Starting out in a new career is never easy. Many undergraduate and even graduate students find it tough, because it requires pushing out of your comfort zone. It is a totally different feel and experience to school routines.
When I started looking at potential career fields, I was stuck for a while. It wasn’t just a lack of understanding of different career options. But more of struggling with what specific interest I would like to pursue in the future. I thought it would be easy to choose my career. It’s actually a hard thing as it needs to pass a certain stage before you can get any results. Here are my three top tips, based on my own experience.
Top Tip 1: First off, write down your interests and any fields that align with them
What do you love? Write down your passions. Then rank them from top to the bottom, based on how likely you are to keep them up in future. Looking at your top interest, consider if this is something you could potentially capitalize on in your career. Bear in mind what strengths and skills you would need to expand in this field.
My list is arranged from the role of business consultant, data analyst, marketing, and sales development. I identified some advantages in research and time-management skills. I used some comparison model testing to look for the best match. Eventually, I ended up with business consultant and data analyst as the most fitting fields to me.
Top Tip 2: Identify the courses you took that support your new direction
With my lessons in mind, I could adapt some classic tricks before deciding on a particular career or relevant fields. When you start choosing your path, make sure to first think about what courses you have taken so far that can bring the greatest advantage to support your chosen career direction. Next, it is useful to state your position on the average salary level you aim to achieve in the future and corresponding positions that have the greatest potential to do so.
Top Tip 3: Share your thoughts with the people who know you best
Then, have a talk with family members, friends, and/or relevant people to share your current thoughts and ideas. They will often provide great feedback that you haven’t yet thought of. Most importantly, it is essential to make sure it will be a consistent goal for you to pursue in the future—their insights about you are relevant even if you change your mind about your chosen career.
Interested in data analytics?
For students wanting to become data analysts, my top tip for you to keep in mind is to have a solid background understanding of coding/programming, specifically how to apply codes and statistical programming in interpreting company data and create accurate analysis of its current performance. You will need to get in touch with different statistical tools and graphical tutorials to understand the functions of each graphing material. As mentioned, a data analyst will never stick only in one or two aspects, but a comprehensive environment where it is necessary to prepare for any immediate mission to analyze new data or company documents from any department.
As a university student, it is never an easy task to simply decide on which career can be the best option to pursue in the next five, 10, or even 20 years. However, simple preparation and research are two essential factors that can guide you into your preferred fields and enable you to tailor your learning with more associated courses or other experiences to support your choice. It’s always recommended to start early with your planning, but it’s also not too late to reevaluate your current situation before taking your next action, especially for junior and senior students looking to make new moves.
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