How to pick your career stream

Money will always follow if you pursue something that is in sync with your skillset and interests.

Photograph: nguyentuanhung/Pixabay.com

The board examination is over. You are just days away from receiving your results and scorecard.

Your performance in the examination may help decide which college or university you can study at.

However, the crucial question is -- have you decided which stream you'd like to pursue?

Dr Tarun Pasricha shares some pointers:

1. Know what you don't want to pursue

Sometimes, the best choices in life are the ones you don’t make.

Use the process of elimination to ensure that you weed out all the possible careers that you’re not suited for.

Use the practice of visualisation here.

Are you someone who likes sitting in an office in your personal space, or do you see yourself being out in the field, meeting people and being on the move?  

2. Take the assistance of a career counsellor

Whether it’s a professional problem or a personal one, it’s always a good idea to seek help, especially when it’s so readily available.

Career counsellors are highly trained professionals, and they will help you complete a series of personality evaluation and aptitude tests so that you can make an informed choice.

3. Do short-term courses in subjects that interest you

The best way to know whether you like something is to study it.

A host of colleges offer short-term courses in various fields of interest.

You also have the option of studying online at your own pace, where the quality of courses is improving greatly by the day.

4. Don’t worry about the money

Giving into advice like ‘Get into sales. It has a lot of money’ is highly unwise.

There's no such guarantee that a particular field will reap rich dividends for you, especially if you find that you're not good at it.

Money will always follow if you pursue something that is in sync with your skillset and interests.

5. Engage a mentor

Find someone you admire -- it could be a CEO of well-known company or any respected professional from your desired field.

Get in touch with them, requesting for a mentorship opportunity.

Most people in higher positions would consider it an honour and won’t hesitate from taking you under their wing.

6. Follow influencers on LinkedIn

Articles written by LinkedIn influencers are all the rage today, and usually followed by a plethora of people who have particular interest in that area.

Start reading such pieces.

The information and insights might well help you in making the right choice of career. 

7. Don’t follow the herd

Giving in to peer pressure is always a bad idea. Sure, your best friend or some family relative might be thriving in a particular field, making you believe that you might be good at it too.

Such a decision will always backfire.

Always trust your instincts to know what the right path is for you. 

8. Take internships seriously

Seek out specific colleges that promise to facilitate internships post the completion of an undergraduate course.

Internships are the best way to know for a certain whether a particular field suits you.

It’s never a waste of time, and even if it’s something you don’t like, the skills and learning that you would have acquired will always come in use.  

9. Listen to everyone, but trust only yourself

As a young person confused about their career, you are likely to get all sorts of advice -- wanted or unwanted -- from a plethora of sources -- parents, relatives, friends, teachers etc.

While some of this advice may well be useful, and certainly worth listening to, you will know in your heart what the best is for you. So keep calm and trust yourself!

10. See what makes you happy

It could be a hobby or passion that you've loved since childhood -- perhaps writing, sketching, building things, etc.

The best professionals are those who make their love for something into a career. That way, no day ever feels like work!

The author Dr Tarun Pasricha is associate professor of marketing and deputy director (undergraduate programs) at S P Jain School of Global Management, Dubai.