As many highschool students are approaching college and university, it is crucial to start thinking about future career choices. Questions like: “what should I do” or “what career path should I take” often come up and for many students, they are hard to answer on the spot. Each individual is different, with different abilities, personalities and preferences, which makes choosing a career quite difficult without proper guidance and understanding of what is best for oneself. Finding out about yourself and obtaining outside knowledge could help greatly when making big decisions.
Finding out more about yoursel
Self assess: Ask yourself:
What type of learner are you?
How do you learn best?
What method for getting tasks done works best for you?
What type of academic interests do you have outside of school? (you could enjoy taking stuff apart, liking music instruments etc)
Attitude towards certain subjects and activities (whether you enjoy doing something or not)
Also consider personality type as it plays a big role in how you act and interact in a workspace with peers or coworkers.
These are all things to consider/questions to ask when self assessing. This is essentially looking back at yourself and using the information to search for the best job that suits you the most.
Think about what you like doing the most and what you see yourself being interested in for a long time. For people that are unsure, try things out, like registering for a small class about a subject you have been keeping an eye on, to see if you want to pursue it. In doing this, you might discover a new passion. Maybe you already have a set “strength” or something you are passionate about and are sure of, keep working on that while also discovering other possibilities on the side.
You should stay away from careers that focus heavily on your weakness and things you are not interested in. The last thing you want is a job that you do not enjoy at all or are not skilled at. For example, if I am bad at math, I would not get a technical and math focused career because I would not be able to excel at it or enjoy it either.
External Resources
In addition to exploring on your own, you can also seek advice from people you know such as friends: parents, peers or even just people with more experience. They can help guide you along the right path by suggesting things to do and how to prepare. Combining your own findings and advice from others, you can make more informed decisions about your future. In addition, start doing research about the career you are interested in to learn more about how to prepare and what you need in order to accomplish this goal.
Career decisions are one of the biggest decisions you will ever make in your life, which is why it is important to start thinking about it as early as high school. This process involves learning more about yourself and learning from the experiences of others. As your interests and preferences could evolve overtime, you may need to repeat this process multiple times to end up with your ideal career. Therefore, early consideration of your career will be greatly beneficial for a better future.
Edited by Jamie Zhang
About Lucy
Lucy is attending grade 10 at North Park Secondary School. She is excited to meet new people and make new friends. She is interested in math and enjoys doing art as a hobby. Lucy also likes going outside for walks and bike rides with her family.
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