Choosing the right career can mean the difference between overall quality of life and unhappiness. When it comes to choosing a career path, you’ll want to think about areas of interest, what matters to you most, your skillset, and your monthly bills. If you’re not sure what type of career to choose, read on for some things to consider.
Making an Impact
If making a difference is important to you, then you might want to look at your current educational level. If you hold a master of science, for example, you’ll be in a position to make a difference easier than someone who’s just starting out. This is because higher degree levels in the United States give people the ability to work in advanced practice in their chosen fields.
A great career path where you could make a difference is in healthcare. The global pandemic has made it clear just how important nurses, family nurse practitioners, physicians, emergency medical workers, and anyone who works in healthcare is to the world. Recently, those who screen applicants for health-related training programs and graduate schools have seen an increase in interest. Nurse Practitioner school, for example, is a great idea to look into if you want to make a difference in people’s lives. Other work could include advocacy work, non-profit careers, social work, and the helping fields.
Regardless of how you hope to help people, think about your current skill sets, what training is needed in various careers, and the feasibility of your meeting goals to help get you there. It might be easier than you think to help change the world.
Freedom and Career Choices
If you’re someone who enjoys travel and long trips or often searches for what to pack before going on a road trip, you might want to consider a career where you’ll be able to travel. From work as a digital nomad to a career as a traveling nurse practitioner or primary care doctor who travels to remote areas, there are ways to combine your love of travel with your chosen profession.
If you’re creative enough, you could even make travel your job. Becoming a social media influencer, creating videos or documentaries about people and places the world over, and doing food and accommodation reviews could be the perfect career for you. When thinking about how much freedom matters to you, consider whether you can set your own hours, the time required to get the job done, and the independence you’ll have on the job before working toward a new career.
Considering Finances
While it isn’t glamorous, and many people don’t like to talk about it, no career specialty will be right if it means you can’t make an affordable living. While you may be passionate about a job changing fluids in vehicles, for example, it might not pay the bills the same way becoming a certified mechanic would.
If your interests are in the automotive industry, look into ways you can get the training you need to make a better income. From checking tire pressures and coolant levels to brake pads and replacing new engines, you could easily pay your monthly bills with training and licensing behind you while you might struggle as a car detailer, for example. It’s a good idea to look for educational programs, certificates, and what sorts of degrees you’ll need to work your way into a career that will sustain you financially throughout your lifespan.
Maybe you enjoy work as a service provider for people shopping for ISP bundles. As an internet service provider, you could make more money with specific training in ISP hardware replacement, for example. By taking that one additional step, you could seal a career path forever versus hopping around with jobs or taking on another one. That is, instead of worrying about how to slash your internet bill, advanced training could mean more time to focus on a career you love.
In the end, how you go about planning your career is up to you. An open road of possibilities, no two careers are identical. In considering what you love to do, how you’ll afford to live, and the lifestyle that matters to you, you’ll be one step closer to a career that best works for you.
