One of the most crucial life decisions pertains to career path. With people spending eight hours or more daily at work, its not an easy decision to make. Often, this decision has to be taken just before tertiary education or immediately after. Here are a few things to consider in choosing a career.

• Self-assessment. Before choosing a career, it is important that you assess yourself. Think about your strengths and weaknesses. A career in line with your strength will be best for anyone. It will minimise flaws and redundancy. Think about the things you are passionate about and the things that may not be so appealing to you. Choosing a career that is in line with something you are passionate about is important because it is easier to function in a career that is connected to your passion. Without passion, one may go through the chosen career path without a sense of purpose.

• In assessing yourself, it is important to consider your personality. One’s personality often plays a huge role is determining how one behaves in any given situation. For instance, a melancholic may not be able to function very well in a job related to human relations like a sanguine. You can take a personality test here

• Research. Outline any careers you may be interested in. Based on the list, find out more about those careers. Look out for the skills needed for the careers, this includes educational or training path associated with it and any requirements unique to the field. Knowing this will help you decide if you can commit to gaining the skills for that career and if you can function effectively in it. If you can make contact with professionals who are already working within your field of interest, it will be good to do so. Consider joining a network like GHScientific, where we offer such networking opportunities and relevant workshops. This may help you glean some insight on the field which may not be readily accessible using the internet. Research will also help you prepare your mind and other resources (such as money) to pursue the career you choose.

Whether it’s choosing a career or deciding what charity to get involved with, the choice should come from your heart. Ultimately, you are the one who has to get up every morning and enjoy what you are doing, so make sure it matters to you.

Dave Thomas

Although monetary gains and job security may be a concern for choosing a career, these should not be the primary consideration. Technology and evolution has taught us a great lesson that no job is irreplaceable. Hence, any role can easily be displaced on the job market when cheaper replacements are found. It is therefore important to focus on your strengths, skill set, personality, passion and interests when selecting a career. It is easy to drive your passion to other equally important ventures than to manage the shock and disappointment of displacement on the job market.