Exploring Career Paths
Contributed by Alyana Andre — Speak Up for Kids Student Intern, an upcoming senior at Dr. Joaquin Garcia High School, passionate about mental health advocacy, literature, and uplifting others through compassion and education.
Overview
Exploring career paths is essential as it can help you cultivate a self at work and a sense of work-ethic in your livelihood and your future. The process of exploring career paths can be a difficult and scary process, as there are a lot of aspects of a career that need to be taken into consideration. This article aims to minimize and guide you through the stress that comes with making lifelong decisions and initiatives, and can even help you find your perfect career!
Job Shadowing
Job Shadowing is a process in career exploration where you have the opportunity to familiarize yourself with a clinical and professional environment through hands-on observations and experiences.
Navigating Job Shadowing
Keep an open ear and open mind to the information being retained. This can help you grasp a better gist of the career.
Place yourself in the shoes of a professional. Through job shadowing, you are able to envision yourself playing the part. This can help you better understand your own appeal to a career.
Involve yourself in the work. To create a better sense of work ethic within the career, it is important that you regard yourself as an active individual, and not a passive one.
Career Assessment Tests
Career assessment tests are tests designed to help you explore careers and skills personalized to your individual. These tests give you the opportunity to build an individualized foundation on what you want to explore in regards to different careers.
Navigating Career Assessment Tests
Remain honest and consistent with your answers. There are no right or wrong answers because this test was made to be personalized to your individual.
Explore multiple assessments. Try to engage with more than one test to find a recurring pattern suitable to your likings.
Research beyond your results. Spend some time exploring the skills and careers recommended.
Researching Options
It is crucial to regard independent needs when researching careers. There are countless sources that take into account individualized aspects like financial need, schedule, skills, and capacities.
Navigating Research Options
College Board Career Search: College Board offers an abundant amount of resources like BigFuture and their Career Assessment tests to help you find individualized careers that are suitable for you.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Uses your strengths and preferences to give you insight to which career is suitable for your personality type.
CliftonStrengths: This assessment offers you the opportunity to grow your skills into strengths for possible careers. This assessment prioritizes nurturing your potential in order to maximize your professional future.
Importance of Finding a Job Suitable to One’s Needs
It is essential that within your exploration, you take into account your own individualized factors. This individuality within your career helps you to foster a sense of growth, familiarity, productivity, and personal development with your being.
Navigating Individualized Importance
Pay: It is crucial to regard your income when considering your career to increase long-term success and financial stability within your livelihood.
Skills: It’s important that through your career, you can take into account your individualized skills so you can nurture these aspects as a means to grow within your pursuit of individuality.
Values: It is important that a career aligns with your values to minimize a sense of contradiction and conflict within professional settings.
Final Thoughts
Exploring career paths may feel overwhelming at times, but it is also an exciting journey of self-discovery. By engaging in opportunities like job shadowing, taking career assessments, and researching your options, you open doors to understanding not only the world of work but also yourself—your strengths, passions, and values. Remember, the goal is not just to find a job, but to find a path that allows you to thrive, grow, and feel fulfilled. Your career is a significant part of your story, and taking the time to explore it with care and curiosity can help you build a future that is both meaningful and uniquely yours.
