sure which skills you will need. And, in the environment of changing technologies and the global marketplace, the skills you will need may not even exist yet. So start with a strong foundation – an education. Get your diploma and get started on your post-secondary journey. Maths, sciences, the arts, social studies, technology or a trade – take a step in the direction of your choice and learn something new.
Gaining hands-on experience is another way you can move closer to your goal of finding the job that suits you best. When employers hire students they hope that they will be able to teach you new skills and train you. Cooperative education is one other way to gain skills and knowledge. In a workplace you begin to understand the dynamics of the environment and gain exposure to jobs you may not have known even existed. A combination of education and practical experience are powerful tools to help you understand where you would like to see your journey lead you.
As you move along this path to knowing and understanding what interests you and what you will be happy to wake up and do each day, keep revisiting the questions you asked yourself in step one. With your responses in mind, seek the guidance of a professional. Many personality, aptitude and career-finding surveys have been created to help students discover, first, what jobs exist, and secondly which of those may best suit the student. Councillors will also have data on what careers are in decline and which areas are experiencing growth. Professional councillors are there to help you, guide you and give direction. Would you start any other long journey without even consulting a map, asking for directions or advice, or at least searching it on Google Maps? Ask for help.
Ask someone who has already started their journey along the career path such as your parents, teachers, and other friends. How did they decide? What is their dream job? What level of education have they achieved? What have they learned along the way that might help you as you take these first steps? Remember that every person started from a different place and that many are pleasantly surprised about where their individual career path has taken them.
Yes, some people know what they want to do from a young age, get the required education and live the lifestyle of their dreams. However if you don’t know, prepare for the journey ahead by following your heart, your head, and taking one small step after another along your life-long career path.
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