Choosing the right career path is one of the biggest life decisions for many people. You may end up switching career paths later on, but the one you choose at the very beginning often impacts your entire professional journey.
In this short guide, we’re going to share some expert tips so you will know how to choose the right career path for you.
Let’s start with the basics.
What’s a Career Path?
A career path refers to the different positions you work in as you progress toward achieving your ultimate professional goals. While its objective is to help you achieve your ultimate career goal, it doesn’t necessarily need to be a straight line.
Traditionally, career paths implied vertical advancement or growth to higher-level positions, but they may also comprise of lateral movement across or within industries. Similarly, career setbacks (backwards moves) are also common.
You may move down the career ladder by opting for a transfer to a position with less stress and fewer responsibilities. Or you may apply for a position with an organization that you’ve always wanted to work with where only the lower-level positions are available.
Different Types of Career Paths
Usually, you can progress in your career either through an organization or industry. Some organizations have an employee development process to help their employees develop their preferred career paths. In that case, you and a human resources representative or your supervisor discuss your career progression within the organization.
This discussion may occur as part of your performance appraisal process. Additional work assignments, training, or education may be planned to help you qualify for higher-level positions within the organization.
In terms of following your career path within an industry, you continue advancing within your profession. For instance, if your ultimate career goal is to become a principal, you generally start as a teacher and develop your administrative skills while teaching. Down the line, you may become a department head, then move to the position of assistant principal, and finally, become the principal.
Tips to Position Yourself for the Right Career Path
As career objectives vary from one person to another, there can be numerous types of career paths to consider or follow. However, no matter which career path you choose, you should prepare yourself to be successful.
Here, we’ve jotted down some tips to ensure you’re successful on your journey.
Never Stop Learning
With the help of modern technology, there are now many different ways you can learn to improve your skills and job prospects such as online learning or blended learning. To gain a competitive edge in today’s job market, it’s a must to stay on top of the trends and best practices in your industry. And there’s only one way to do this – continue learning throughout your career. If you find it difficult to identify the areas you need to focus on, talking to a mentor in your industry or your supervisor in your organization should help you out.
Continue Expanding Your Professional Network
Having a robust professional network can greatly help you in different stages of your career. Be it getting to know about open positions in other organizations or getting suggestions on how to prepare to enter a new industry, your professional network can help you in various ways. If you want to expand your network, you can join professional forums on social media platforms or attend networking events.
Maintain Flexibility
You should always maintain flexibility and be open to opportunities while keeping your ultimate career goals in mind. For example, suppose a lower-level position gives you the opportunity to acquire skills or build connections that’ll be of high value down the line. In that case, you should be open to accepting the opportunity.
Five Key Steps to Choosing a Career Path
The following steps should help you choose a career path that is best for you.
#1 Define Objectives
Many people have never really thought about what they wanted out of their careers until it was too late. They were so busy trying to “succeed” at their job that they didn’t have time to stop and think about what kind of success or sense of accomplishment would actually satisfy them.
This is why it is so important to think carefully about your career objectives. These should be based on your core values, favourite professional activities, interests, personality, abilities, and strengths. Once you know the things that are important to you it will help you to choose a career path that matches your objectives.
#2 Make Plans
You should develop a long-term career plan and conduct thorough research to identify ways to reach those future milestones.
Don’t feel overwhelmed by this idea though. You don’t have to plan out your life as if it were a 50-year retirement plan. Just making plans for the next few years will get you started in a good place.
#3 Review Experience
Next, you should find out which of your previous positions gave you maximum job satisfaction. Then identify patterns and trends in those past roles.
A lot of people say they’re just “looking for something new” or “wanting a change,” but there are probably some concrete experiences you’ve had in the past that will help you decide what’s next for you.
#4 Education Requirements
Before you commit to a new career path, it’s important to do your research. Even if you’ve been working in the same field for years, it’s important to keep up to date with new trends and developments in the industry and what you need in order to move up the next rung of the ladder.
Learning about the educational requirements for positions you want to apply for and seeing if they match your present skill and educational level is essential. You may need to obtain additional degrees or certifications in order to be considered for a new position.
#5 Salary Expectations
Salary is also a crucial factor to consider, so you should figure out what your desired salary is and make sure it is in line with your chosen career path.
If you’re considering a career change, for example, it might not be realistic to have high expectations for your salary if you’ve never had any experience in this industry before. Research where the average salary falls in the industry so you can have realistic expectations.
The same applies if you’re planning on moving to a different area or country. The average salary varies greatly depending on where you live, as does the cost of living. For example, a low salary in London may be considered a high salary in Rome.
Final Thought
Finally, if you’re at the initial stage of your career and unsure of what will be the right career path for you, it’ll be wise to obtain a broad education instead of opting for a particular subject. When you eventually choose a career path down the line, you can always get specialization in a particular field to advance your career.
This article was written by Sonali