Seven Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Career

Students ask, "What career should I choose?" A better question is, "How do I judge a career well?" Good decisions here come from a process you can repeat, not a single moment of certainty.

1. What kind of problems do I enjoy working on?

Some people like technical problems. Some like helping a person who is in front of them. Some like organising operations, telling stories, or building something that makes money. The pattern is more reliable than any job title.

2. What kind of working day suits me?

Structure or variety? Alone, or with people all day? Fixed hours or unpredictable ones? A career can look excellent from a distance and be unbearable at nine on a Tuesday morning.

3. Which of my strengths are demonstrated?

Build on what has shown up more than once, in school, projects, volunteering, competitions or paid work. Something you have done twice is evidence. Something you feel you would be good at is a guess.

4. What does this path actually require?

Some routes need a specific degree and there is no way round it. Others reward a portfolio, an apprenticeship, a certification, or two years of unglamorous experience. Find out which kind you are looking at before you plan anything else.

5. What do people do in the first three years?

Students picture the destination and skip the entrance. Look up the entry-level job title and read what it asks for. That is the part you have to get through, and it usually decides whether you stay.

6. Who can I speak to who is already there?

One honest twenty-minute conversation can correct months of wrong assumptions. Ask about last week rather than about their career.

7. What can I test before committing?

Shadow someone, join a club, volunteer, take a short introductory course, finish one small project. Interests get clearer when you test them, and stay foggy for as long as you only think about them.

Using the seven

Answer all seven in writing for the two options you are torn between. The weaker option usually collapses at question four or five, and you will be able to say why.

On eStudent360 you can put question six to a verified mentor through Ask a Mentor, without booking a session.