Here’s How To Plan Your Career

A few adolescents are extraordinarily talented at one particular thing, like Maths, music or drawing. It is almost as if the talent has chosen them. They become mathematicians, artists, pianists, teachers, choir masters, architects, etc.

In addition, some people develop an interest in one thing right from childhood and that strong interest makes their decisions about what they want to be easier. You may hear a parent saying: “I always knew that Kwame was going to be a lawyer. He started defending his peers when he was just nine.”

For such people, their decisions seem easy because they know exactly what they want to do and they have a talent in that special area.

But most of us are not so lucky. We are ordinarily bright people who can do well at a number of different things. Who and what we eventually become is a mixture of our likes and dislikes, our abilities, our willingness to work hard and the opportunities we have.

For most people, achieving a dream is a long and winding path. Many unforeseen obstacles can appear in the path — things that must be dealt with creatively in order not to derail one's future.

That is why it is important for every young person to be exposed to as many different careers and jobs as possible.

In some countries, adolescents volunteer for different organisations during their holidays. Occasionally, they get a little pay — enough to cover their transport to and from home — but usually they get nothing.

Don't think that just because a job is not about schoolwork and it's not a paid job it's not worth doing.

One thing you stand to benefit from voluntary work is that you get the chance to see how an office works and a good sense about what the careers of the people working there are like.

You might learn that such a career is perfectly suited to you or that it is completely unsuitable for you! Either way, the discovery will be an important one. Along the way, you will learn new skills, develop new interests and gain confidence in yourself.

As you think about the possible careers you would like to explore, also think about the steps that you will need to take to realise your dream. For example, the kind of education you will pursue or the kind of practical training to get.

One good way to find out how people became what they are is to ask them. If there are people whom you respect and whose achievement you admire, ask them, if they have time, to tell you how they got to be where they are.

Before you meet, write down a list of questions you'd like to ask — such as what made them choose the particular career they pursue and the kind of education and training they had, what they like most about their work and what they like least.

After this, you should be able to figure out exactly what you want to do.

By Fanny Nana Ampon