What to do if you are confused about career? This is a question that bothers most of us at some point in our life, especially when we are about to enter the new phase ‘the professional life’.
Is career opting difficult for you? Don’t worry! Here’s what to do if you are facing career confusion.
Career is an occupation that is undertaken by interested people who seek progress and opportunity while making a living out of it. A career decides how you will be treated in your life, and it is obvious that everyone likes to be treated with respect, which means you have to concentrate more on your job search.
We know a lot of people who don’t like their job or understood very late after their job search in life that they were not meant for the job they were doing out of compulsion or varied reasons. So, career confusion is quite common feeling.
If you want to be on the right track and at the exact time, don’t waste your life like a hippie, put some hard work in polishing your skills, and you will start to experience the finer things that life has to offer.
A career decision is considered as one of the most critical and difficult choices of an individual’s life. What you opt-in high school, paves a pathway of your career. So, be very careful with your selection.
That is more easily said than done. How does one decide which career option is best for them? Allow us to guide you in this dilemma of career because this decision will help you in shaping your life.
What To Do If You Are Confused About Career Choices!
1. Ask Yourself Why You Are Confused?
There can be several factors responsible for this confusion; like there was no family pressure on you to have a particular profession as per your parent’s choice, or you have no idea about what it’ll be like once you get into that profession, or simply because you have no interest in the options present around you.
The reason for your confusion can be infinite, but you don’t need to bother yourself much over this question. Because being confused about the career is a good sign!
This is a clear sign of your sincerity and that you aspire to have a good life. And it’s perfectly fine to take some time to explore your likes, dislikes, area of interest, etc. instead of blindly following your friends’ choice of career trajectory in order to choose the right career.
Take your time in doing some research, go through all the career options you have, what are their pros and cons. After doing your research, you will gain an insight into what having a career journey will look like from your perspective.
2. Consider Your Hobbies and Passion
Ask yourself, ‘what hobbies am I into?’ After you are done with your hobby list, prioritize your hobbies according to your interests and how much time you would like to invest in them.
Now see for yourself if there are career possibilities to make a career in your hobbies or not.
People with well-aware passion in themselves during career search will face less difficulty in deciding the right career path for themselves. But, always be sure to do proper research first, as long term opportunities and growth.
As you are young, you should try to indulge yourself in all kinds of activities that you can come across, because without trying new things, developing hobbies and passion is a tough task.
3. Consider Your Skills and Interests
Your hobbies, interest, and skills don’t need to be all the same. Your hobby could be listening to music, your interest can be in sports, and your skill set can be in coding. So, that kind of combination can create complete havoc inside your mind.
Try to find your sweet spot! Analyze properly, and try to find a career for yourself where a part of your interest and skills lies so that the ultimate result can be satisfactory for you.
Because it is essential to at least like what you will be doing for almost 8 hours every day in your life. You can create a list of your likes and dislikes. This might help you if you are confused about career.
3. Analyze the Scope of Your Career Choice
The scope of the career also gets us confused about your dream career.
By scope, we mean, do in-depth research to find out if there’s a presence of industries related to your career choice. What opportunities are there for you after you graduate?
What’s the probability of getting into the core-business with the existing firms? Etc.
For example, let’s say you are interested in pursuing your higher education in maritime or port and shipping. Still, there are no industries related to it, as you are a resident of a landlocked country.
Circumstances can vary accordingly. You may also be interested in becoming an entrepreneur, in that case look for inspiration and life stories of how someone started their own business.
Analysis of the scope of your career can take you out from your misery of what to do if you are confused about your career.
4. Visit a Career Counselor
If self-analysis is not working out for you, then visit a counselor in a career resource center who will guide you in finding out the best career options for you.
A career counselor will suggest you some career options based on your personality, skills, and interest, and will try to give you exposure on the reality of pursuing a career, its benefits, demerits, earning capacity, industry exposure, opportunities, etc.
For example, if a career counselor suggests you to go to law school, what other opportunities are there apart from being a law attorney?
A law graduate has lots of different options like; you can become a Judge, Chief Justice, A professor, or even run your law firm after gaining a few years of work experience.
5. Take a Personality Test
You can take a personality test online, to have a better idea of your career choices. You can also career search the internet for ‘what to do if you are confused about career’ and read lots of helpful articles and watch counseling videos that will help you in deciding what to choose from the ocean of career choices.
Mostly online personality tests are readily available, but few may even cost you some money, but it is worth the investment.
6. Internship Opportunities
This is an excellent solution to the question, ‘what to do if you are confused about career.’
If you are a graduate or still pursuing it, it doesn’t matter when it comes to doing an internship. Internship plays a significant role in answering the question of what should you be doing if you are confused about a career. Let me tell you how!
Internships provide real exposure and an exact idea of the working culture of the industry. Also, it is done for a short period, like 30 days or so.
During an internship, you don’t only learn about the corporate culture and kind of work you will be doing, but it also allows you to meet people who are moreover on the same page as you.
In addition to that, it is readily available, and many organizations are ready to take interns of various types like part-time, full-time, in-office, or virtual, depending on the nature of work. You also get paid for the job done by you, apart from lots of learning.
So, whether you are a graduate or undergraduate, you can try different areas and industries as per your choice to understand your interests and then decide which career suits you best.
7. Seek Guidance from Elders and Seniors
Seeking guidance from your elder working cousin or relatives is like a home-remedy version of a counselor. This will help you a lot if you are confused about your career.
You need to talk to that person, and as they have an informal relationship with you, they will tell you about all kinds of things, like company policies, rules, requirements, etc. in an honest way, that will give you some clarity as to what to do next.
You can also approach your school alumni, as they have recently stepped outside so, seek their advice on ‘how they decided or knew what career option is best for them’.
And always remember to open up and talk about your problems, and never be afraid of questioning things, or exploring new activities, as that confidence will play a significant role in answering one of the most complex questions of ‘what should you do if you are confused about a career?’
All these tips are trying to tell you about one point that is- try to turn your confusion into clarity. However, everything is not available on the internet.
There are lots of new surprises in the real world, but having a crux of understanding of different careers will open your mind’s window and will get you started.
Even if you are already a graduate and confused about how to change in your career, it is completely fine. It’s not the end of the world. You can seek help here. Opting for career coaching is also okay, you may find really interesting and helpful advice from your career coach.
Seeking a career change in your late 20s is not at all an embarrassing thing. If you are not happy or satisfied with your current profession or current job, it’s completely understandable.
Because there is no perfect time or age for learning something new, you can engage yourself in a new job, because it is your happiness and satisfaction that matters the most.
Apart from the existing traditional profession, if you are looking for some new and fun career options as a millennial, you can click here!
This was an article on ‘What to do if you are confused about your career.’ If you have something to add, please feel free to share your thoughts with us.
-Edited by Steffy Michaael|10/7/22
Last Updated on by ritukhare