Earning a College Degree How to Make the Right Choice - CareerAlley

Earning a College Degree How to Make the Right Choice - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. True career planning starts before you even begin your post-secondary education. Anyone who applies for college without a solid (yet malleable) career plan will find that it is difficult to choose a degree of study without first deciding on a career path. There are several tools and resources out there that were designed to help students and professionals narrow down their natural talents and interests and guide them to the best careers for their personalities. Before you choose what to study, make sure you analyze your career interests and choices by using the following tools. Job Shadowing If there is a job you would like to know more about, look for someone in your community who works in that field and ask if you can shadow them for a few weeks. This is an excellent opportunity to find out whether or not a particular career is right for you. Make sure you go prepared; bring along a notebook and pen and notate any questions you may have for your mentor. Shadowing is about more than just observation; you need to also interview your mentor about why they chose their career and how they achieved their goals. Career Guides There are literally thousands of books on the market that contain career advice and industry data. Some of the best guides out there provide valuable, in-depth information on types of jobs, education needed, salary paid and outlook for the future. By using these guides, you will be able to learn about all the different types of specialty jobs, many that you probably never even knew existed. You will also be able to compare required education and salaries to see which career fits your needs best. Other types of career guides share important career and job seeker advice that may help you make smarter decisions, in terms of planning your career and setting personal life goals. The true value in reading career books is that they help people realize things that were hidden to them before. Career Interest Tests Some career guides contain tests that help test takers narrow down specific fields of interest. These tests usually question what your preferred working environment is, if you enjoy working in a group or by yourself and what fields of industry you hold the most interest in. Although these tests cant tell you the exact job you should pursue, they do help guide you down the correct path. Most career tests suggest fields or a list of related careers that your personality is in harmony with. To ensure accuracy, take many tests more than once. Career Counselors Most governments provide free career resources for their citizens. In the United States, all public high schools have a career counselor to provide students with the resources they need to make good post-graduation choices. The U.S. government also provides the unemployed with free career resources at local unemployment centers. Career counselors and career centers offer strategic help for anyone looking to make a career plan. Counselors usually provide their clients with free career guides and testing, as well as additional information on how to apply to a college or university and find education funding. Although higher education is valuable, going to school is expensive and time-consuming. The last thing you want is to graduate with a degree that you cant use or arent interested in using. Choosing a degree and career path is a serious decision that must be planned and calculated, lest you end up working a job that is far from your liking. Samantha Gray is a freelance writer/researcher for www.BachelorsDegreeOnline.com.Her articles cover issues related to both online and traditional education, as well as student lifestyle, parenting and careers. Please send any questions or comments her way at [emailprotected] This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook