William Penn Life, 2001 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2001-05-01 / 5. szám
Ten steps to planning your career "WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE when you grow up?" You've heard it ever since you first learned to speak. When you're a toddler, that question and your answer seem cute and charming. When you're in grade school, it all seems fun and your career is only limited by the scope of your imagination. But, when you're in eight or ninth grade, the question suddenly is asked with a bit more urgency, your attention to the matter a tad more focused. What DO you want to be when you grow up? As you get closer to graduation, what was once cute and charming now seems deadly serious. After all, only your entire future depends on the answer. Few decisions in life are more important—or can produce more stress—than choosing a career. But, the good news is that you can make the right choice for you (and reduce the level of stress involved) by taking some time, putting in some concentrated effort and asking for and accepting help from knowledgeable sources. To get you on your way to a successful career, we offer the following 10 steps to planning your career. They come to us courtesy of Mapping Your Future, a web site sponsored by the participating agencies of the Federal Family Education Loan Program. #1 - Develop a career plan. Think about what you want to do and find out more about the kind of training, education and skills you will need to achieve your career goal. The sooner you start thinking about this, the better. Developing a career plan will help answer many of your questions and will outline the steps you need to take to reach your career goal. As with many of the steps in this article, you'll find your guidance counselor to be an excellent source of help and information. #2 - Assess your skills and interests. Think hard about what you enjoy, what you are good at, what kind of person you are and the values you hold. Your skills may include training you've gained through a parttime job, volunteer work or school activities. Make a list of both your skills and interests. Are there any similar activities on both lists? For example, if you volunteered at a hospital and enjoyed it, you may want to consider a medical career. #3 - Research occupations. Find out more about the nature of the jobs that interest you. Talk to people you know who work in the careers you're considering. Find out what type of education you'll need to get a job in that field. Try to get the scoop on the good and bad parts of the job. Get information on salaries, working conditions, travel requirements and opportunities for advancement. #4 - Compare your skills and interests with the occupations you’ve selected. Take the information you've gathered on the careers you selected and match it against your lists of skills and interests. The career that most closely matches your skills, interests and personality may be the career for you. #5 - Choose your career goal. A career goal helps you focus on what you want to do for a living. It can be a specific job you want to dosuch as doctor or teacher-or a career goal can be a particular field you want to work in, such as medicine or BIG PAY DAYS ^ i Dentists ($||0,200) 2*M0) Podiatrists °$79nS00|ght E^"iecrs ($9,800, Lawyers ($78,200) ' %SS^^tural Sciences Manasers'$75U Optometrists ($68,500) Median wages in 199$ • Source: Bureau of Lihor St^siic, q.----------------------------------------I "»p'« ......................................... 8 Hilliani Pen« life, May 2001
