Opportunities come to all of us, whether we recognize them or not. More often, it is “not”; we don’t see them, or if we do, we don’t take advantage of them. When starting a career, the same is true; there are many opportunities — but they must be seized. In this brief, I hope to demonstrate to our younger audience that it is greatly to their advantage to start career planning early, and to take the right approach to career planning.
Every adolescent sets their sites on some wonderful career, whether it’s to be the next Neil Armstrong or Jimmy Hendrix. No one person’s dream is the same as another. The sky is the limit. Whatever you dream, you can achieve. With the proper career planning and studying hard in school, anything is possible. The key is persevering and not giving up on your dreams.
A person should start early by asking adults around them about their jobs and career choices. Question everyone, family, friends, coworkers, parents, and teachers about their jobs. Ask their opinion on different jobs that you know of and talk to them if they can help you find more information about jobs. Experienced people can help immensely with their knowledge and would be helpful in choosing a career choice.
If when all is said and done you still don’t know what career you might like to pursue, it’s time to seek professional career counseling. For high school students, this help is as close as their school guidance office, and it’s free. These professional counselors have been trained to determine your career needs, analyze your skills, and provide you with testing to evaluate your aptitude for various careers.
Career planning guidebooks are readily available at the library or bookstore. These books cover both the conventional and unorthodox jobs out there and list the skills and education needed for them. You can also read experience summaries of these jobs from the people who actually do them. If you can relate to the jobs that they profile, then the chances are excellent that you will potentially want to make that career choice.
Having said that, it’s just as important to think about your personality, skills, qualifications and priorities in life in order for your career planning to be effective. SWOT analysis is a good method to employ as you do such an analysis. Don’t forget that creativity and passion have no boundaries. Feel free to dream big. Once you have your dream career in mind, all you need to do is steep that dream in reality.
When starting a career there are many opportunities — but they must be seized. In this brief, I hope to demonstrate to our younger audience that it is greatly to their advantage to start career planning early. Look for the opinions of friends, parents, neighbors, teachers, and several others about their employment. They can draw on their wealth of experience in different fields, and seeking their advice will also be helpful to you in making your career choice. If after these conversations, you still feel hesitant or hazy about a possible career; you should waste no time in seeking career counseling from a professional.
