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Choosing a career path is one of the most important decisions one has to make in life. There are a lot of things that people tend to consider when making this life changing decision but I have found that they all seem to be hinged on one or more reasons for choosing a job.
Following are the five most popular reasons for choosing a career.
Culture in this context basically means 'everyone does it'. For example, we are in an era, where technology is everywhere and a lot of people are going into IT. So you would see people trying to learn how to code, going on courses to become business analysts, developers, project managers and so on, because that's where "the money is". It's almost becoming a norm and that is what I mean by culture.
This is where you hear things like 'it's always been like this'. For example, there are people who spend a lot of money going to university when they really shouldn't have, and it's not really needed for their career path. But because their sister went to uni, and everyone else in the family is a university graduate, they chose to follow the tradition.
In other words, it just makes sense to do this job. Some may say "why would I spend all that money and go through all that pain studying a course and not pursue a job in that area?" while some others may say things like "I would be stupid not to accept a job that pays so much money". Many of us justify our career decisions with different reasons which are enticing but at most times superficial. And although many of these reasons may seem attractive in the current moment, they could end up being detrimental to our progress in the long term. Just because something is logical, doesn't necessarily make it right.
Have you ever had a lovely conversation with an interviewer and you just felt the job and employer was perfect for you because of the rapport you both built during the interview? Whilst that might usually be a good sign about an employer, it probably isn't strong enough to base your decision on. As you can imagine, people can be good actors when they want something and many employers are experts at 'selling themselves' in Interviews. What am I trying to say? Don't rely on your emotions. Although they are essential for our survival as humans, they aren't reliable indicators for decision making especially when it has to do with your career.
One of the final reasons to choose a career happens to be the least popular but I think it is the most effective. By ‘purpose’, I mean your life's vision and mission or as some may call it – ‘your big why’. Your job or career decision should be linked to your ultimate purpose in life. It’s important to be clear about who you are, what you stand for, who you want to be, and what you want to do with your life. As I always say, your job should be a platform to fulfil your purpose.
So, rather than going with the flow, define your life's purpose and let that help you answer the question, “What career should I choose?” Because if your job was chosen based on your purpose, it's very unlikely that you will be unproductive, unmotivated, unhappy or unfulfilled.