by Joelle Steele
In the United States, we live in a world where young people move from job to job, some rarely staying at a job longer than six months or a year. Some quit and take jobs that they like better, but many just drift into work that is unsuited to their personality or skill set, and that is often quite unfulfilling psychologically and financially. There needs to be a lot more critical thinking and planning when it comes to career choices. It should start early on and be relied on throughout your working life.
Career plans need to start, at the latest, around the age of 13. Why so early? Because this is the age when the direction of a child’s personality and interests are becoming pretty darn clear. They begin to talk about what they want to be when they grow up, and their interests reflect those career choices. They may even talk about wanting to go to college or to a trade school.
Most kids these days have access to the Internet, with a ton of career information at their fingertips. The best thing a parent can do at this time is to encourage their child to investigate all the options for the type of career they are considering. It would probably also help if, as a parent, you did some research into your child’s dream too.
Avoid telling your kids what they should do instead of what they want, such as “Just get a job at the factory like I did,” or “Don’t waste your time going to college,” or “You can’t make any money in that kind of a job,” etc. While you may be well-intentioned, it is your job to guide them in what they want to do, not to squelch their dream by trying to steer them in another direction. That will just result in a lot of confusion for them and will no doubt lead to parent-child conflict for years.
This same advice applies to adults. Don’t let your parents or friends crush your career plans. If your current career is failing to meet your needs and you want a change, put on your critical thinking cap and start looking for something that will lead you in a better direction. And if you’re looking at retiring and want to start a new full- or part-time career, do the same. Ongoing research into career and educational opportunities will help you make good decisions at any age.
When it comes time to look for a job in your chosen career field, research the companies that you want to work for and find out who is doing what and where they are going. This will help you determine whether you are good fit for them and vice versa. Planning to be self-employed or a freelancer? Take some business classes no matter which you choose, and be sure that you fully research the kind of work you’d like to do and the types of clients or customers available.
And when you’re making career decisions, think about your personality. If you are not the most friendly and outgoing person, don’t get yourself caught up in work that requires you to have a sparkling personality. Do you need to be top dog at work? Do you like a lot of attention? Do you prefer to work solo or as part of a team? Are you good at managing people? Would you rather be working all by yourself with no interruptions? Do you like the idea of a corporate environment? Are you willing to relocate to where the jobs you want are located?
On another note, remember that no two jobs with the same title have the same job description. Parents often freak out when their child says they want to be an artist or a writer. This is because they envision their beloved child starving in a garret trying to sell a novel or painting. But artists and writers come in numerous categories. For example, let’s take artists. Everything that is manmade in the world was designed and created by an artist. Every. Single. Thing. No exceptions. Your car, your house, your clothes, shoes, hats, furniture, appliances, dishes, eyeglasses, lamps, musical instruments, movies, TV, etc., etc., etc. All designed and made by artists, some self-employed or freelance, some key employees in art departments, some working in research and development. And some industries, like entertainment, have a multitude of artists who specialize in animation, hair and make-up, costume design, set decoration, opening and closing credits, photography, cinematography, and many other artistic positions. The list of art-related jobs is enormous.
No matter how old you are, when it comes to careers (and almost everything else in life), NEVER GIVE UP. Everything takes however long it takes. Too many people give up just because they hit a few obstacles or stumbling blocks along the way. Be a critical thinker and always be looking for alternatives, slight variations in your thinking that can lead you in the right or better direction. Sometimes your career is the right one (attorney) but it’s simply in the wrong field or industry for you (criminal law). Sometimes you’re in the right field (law enforcement) but in the wrong career (detective).
Don’t assume that you will jump into your new career with a six-figure salary. It so often appears that someone was an overnight success. But if you read up on their success story, you’ll find that they usually started their careers long before they achieved success. In fact, many started as adolescents and teenagers.
Don’t let age stop you from pursuing your dream. I know many people who successfully changed careers, sometimes after returning to college late in life, at 50 or 60 or older. Schools and colleges welcome people of all ages these days. My friend Diane finished three years of college before she got married and had three kids. When her youngest was 10, she was working full-time as a secretary at a shipping company. But she had always wanted to be a lawyer, so she started taking night classes. At 47 she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree, entered law school, graduated at age 53, and went to work as a law clerk. One year later, she passed the bar. She is now 67, loves her work, and is in private practice.
Anyone can be successful, at any age, in the dream career of their choice.
