Project Materials

How to Know You Have Chosen the Right Career Path

Many university students feel that they have not chosen the correct career, either because they hastily enrolled without thoroughly evaluating the decision or because when they were studying, they realized that they were not following their vocation. However, detecting the signs that indicate that you have not chosen your ideal career is necessary to know how to continue.

Choosing what to be in the future is not an easy task since, for four years, we will begin a specific training, in an area we may end up working in the future.

Therefore, choosing your degree is a process that takes time and patience. Some students have been very clear about their vocation for years, but other young people need to make mistakes in their first career to find their ideal degree.

Whatever the way to go to get to your desired career, it is a difficult decision, which we must meditate and approach with caution. If you think you have been successful in choosing your career path without having started classes, we recommend patience, wait to see how the course develops and then measure these five indicators:

1. You feel passionate

If you get up every day happy to study, you will know that you have chosen the most successful career. A degree must be inspiring and passionate to you, so that you begin to see how your professional future will take shape.

Of course, you will not be passionate about all the subjects of your career, and there will be some that will always be very difficult for you; however, if this doesn’t happen to you with most of the subjects, then it is a sign to carry on.

2. You have the skills

Each degree requires a certain professional profile, that is, having a series of specific skills to develop efficiently in a work environment. If, for a degree, you need to know how to speak in public, not be afraid of the camera, have a very good memory or knowledge of a program, and you already have them, you are on the right track.

There will always be more complex subjects than others, but if you find the vast majority almost impossible to understand, perhaps it is because it does not motivate you to learn about it.

3. You always feel inspired

If you do not have to force yourself to do the work or start studying, if you feel motivated to face the different challenges that come your way, it is a sign that you are in the right career path. Also, if you have a feeling that you put all your creativity and effort into each academic task, this will indicate that your choice has been the right one.

4. You enjoy your classes

If you love the classes you are doing and don’t get bored, it’s a good sign. All in all, you have to consider that the first years are a bit general, with subjects and syllabi that we feel do not correspond to our degree. On the other hand, if you don’t like the subjects more focused on your career, it is because you have not hit the nail on the head.

5. Meet your expectations

Reluctance or lack of motivation are very negative indicators that you don’t like your career, especially in those specific subjects of your degree. On the other hand, if you feel that your expectations have been met and that you study what you imagined you would study, you do not have to worry, that career is made for you.

Other tips to consider:

As we have already established, a student’s academic life and future work can be shaped by his decision to choose one or another professional career. Making this decision is never easy, so if you are not clear about your academic future, below are basic tips to keep in mind:

A. Active Attitude: If you don’t know what to study, don’t think that the answer will come to you from one moment to the next, in a dream or a vision; you must have an active attitude towards the subject, search, ask, and inquire about the careers that interest you. Visit universities, enter classes, talk to students and professionals in these careers.

B. Think about what you want to be and not what you want to study: When you ask a child what he wants to be, he easily responds “police, firefighter, singer, queen,” etc. It is very simple for the child because he is not thinking about what it takes to fulfil his dream.

Stop thinking about what to study for a moment and ask yourself what you want to be. It is more important to know what you want to do throughout your working life, to be clear about where you would like to work than to worry about what you have to learn in college to achieve it. Once you are clear about what you want to be and do, see which career corresponds to your wishes.

C. You would do it even for free: An indication that you have chosen your career well is to think if you would be willing to exercise it even for free.

For example, if a veterinarian finds an injured puppy on the street, he could help the puppy, so he does not earn money with this, because it is his vocation, in addition to knowing what he is doing, he is happy doing it.

If you want to work only for money, you are probably not passionate about your choice, and you will surely be unhappy with your work.

D. Decide for yourself: Don’t let others decide for you. Listen to your parents, family, teachers, and friends, but make the decision yourself.

E. Are you anxious? Another sign that may indicate that you have made a good career choice is that you are eager to enter college. At this point, you should want to start studying, because it is what you like.

F. Why waits? If you like what you want to study, you shouldn’t wait for the university to start learning about it.

Examples:

1. Who likes photography takes photos.

2. Whoever wants to be a pilot make planes.

3. Passionate about journalism, read the newspaper.

G. Put money aside: No career ensures economic success; if it existed, probably almost everyone would have studied it. Although money is important, you will not have it if you study something you do not like or are not interested in, because you will not be a good professional. Good professionals make good money, and to be good, you must have a passion for what you do.

H. Don’t compare yourself, or let them compare you: We do not all have the same vocation, do not compare yourself with your peers, do not worry if they already know what to study, or think that what they are going to study is better than yours. Find your vocation, do not allow your parents to compare you with your brothers or relatives; you are unique.

I. Argue: If you can’t explain to another person what a professional do in your career, what you learn at university, and where you can work, be careful! You have no idea what you want to be with this career.

The day you can sit down with your parents to explain and argue why that career complements your life project, that day, you can say that you are clear about your professional future.

J. Questions for reflection: Which is better, a bad doctor or a good singer? Who earns more, a mediocre lawyer, or an excellent architect? Who is happier, a frustrated engineer or a vocational dentist?