How to choose a career

Look at the job responsibilities and daily tasks. Ask yourself the following:

• Will the work keep you engaged?
• Does the kind of work you'll be doing offer a degree of variety, autonomy, and opportunities for feedback?
• Are they a good fit with your skills and strengths?

You can use job boards to view job descriptions, salaries, and company reviews. Examples of popular job boards include Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor.

Engaging work doesn’t always mean following your passion. It’s about tasks that capture your attention and allow you to enter a state of flow. In practice, this looks like work that gives you:

• Autonomy in how you work
• Clear start and finish to tasks
• Variety in daily responsibilities
• Regular feedback

It's important to bear in mind that different people thrive in different setups. Some careers paths involve specialist roles that many are suited for. These individuals will naturally not have as much variety in their day to day tasks as generalists, for example, who do a bit of everything.

Try to avoid ruling out a career path just because it doesn't involve work you're interested in. That's because interest is replicable in other lines of work if you can get good/are good at what you do.

Next, review the entry requirements and qualifications needed to get into the field. Ask yourself:

• Do your strengths match what they demand?
• If not, are you willing and able to upskill?
• Think about the qualifications you'll need to progress further when in the industry. How feasible is it to attain them?
• What kind of skills will be needed at higher levels?

This is key because being good at what you do gives you a sense of achievement and pride. That can make learning a pleasurable and rewarding process. So, if you don't feel you have a passion that's career related, or have few career options available due to your interests, don't worry. You can still find a career that's meaningful or engaging.

Skill is also more important than interest when choosing a career because it puts you in a better position to negotiate the important aspects of one. This includes pay, benefits, flexibility, and the opportunity to do interesting work.

If you have recently finished your studies, think about:

• Why you chose your qualification
• What you've enjoyed most about the modules you did
• Aspects of the course content you enjoyed more than others
• Approaches to learning you've enjoyed, for example research or project work

Even if the work is engaging and you’re skilled, your environment plays a huge role in how happy you’ll feel in your career. A supportive workplace is one that has:

• Clear communication
• Fair treatment
• Opportunities to grow

A useful way to learn more about it is to listen to podcasts that provide insights from established professionals in your chosen fields, such as the Prospects careers podcast. You can also look at “day in the life” videos on YouTube to get a behind-the-scenes look at what the career is like in practice.

Think about the practical aspects:

• How is the pay? How easy or difficult is it to increase your earning potential?
• How are the working conditions? Is it something you can handle daily/weekly?
• Is job security an issue? Will you find yourself moving jobs frequently, and if so, what other advantages of the career path offset this?
• Is the career known to cause high levels of stress? If so, is this something you can handle?
• Does the career offer a healthy balance between work and life?
• Is regular commute during work hours/long hours a big part of this line of work?
• If so, how does that fit in with your way of working?

Take into account:

• Career development opportunities – Will the role help you grow professionally?
• Employment outlook – Is the industry expanding or declining?
• Training and upskilling options – Are there clear paths to improve and advance?
• Related roles – Could this job lead to other opportunities in the future?