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When you were young and people asked what you wanted to be when you grew up, they were asking about your desired career path. Some career paths are straightforward but others may involve detours along the way. Actively choosing a career path, however, is a significant way to attain the right education and experiences and form the right skills. To do so, it’s essential to reflect on your interests and career goals as you make certain life choices, such as which school to attend, which entry-level job is best for you, or whether to acquire a post-graduate degree or specialized certification.
In this article, we explain how to select a career path by identifying your main skills and interests, matching those qualities to a potential industry and beginning a career.
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What is a career path?
A career path consists of the positions you hold as you expand in your field. Your first job or college degree, for example, can mark the start of your career path. As you gather additional knowledge and skills, you may proceed or “move vertically” into more advanced roles. A few employees also “move laterally” into equal yet different job roles as they specialize or switch career paths.
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Example career paths
1: Which of the following data structures allows elements to be added and removed in a Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) order?
Here are a few examples of feasible career paths in numerous industries:
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Education: teacher → curriculum coordinator → assistant principal → principal
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Retail: sales associate → cashier → assistant manager → store manager → regional manager
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Restaurant: dishwasher → prep cook → line cook → sous chef → chef de cuisine → executive chef
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Editorial: intern → editorial assistant → assistant editor → editor → senior editor → executive editor → editor in chief
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Human resources: HR assistant → HR specialist → assistant director of HR → director of HR
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Marketing: public relations assistant → public relations representative → assistant director of PR → director of communications
How to choose a career path
Your career path should account for your goals, future plans and personality. Examining these points can help you choose the right starting position and make strategic decisions over time.
Follow these procedures as you draw up a career path:
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Outline your career goals
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Create a 5-year plan and 10-year plan
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Discover your personality type
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Review your previous experience
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Compare job requirements to your education
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Assess your current skill set
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Take note of your interests
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Identify your core values
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Consider your salary needs
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1. Outline your career goals
Before choosing a career, begin with self-reflection by asking and answering certain questions. Active reflection helps restrict your choices into something more specific.
Consider asking yourself:
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What do I expect from my career?
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What are my core values?
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What activities do I like the most, professionally or in my spare time?
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What are my interests?
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What are my strengths and aptitudes? Soft skills? Hard skills?
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Do I want to specialize in specific technical skills or take on management roles?
Once you find the answers to questions like these—and any others that are important to you—you can better research potential careers paths. It’s also necessary to revisit your career goals as you grow personally and professionally to guarantee your goals remain achievable and aligned with your interests.
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2. Create a 5-year plan and 10-year plan
Once you have narrowed down your choices, consider establishing landmarks for your career. Research where other people in your field are at 5 or 10 years into their career, and make note of the job titles they have. Decide what title or advancements you wish to have at these future points. Then research what you can do to achieve those goals. You may need to undertake training programs, take on specific responsibilities or hold prerequisite positions.
By establishing career goals, you can plan based on what improvement you should expect every year. Schedule time regularly to echo on your career and goals.
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3. Discover your personality type
A personality type is a set of personality traits that can be unified. There are many methods for finding your personality type, many of which focus on your responses to various situations. Different personality types might naturally gravitate towards different interests and develop different strengths, including careers.
Different tests list common career choices for each personality type. If you take a variety of tests and one or two careers appear for multiple tests, that specific career is likely worth researching. Some popular tools you can use to determine your personality type involve:
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The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
This questionnaire is a self-reporting inventory that includes introspective questions to identify your psychological preferences. Using this information, the type indicator system classifies people based on four key dichotomies. With this information, you can identify your personality type out of 16 options.
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The Keirsey Temperament Sorter
This is a self-assessment questionnaire. While it is similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, it more closely identifies roles that match each temperament type. The questionnaire focuses on behaviors and temperaments rather than preferences.
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The Jungian Type Index
This self-assessment can provide you with an overview of your personality type and recommended careers by identifying Jungian cognitive functions or explanations behind certain psychological preferences.
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4. Review your previous experience
Your job satisfaction in previous roles can also help guide your career choices. Identify trends in your previous positions, such as focusing on a specific technical skill. Also, review your job history to identify positions that you felt fulfilled.
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5. Compare job requirements to your education
Many jobs have specific education requirements for applicants and new hires, such as obtaining a high school diploma, completing a bachelor’s degree program or having a master’s degree. Some positions also require applicants to have their degrees in a specific field related to the position.
Review the education requirements for jobs you are interested in and apply for jobs that accept your current level of education, or research additional degrees or certifications you may need.
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6. Assess your current skill set
Make a list of your current skills, certifications and areas of expertise. You can also ask coworkers and colleagues for feedback about your technical, interpersonal and people management skills. This evaluation can help you find careers that match your experience.
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7. Take note of your interests
Depending on your personality, you may have interests that lend themselves to different careers. Examine your hobbies, past volunteer experiences and interests to identify activities you enjoy. While this information is outside of a professional context, creating a list of activities can help you narrow down your career path. For example, you may enjoy a career in cybersecurity if you enjoy logic puzzles, or you may enjoy a traveling sales role if you like meeting new people.
Use this knowledge to apply for short-term positions or volunteer opportunities to explore new career options. This firsthand experience allows you to test your suitability for a career. If you are currently in school or have a job, consider taking a course or certification program that is required for a field that interests you. This experience can help you determine if the career’s skills and content are something you enjoy.
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8. Identify your core values
Identifying your core values can help you focus on a career you find personally fulfilling. It can also help you find fields or niche areas that you are passionate about. Consider making a list of qualities you think are important in a company or its employees. You can use this list to search for companies and job descriptions that share these values.
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9. Consider your salary needs
Different career paths can have a wide variety of incomes. Find average salaries by job title, company and location on Indeed Salaries. This can be a good starting point for determining how much money you’ll earn when first starting, as well as your earning potential after you have gained a certain amount of time and experience. While salary certainly does not equal an engaging, satisfying job, it is an important factor to consider when mapping out your career path.
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How to Make a Career Plan in 8 Steps
An effective career plan can guide your professional life successfully, from finding your first job to enjoying a rewarding career. With careful career planning, you can take steps to evaluate your professional options and develop a strategic plan for achieving your goals. In this article, we discuss how to approach career planning and how to plot a successful professional path.
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How to start planning your career path
Consider these steps when creating your career path:
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Learn about potential career options
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Discover growing job markets
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Identify careers that match your skills
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Understand career qualifications
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Assess salaries and other benefits
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Compare possible career paths
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Establish SMART goals
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Develop a career action plan
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1. Learn about potential career options
Start gaining knowledge about career options by asking friends, family and colleagues about their jobs. Find out what skills they use and what qualifications they have. Ask them what they like and dislike about their jobs, and what type of experience they earned before their current position.
Next, research top companies and seek out professionals in the field. Attend in-person or online networking events or set up informational interviews with experts. To gain hands-on experience in a potential profession, try pursuing volunteer opportunities, internships or job shadowing experiences.
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2. Discover growing job markets
Growing job markets tend to offer the most professional potential. Try talking with experts in your field to learn about some of the most exciting opportunities they foresee. Read the top publications and online news sources for your field, and watch for emerging careers that interest you.
For a more comprehensive view of growing job markets, review data-based studies like the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics list of fastest-growing occupations. With a quick glance, you can identify which jobs have the greatest potential and offer the highest median pay.
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3. Identify careers that match your skills
To choose a field that makes you feel confident and successful, consider the technical skills that you learned in school or at work. For example, you might know how to teach concepts to a class, operate heavy equipment or develop a media buying plan.
Next, think about your soft skills, which are behaviors and traits you have acquired. For example, you might know how to analyze an issue critically, or you might excel at communicating clearly. Match your list of technical and soft skills against career paths you are considering to see how well they fit.
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4. Understand career qualifications
Begin by reviewing the degrees you will need to work in your field of choice. Identify whether you will need a bachelor’s degree in a specific subject, and determine whether you will need a graduate degree to pursue advanced positions.
Next, examine the professional certifications that could help you excel in your field and review the licensure requirements for your profession. Take note of the licensing process in your area to make sure you are legally qualified for the job.
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5. Assess salaries and other benefits
To assess the earning potential in your field, try exploring salaries on Indeed or browsing careers by industry. Here, you can find the average annual salary for common occupations and identify factors that can increase your earning potential, such as acquiring an advanced degree.
As you review job listings, make note of the benefits each position offers, such as healthcare, vacation time and telecommuting opportunities. These benefits can reduce your expenses and improve your quality of life, making them essential to factor into your total compensation.
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6. Compare possible career paths
After considering a few potential career paths, compare your options. One may require many more skills and an additional degree, which could be more time-consuming or expensive compared to the other options. Another may have substantially higher earning potential.
Next, compare how well each career path matches your core values. One may allow you to develop more of the personal qualities and relationships you aspire to have. Another may inspire you to produce your best professional work. Review your list of pros and cons to assess which professional path is most likely to help you achieve your goals.
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7. Establish SMART goals
Since pursuing a career path can take years, divide broader objectives into smaller goals you can track. Try setting SMART goals to guide you through the process:
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Specific: Make your goal as precise as possible. If you aspire to be a teacher, set a specific goal, like securing a job teaching high school biology in your local school system.
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Measurable: Quantify your progress. Set benchmarks like completing a bachelor’s degree in education or applying to 10 jobs that meet your requirements.
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Attainable: Set goals that you can achieve. To confirm that your goal is attainable, think about the individual steps and consider how realistic they are.
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Relevant: Any career-related goal you set should genuinely matter. Think about how important the goal is and whether it will help you reach your long-term objectives.
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Time-based: Give your goals deadlines. You will have an easier time achieving the end result and motivating yourself to action if you have committed to a specific time frame.
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8. Develop a career action plan
To create a map for your professional future, review action items from your SMART goals and chart the steps you will need to follow. Then, put them on a paper or digital calendar to establish your schedule. Keep your career action plan readily available so you can review it regularly. Check off each step as you complete it, and reward yourself for achievements both big and small.
Revisit and revise your career action plan as necessary. New opportunities, technological advances, personal priorities and trends in the economy can all cause essential career planning changes.
