How to Choose a Career After High School

The life of a human being is very predetermined in today’s society. They are expected to go to school, get an education and use said education to pursue a career to sustain themselves and directly make their contribution to society.

This formula has been in place for many centuries now and has been able to give good results. Though the general statistics show success stories and economical growth of the population, the student’s needs have been neglected.

A high school student is 18 years old at the most when their school days are coming to an end. They have worked hard and gave their best for 12 years, the final 4 of which are the most stressful, and are finally going to finish a pivotal moment in their life.

A high school student at this point is probably terrified of the uncertainty that lies ahead but also excited about all the avenues that may open. Now, they get to choose how to make a living for the rest of their life.

What is a Good Career?

If a group of people hears the phrase ‘a good career’, each one of them will have a different picture projected in their minds. While some will see themselves swimming in a pool of gold like a certain rich duck, while others may see themselves travel to exotic places for work.

Some may want to be respected, while others are just looking to get paid. This is where the first sign of indecisiveness for a student comes in. Since the definition of ‘a good career’ changes from person to person, a budding child may not be able to grasp a solid definition.

However, after many conversations amongst professionals, three points are required for a good career. They are as follows:

• Choose a career that you’re good at or require a skill set that you have some knowledge of.
• While there is no problem in having a career, which comes with a hefty salary, look for work that helps serve the community.
• The working environment should be nurturing and supportive. This includes, but is not limited to; workflow, communication, perks, personal and work balance.

Why troubled when choosing Careers?

If a group of people hears the phrase ‘a good career’, each one of them will have a different picture projected in their minds. While some will see themselves swimming in a pool of gold like a certain rich duck, while others may see themselves travel to exotic places for work.

It has been seen that while a few of the students make up their minds regarding their professional careers, the majority are very indecisive with what they want to do with their education.

There are a lot of reasons that children are having trouble deciding their plans for the future

• The most common reason is lack of foresight and planning. Most students wait for their school year to finish before they can make a decision.
• While in the early years there were a limited number of career options available, students today have a plethora of career options which causes much confusion.
• A lack of guidance and a good source of information can cause a student to pass over a career that fits them well for another.

Things to Consider when Choosing a Career after you High school.

The following list is a general overview of the things one must keep in mind when choosing a career.

1) Evaluate your Interests

The most important factor that one needs to evaluate right from the beginning is oneself. You are the best judge of your skills and capabilities. It is important to have realistic expectations from yourself regarding your future, otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for failure. The only way to create realistic expectations is to have the right idea about your strengths and weaknesses.

Go ahead and evaluate all of your interests. This will include your academics and co-curricular. Once evaluated, put it on a list. This list can be worked over and scrutinized in the future whenever you come across a profession that seems right for you.

2) Start Early

All children when they are young have a profession in their mind which they are adamant about pursuing when they grow up. Wanting to be an astronaut, a fighter pilot or a doctor are some of the common professions spoken about. However, as these children grow and their brains develop further and they lose their want of pursuing the career that they decided in kindergarten. When we speak of starting early, we are speaking of 10th grade.

Since in most education systems, CBSE in particular, students are required to choose their subjects after 10th grade, it is paramount that a profession has been narrowed down so that the correct subjects can be selected.

3) Maintain a Diary

One must be able to keep track of everything that you have considered as a career option for your future, and the best way to do it is by writing it down. Purchase a diary and in it list down a list of professions that have caught your eye and seem interesting to you.

Conduct your research and write down everything you can found out about each and every profession. This will help you keep your thoughts straight and uncluttered and all the information you need to refer to is always available to you at the flip of a page.

4) Stay Informed

In military strategy, verifiable information is as important as the troops and the bullets they carry. Good information can help a general or any other strategist make a decision that will help them reap the best of outcomes. Similarly, as choosing a career is a vital move in any student’s life they need to be well informed.

As we live in the information age it is very easy to gather information on every topic you want. the best source of information on any topic in today’s time is Blogs. There are many professionals out there who write blogs extensively on their experience in their current field of work and how one can join it.

5) Take Guidance

It is very difficult to leave school and directly jump into planning a career, especially if a student is not aware of where the first stepping stone is. All students need some form of guidance that could give the general blueprint of how to plan and what to expect in the coming years. Many schools help fulfill this need by hiring a Guidance Counsellor.

This professional’s core purpose is to assess a child’s performance throughout the years and help them plan out a career path. This will include helping them select a career, a college that helps fulfill their educational needs for the profession, and the examinations one needs to give and scores one must try to attain.

Even though a guidance counselor helps children with a lot of heavy lifting, they are also open to contact professionals in the career they are interested in. You must interact with a new graduate joining the career, as well as a professional with experience in the field so you have a range of information available to you which will help you in making the decision.

6) Consolidate your Options

So far you have listed out your options based on your interests and strengths. You have collected all the information that you possibly could have and scrutinized it for some time now.
Every source from where any form of intelligence could be gathered has been exhausted. This includes digital (the internet), verbal (talking to professionals), and written (newspaper and magazines). Now is the time to set it all on fire.

By setting it on fire, we are referring to cutting out the excess. Start the process by comparing the professions with each other in a bracket-like fashion. When compared with each other, look for the career which checks off more boxes than the other.

In the end, you will be left with a few names. The list may not have diminished to a definitive answer, but with a reduced list the student will be able to utilize their time contemplating more properly.

7) Plan your Path

If you have gotten close to a point where a career is going to be finalized, it is time to plan your path which will help you to achieve success. The planning stage will involve you analyzing the education qualification required for you to pursue your career.

This will include the necessary examinations one needs to give along with the score which will help you get into a college of your choice. The next step should have you thinking about developing experience in the field like pursuing internships.

Another step to ponder is a type of employment do you want to be self-employed or plan on working for a prestigious organization?

8) Think Ahead

Most careers fail and professionals end up changing their paths mid-way because they did not see far enough. If one plans on pursuing a career with no foresight and only thinking as far as 2-3 years, then there is a higher chance of you regretting your career choice.

Though it is not an adverse situation and many successful businessmen and entrepreneurs have changed their careers, but it is very stressful as you will beginning from square one. It is very important to talk to professionals who have gained a few years of experience to get a correct idea of what to expect and also listen to experts about what to expect from the industry in the coming years.

9) Financial Support

Having decided on a career path is great, but now comes the crucial part which is pursuing education for it. This generally involves a college or a trade school and that requires money.

If you are looking to get a career whose only requirement is simple graduation then you are in the clear. But students looking to go into medicine, advanced science, or law-like fields will require to spend a little more of their pocket.

Yes, one can take a loan, but there are less stressful options available. Students can look for schools that have great scholarship options available for students struggling financially. Even after joining the school, students can opt for part-time work in the institute and take payment in the form of boarding.

Now to Conclude, Choosing the right career path after high school is a very important step because a student’s real life begins once school ends. They must take the right steps and follow correct guidance to land a successful career.

However, one must understand that it is an overwhelming process and sometimes it is better to take a step back and inhale deeply before dive into it again.