How To Know A Tech Career Path That Is A Good Fit For You
“I have no idea what career I want. No career interests me.”
If this sounds like you then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you. It’s normal to not know what career you want.
And these are things that should’ve been taught to us as kids. But instead, we were asked to make a career decision at 16 after consulting with our families.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you crush the dreams of teenagers.
By asking them to make such a huge decision when they haven’t even understood their hormones yet. And now you’re at this stage realizing that you have no idea what career you want.
This post will explore 10 ways to help you figure this out.
10 Things to Do When You Have No Idea What Career You Want
1. Figure out who you are
To understand which career path will fit you best, you must first understand yourself.
And this is something most of us didn’t do in our late teens. Your personality and the things that interest you are the last things you worry about at that age.
But you must understand your personality. Many recommend personality tests to help you with this, but you know yourself best
Spend time alone with a journal and write down all the things that make you YOU
Figure out if you’re an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert, as this will also make a difference in how happy you are at your job.
An extrovert sitting in a quiet office and an introvert talking to customers every hour is a disaster bound to happen.
Next, understand what you’re naturally inclined to.
For example, if you love number subjects like accounting or mathematics, then maybe a career that involves those subjects would suit you.
If you’re an outdoorsy person and love to work with your hands, then maybe a career in landscaping would suit you.
Understand your strengths and weaknesses; You might not believe that you have strengths, or you might think that your strengths are useless, but they’re not. Your unique strengths can provide a meaningful career for you. For example, if you are a calm person – then working in a high-pressure, deadline-driven environment might suit you.
And just as you have strengths, you must recognize your weaknesses too. There are things you’re truly horrible at. When you understand who you are, it’s easy to narrow down career options that align with you.
2. What is your definition of work success and happiness?
Money might be the most motivating factor for many people when it comes to choosing a career.
People respect and value those with high-paying jobs. And parents want their kids to be in those ranks too.
So why are so many people “starving artists” or entrepreneurs who live and breathe for a business that has yet to pull a profit?
Because everybody has a different definition of work success and happiness. Not everyone defines stability and financial security as success. Create your own definition of work success and happiness. Deciding on a career path then becomes easy.
Do you want to make a positive impact on the environment in your work?
Do you want to work remotely so you can spend as much time as possible at home?
Do you want to work on the 25th floor of a corporate office?
Would taking the elevator to the top make you happy?
Understand what is meaningful to you, and this will define success for YOU.
It could even be that salary. There’s nothing wrong with a high salary genuinely making you happy.
But if it doesn’t, then don’t go into a career where there is only money to be made and nothing else.
3. Look at job descriptions
A great way to figure out the type of career you want is to look at different job descriptions. Search for jobs in sectors that you think you might be interested in. Or you can specifically search by the job title.
For example, “Jobs in environmental management,” “Jobs in Digital marketing,” or “Copywriter positions,” etc. Also, be realistic when you are looking at a job description.
Sometimes things only look good in theory. But when you “actually” picture yourself doing those things every day, it doesn’t look appealing anymore.
That’s why the next tip is so important.
4. Gain practical experience
I find it ridiculous how we’re told to make career decisions in school/college when we haven’t worked a day in that career.
Exactly what are you using to decide?
Your father’s advice? A website? You can’t decide if you’ll be happy with someone until you both meet and spend time getting to know each other, the same goes for a career.
The only way to determine whether a career is a suitable fit for you is to do it.
Obtain practical, real-world experience in that role. And you can accomplish this through volunteering, interning, or job shadowing
5. Forget what everyone else says
Everyone will advise you on what to do when it comes to picking a career.
However, giving counsel is cheap since the giver is exempt from having to deal with its repercussions. People you care about will also advise you, like your parents, aunts, and uncles. These folks genuinely care about you and want the best for you; however, their voices can silence the voice within you.
So, listen to what everyone says and then let it out the other ear. (in other words, filter the advice and pick the one that’s beneficial to you)
Your career path should be decided by you and nobody else.
6. Listen to yourself
There is a voice within you, and it’s called intuition or gut instinct.
To find out what your instinct is telling you, check at job descriptions.
Alternatively, you can follow the suggestions made by others and pay attention to how they make you feel.
In addition, you might investigate several career options and analyze your gut reaction.
Is it yelling out of terror or is it singing out of joy?
Listen and act accordingly
7. Remove your blinkers
Because you have such a limited perspective on careers, you only consider “traditional” paths or what is expected of you.
However, there is more out there. You haven’t thought about a lot of careers, and one of them might be “The One” for you. Check out these courses at WebCapz Technologies.
As a kid, you also used blinkers for most of your life. You only saw and valued the common career paths, like accounting, medicine, engineering, etc.
But when you got older, you realized that there are far more interesting careers out there like writers, artists, and digital marketers.
8. What job would you do if money weren’t an issue?
Don’t roll your eyes. It’s a good question. Is there something you’d like to do despite knowing you’ll never get paid enough for it? If you were asked as a kid this same question “What career would you love to do if money weren’t an issue?” your answer wouldn’t be so far-fetched, but you didn’t have the confidence to go after it.
So, like many, we went the traditional route and forgot about that answer. Ask yourself what job feels spiritually rewarding to you and go back to your definition of work success. If money isn’t in your definition, then what’s holding you back from going after your dream?
9. Choose your struggle
Wishing for a struggle-free life is pointless. Because nothing will ever be struggle-free.
The same goes for a career – every career or job is going to be a struggle. You’ll never have the perfect one.
So, look at your options and choose the one that’s worth suffering for. Choose the one that will still make you feel fulfilled and satisfied when you come home very tired.
10. Be patient and enjoy the journey
Not knowing what career you want, It’s not the end of the world. It’s a very normal problem, and you will figure things out. The career you choose doesn’t have to be “The One.” Every job you work doesn’t need to be “The One.”
Don’t waste so much time and energy trying to perfectly sort everything in your life. You change as a person with time, your career interests will change with time too. So, don’t bank everything on figuring out what you want to do now.
Just be patient. Try new things.
Final thoughts
People work at a job for 40 years and then look around and think, “How did I end up here?” But you won’t end up like this person. Because this person thought they had everything sorted in their life and never questioned their choices.
But you are. And this confusion you are feeling right now is good. It means that you’re questioning yourself and aren’t making a career decision lightly.
I hope this post helped you figure out what career you want and that it’s also okay to not know yet.
