Figuring out what career to move into when it’s time to make a change or you’re just starting out is a pretty big task. Not only is it a big deal, but it’s an important one, too. If you’re going to spend time and energy to start a career, then you want to feel assured that you’ve done everything you can to find your best option. You don’t have to haphazardly jump into a career search; instead, narrow down your options by doing some important thinking and researching ahead of time.
Consider Your Personality & Your Needs
Before you jump into making big plans for your future, take into consideration some of the things that aren’t going to change any time soon. First of all, you want to think about your personality. If you’re an introvert who doesn’t enjoy spending all day talking to people, then you should avoid career paths that lead to constant customer or coworker interaction. Conversely, if you are energized by constantly working as a part of a team or chit-chatting with customers all day, then that’s an important thing to look for in a role. Thinking about who you are in your daily life will help you come to some good decisions about a career later on.
But making sure your needs are met isn’t only about your personality type. What financial commitments do you have to meet? Sure, it would be nice to follow every dream you have, but you’ve also got to pay your bills. Any career path you choose needs to be viable for your financial situation; otherwise, you’ll just be adding stress to your life instead of moving down a more hopeful, exciting path.
Ask Yourself What You Enjoy Learning About
You want a career that is going to keep you interested and that you’re going to want to keep learning about ten years in the future. When you’re talking to others, scrolling through social media, checking out YouTube videos, or scanning your streaming service for a show, what types of topics are you drawn to? What does your YouTube feed look like? When you hear about different topics, which are you most likely to spend time reading about or watching videos about on your own?
Take A Career Test
You can always take a career test to narrow down your ideas. Some career tests are free, while others give you some initial insight into the type of work personality you have, but they save the career advice for a price. Here are the top three personality and career tests to take that will help you learn about yourself and narrow down possible career pathways:
- • Princeton Review Career Quiz
- • Career Fitter Career Test/Work Personality Analysis
- • Truity Career Aptitude and Personality Tests
Think About The Education You’ll Need
How much time are you willing to devote to learning a new skill? A certificate program can provide you with quick knowledge, skills, and documentation for a new career pathway, often from the comfort of your own home, online, and in a self-paced environment. An associate’s degree will take a bit more time and will most likely require that you attend some class in-person or on a set schedule. Most bachelor’s degrees will also require some scheduled classes or in-person training. Which of these would be best for your current lifestyle?
How much money are you willing to spend on your education and training? Generally, certificate programs are less expensive, and then associate’s degrees cost a bit more, followed by a bachelor’s degree which costs the most because of the number of courses needed to earn that degree.
Do Some Research
Once you’ve narrowed down your options, do a bit of research. You can go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to find out the basics about any career, like what the job market will look like for that career pathway in the future, how much education the career requires, and what type of pay you could expect. Watch some videos about the careers you’re investigating and, if possible, ask people you know who work in the field about the realities of the work.
Washington Technical Institute
If you’re looking for a career pathway that is less costly and can be achieved in a matter of months, then check out the certificate programs offered by Washington Technical institute. Washington Technical Institute’s fully online certificates can be completed in a matter of months, with daily or bi-weekly start dates. Such flexible start dates make these programs unique and much more accessible for our students. Most of our certificates can be earned as a self-paced program, meaning that you can work at your own pace to complete your work, even finishing early if you have the time and motivation to do so. An additional benefit of WTI’s programs is that we offer affordable pricing and monthly payments to help our students leave school without debt.
Although our goal is to help our students graduate their programs with little to no debt, we also recognize that some students might need to utilize a loan for their educational investment. We are excited to announce our partnerships with Climb Credit or Ascent, student lending companies focused on financing career-building programs.
If you’re ready to enroll and start working on a plan for the personal and professional benefit of professional development, you can register for your program online through our website. Still have questions about our programs? Feel free to call us at 800-371-5581 or text us at 952-465-3702. Our admissions specialists will be happy answer whatever questions you have.
