Now that you have distinguished between career and job and understood some basic concepts on ways of initiating career development processes through our blog 101 article, you probably have made up your mind that the focus for you in the long term should be to develop a career in specific areas or niches. You can still have different types of jobs within your identified niche as long as the jobs contribute to your career advancement within the chosen niche. There are several stages and paths that you will need to go through in order to develop your career. In this blog, we will explore the different career paths available to you and the main stages of career development.
When you’re in the process of figuring out what you want to do with your life, the journey can seem very daunting. There are defined career development stages that one passes through and we will be looking at each of these stages later on but let’s first explore what career paths or occupation options are available to you.
Career pathways– which one do you want to be in or are you on already?
There are different career options to choose and follow through depending on your passion. There are several sources to help you guide through the selection process. Michigan 4-H has numerous resources to help you get started exploring careers including an informational interviewing handout that you can use when talking to professionals in an area of your interest
According to Michigan state university extension services, occupations are categorized into six broad groups that share similar skill sets, interests and characteristics. The careers pathways include:
• Arts & communication
• Business, management, marketing and technology
• Engineering, manufacturing and industrial technology
• Health sciences
• Human services
• Natural resources and agri-science
Once you identify a general career pathway that matches your interests, skills and values, the next step is to explore and gather more information about different occupations in that pathway. One then has to research for sources of information related to their specific areas of occupation of interest. There are different guides that can help with this research. Many countries produce such guides to help job seekers. One such source is the Occupational Outlook Handbook provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the USA. Here you will find detailed descriptions of over 300 different jobs. You can discover what the people in those careers do, their work environments, pay, employment outlook and projections, training requirements, and sources of additional information.
Talking to people in different fields of interest is another way to research careers and at the same time expand your network. Parents, teachers, counselors, coaches may be able to provide personal contacts in different industries. Ask them for assistance in doing some of the activities below:
• Invite someone to speak at one of your club meetings or classes.
• Attend a job fair and talk to company representatives in person about their careers and industry
• Arrange for a tour of a company
• Find someone with a job in the occupation you are interested in and schedule an interview with him or her over phone or online
• Before meeting or talking with the representative, make sure to have a list of questions you want to ask.
According to Abhishek Sareen, a Marketing Professional, Career paths can basically be categorized into two broad types: one is a JOB, joining other’s business. And the other is doing your own business, or DOB.
Further, a job can be classified into two broad categories: one is a knowledge-oriented job, and the other is a skill-oriented job. There is also another independent category-called freelancing. These below are four categories of Agri jobs based on the above classification.
1. Knowledge Professionals Job:
A knowledge-oriented job is where you have acquired and use some kind of knowledge, such as medicine, law, engineering, accounts, finance, management. These all are types of knowledge-oriented career paths.
Knowledge professionals are those who contribute to the other’s business through their knowledge and time, with regards to problem-solving, advising or soft product (software) creation. Common knowledge professionals include the below:
• Architects
• Computer engineers
• Web designers
• Data Scientists
• Management Consultants
• IT professionals
• Marketing Professionals
2. Skilled Professionals Job
Next on our list of the types of career paths are skill-oriented professions. These are more physical skills, such as labor, welding, plumbing, mechanic, etc. Skill-related types of career paths are those that are very hands-on, providing a service or physical product and are often paid by the hour. They involve some skill and can also be paid on a freelance basis or a job per job basis for odd jobs. Examples include:
• Chefs
• Sportsmen
• Repair technicians
• Gardeners
• Mechanics or Plumbers
• Artists
Performers
• Construction workers
Knowledge and skills are intermingled. A lot of jobs or career pathways use both skill as well as knowledge.
For example, one can debate whether coding is knowledge-oriented career path or skill-oriented. However, broadly I would define physical labor skills as skill-oriented jobs and the others as knowledge-oriented jobs. Even careers such as welding, plumbing, etc. still require some knowledge, but these are more hands-on. Here are some examples of jobs that use skills and knowledge almost equally:
• Lawyers
• Salesmen
• Interior decorators
3. Business or Entrepreneurship Job
• The next types of careers involve being your own boss, or own a business, in which you can set up your own venture or enterprise. The business is something that adds value to the customer, in the form of trading, selling a new product or service.
• So, if you’re going down this path, you will need some capital, and the means to create a product or service, so that you can set up this business. You will also need a diverse set of skills, such as hiring the diverse people who will make your team, creating a supply chain or customer-base.
• Entrepreneurship can be of many types, such as opening a small shop and buying goods and selling them with an added value. Often entrepreneurs use a combination of skills and knowledge to build their business.
4. Independent Freelancers
• Another type of business is selling a service or skill. In this, you have a basic set of skills or knowledge, but you become independent and sell it as a freelancer. If you’re not tied to a corporate, then you’re just an independent freelancer. This includes chartered accountants, photographers, web developers or artists. Basically, freelancers include anyone who is not bound to an enterprise and is self-employed.
Doing a Job with a Side Business:
• Sometimes we also see that people start by acquiring a skill or knowledge, or a combination of both, and they start by doing a job with a corporation. Once they have the means to produce a product or a sell-able skill, then they venture out to create a start-up.
• It could also be that they start with a skill that has a demand in the industry, and then they start selling that skill as a freelancer. For example, web developers and graphic designers sometimes work full-time in a job, but also do freelance work on the side
As another example, you might actually consider acting as a skill, which requires you to be present and deliver your acting chops. An actor can work as a freelancer, or self-employed professional, as they get paid per hour or on a job per job basis. Or a studio can hire them as a salaried employee, which means you’re doing a job. But if you’re independent of a studio or corporation and are selling your skills on a need basis, then you’re independent or self-employed professional as most actors are.
How to Choose the Right Type of Career Path
Sometimes these categories may get intermingled, but it’s important to know which path out of these you want to choose. How to find out which career path to choose? The best way to know what career pathway is the right for you is to get hands-on.
You have to get some understanding of the career path of your interest through an internship or research or by talking to professionals. Doing an internship at a company is the best way of getting to know your job and profession of choice. It will help you understand whether you are made out for it or not.
Some people are more of conformists. They require a structure and external motivation, and they are better suited to do a job. On the other hand, some people are non-conformists. They like to create their own work and rules, and are more proactive or self-motivated. They are better suited to do entrepreneurship.
How Are Some Career Paths Considered Better?
In the early years, most jobs were skill oriented, such as farming, welding, construction, factory jobs, which was prior to the Industrial Revolution. However, after the Industrial Revolution, knowledge-oriented jobs became more common, such as management, accounts, design or computing.
The advent of machines required engineers and people to manage them. Computers are the newest machines. So, if you’re wondering whether you should go for a knowledge-oriented profession or a skill oriented one, ask yourself if you like sitting in front of the computer all day long. If so, then knowledge-oriented jobs are for you.
If you like to be outdoors with a hands-on job or something that doesn’t involve a computer all day long, then a skill-oriented job is a better idea for you. For example, if you don’t like it in front of the computer, you can consider jobs that involve traveling. You may also like something physical like sports, fitness or stage performance.
Should You Go for a Skill Oriented or Knowledge Oriented Career Path?
Some of the skill-oriented professions pay little bit less than knowledge-oriented ones, but there are exceptions. For example, being an actor or singer are skill-oriented jobs. And if you get recognized and become popular, you can get paid much more than people in knowledge-oriented jobs do. Such professions can be extremely rewarding both monetarily and creatively.
Similarly, specialized professionals in skill-oriented jobs can also earn more than, or as much as, knowledge-oriented professions. For example, being a specialized mechanic or artist, something that is a specialized skill but also has demand. Even sport is a skill, so if you hone your skill, or develop a skill that has high demand but less supply, you have a high paying profession.
Skill or Knowledge: You Should Aim for a Mix:
To be really successful, you need to have a mix of both knowledge and skill, in a career field that has high demand, or will be in the future. You need to have knowledge in a certain area, and also you need to acquire skills. For example, if you are a good writer, but if you are so quiet understanding of marketing, you should be able to build your skill set in a way that is easily employable.
Similarly, if you’re an engineer but also acquire management skills, you can either get a job or sell these skills on a freelance basis. So, whatever you do is usually a mix of both. Whatever you do, whether it’s a job or entrepreneurship, it’s based on these basic fundamentals.
Ideally, a student should aim at a career which helps him acquire both knowledge and a skill set. For examples, if you are a singer or actor, you really need to hone your skills to be successful. But at the same time, you also need to have an understanding of marketing, communication, personality and presentation. This will help you “sell your skills.”
So, skill is not enough to be successful these days specially in the saturated markets. You can only deliver real value if you have the right combination of skills and knowledge. In other words, you don’t need knowledge to sell skills, and you need skills to sell knowledge.
Types of Career Paths: How to Choose for Your Market
Students need to find what they are good at, but also that also needs to be something which has some demand. At the end of the day, you need to cater to the needs of the current market. Timing is very important when choosing the right career path.
For example, if I’m a stamp designer, I can still do it as a hobby or once in a while as a paid service as a specialized requirement. But since postal mail is not used much nowadays, this would be the wrong time to be a full-time stamp designer. One needs to find a profession that suits their timing.
In the 1980s to 1990s, engineering was the most sought-after profession since a lot of factories were coming up. As a lot of machinery got built, everybody wanted to become an engineer. But post-1990s, there were too many engineers in the market. Then companies realized that they require managers to oversee the engineers. So, management skills became the most sought after in the 2000s. This brought about the money management boom. Nowadays there are so many management graduates. And that’s why the average freshers’ salary for management graduates has gone down drastically.
Consider Jobs of the Future
What we are seeing in the current market is that people are increasingly finding it difficult to get a job in their field of graduation or if they do, it may not be a high paying job as fresh graduates.
For instance, management graduates have become too many and lots of them don’t even get jobs in management and have to change their career path. And you see a lot of engineers who are not doing engineering.
With the advent of Artificial Intelligence and internet, the new most sought-after professionals have become coders, AI engineers and computing and data processing professionals. This is the area where people need a lot of computer-oriented skills. We see a lot of start-ups that are hiring more computer-oriented professionals such as web designers, web developers, data and its analytics and app developers.
So, it’s import to take time and explore and see how you can cater to the market with your skill set and knowledge base while choosing a career.
It might sound a little bit boring to think of it just as a supply and demand problem, and you may have seen your parents perceive a certain profession which may have become obsolete in your generation. But going forward, the skill of your choice may not be as rewarding as any upcoming skill or those that are in high demand. So, explore and expose yourself to newer technologies and explore new skills that might be employable in the future.
At the same time, we are moving towards the future where lesser jobs are going to be created, because of AI and automation. So, you need to try to find skill sets or knowledge which are more unique, which do not face any threats from automation.
How to Choose a Secure Career Path
Before you choose your career path, you need to understand in which direction the industry is moving and try to get a diverse knowledge base and skill set. If you want your career to be secure, you need to be in the know of industries and do a lot of reading even as a student.
Study & Track Your Favorite Industries
Keep analyzing your favorite companies and understand what kind of professionals they are hiring and what their demands maybe in the future. Try to ask yourself what are the skill sets that really excite you that you want to see yourself doing tomorrow. Try to analyze what are the trends that your favorite industries are heading in. Read news about new types of products that are coming out or services that companies are delivering. This will help you get a lot of options to consider for your career path.
If entrepreneurship interests you, you can also always keep in mind how you’re going to be able to start your own business. Also understand what experience you require for it, and what skills you actually need for it. Keep constantly being on the lookout for new opportunities, knowledge and skill sets. This will keep you proactive, and that’s what any successful professional requires.
It’s a good idea to position yourself in a way that you’re able to find and create new opportunities. We all have constraints in terms of resources, abilities or opportunities. But it’s the best idea to be honest with ourselves and persevere interests with dedication and sincerity. What differentiates a successful entrepreneur or professional from others is that you make an attempt to grab an opportunity and never give up.
Crucial factors to Consider When Choosing a Career
Career selection is one of the most important decisions we make in our life, but it doesn’t have to be scary. Here are the top 7 important things to consider when choosing a career.
Choosing a career is easy when you’re five or even 14 years old, because you still have enough time to think it over and change your mind. But when it comes time to choose a college, then you have to really make the choice that you may have to stick with for the rest of your life. Whatever major you choose in college goes on your resume, makes up your skill sets and there’s not much you can do to change it.
So how should one go about choosing the right career? It can be intimidating to learn about all the career options and know our strengths and be realistic about it all. However, you don’t have to worry too much as you are not alone in this. Selecting a career is something we all do, it’s a dilemma we all face at some point in our life. If you’re lucky, you’ll face it only once in your life!
Below are seven things to Consider When Choosing a Career:
1. Choose a subject that’s interesting enough for you to work on.
Regardless of what movies and magazines say, your career does not always have to be something that you’re absolutely passionate about. However, it definitely has to be interesting enough for you.
At work we spend at least eight hours a day. These working hours often extend to our personal lives, especially with work meetings, over-time and business travel. So, ask yourself before you make the choice: is the subject interesting enough to work on until I retire? If the answer is “No”, then don’t go for it.
If you’re not really interested in what you’re working on, life can become somewhat of a living hell.
2. You don’t have to be too passionate about it.
Now this one is contrary to all popular beliefs. If you ask most people how to choose a career, they’ll say choose your passion! As a youngster, you’re often made to believe that what we choose as your career should be something we are thoroughly passionate about. That is to say, you should turn your hobby into your career. But not everybody agrees.
Some people believe that your hobbies and your career should be kept separate, so that you can pursue your hobby in your free time. You don’t have to make money out of it. That is especially true if you’re passionate about something which may not earn enough to make a living. What you choose as a career also needs to have enough demand in the market.
Additionally, your career path should leave you with some separate hobbies that you can turn to, on a stressful day or when you’re just looking for a change of pace. So, if you choose something that you are extremely passionate about, in the early years of your career when you’re still hustling, it may feel like you have no passion left for it anymore. It’s called burnout, which can bring mental stress. While you don’t have to turn every hobby into a career, your job should still be something that you like doing.
3. Your career should give you something to work on until retirement age.
In some careers, the retirement age is extremely early. For example, in modelling, acting, especially for females, or sports, a lot of people retire before they’re 40. So, keep those things in mind before you choose your career.
Ideally, your career should be feasible to sustain until retirement age, since we all need something to do. We work not just to make money, but also to fill our time. Work gives us a sense of fulfillment and self-respect. Without any work to do, we all can feel lost, useless or sad. So, make sure you know what you’re getting into. This is one of the biggest considerations in choosing a career that people often forget.
If your career of choice has an early retirement age, plan what you’ll work on after that, too. Similarly, if you’re choosing something that may give you too much free time, such as freelance acting or performance arts, be mentally prepared for those recurring periods of time when you may be out of work.
4. Your career should be practical for your lifestyle.
As we grow older, our likes and dislikes change, but we rarely completely change our lifestyle choices. If you don’t like working out now, a career that requires you to be extremely fit may not be the perfect one for you. Similarly, if you’re allergic to certain foods or environments, the career that makes you travel a lot is probably a bad idea. If you don’t like to live frugally, or work day and night without any expectation, being an entrepreneur would be a terrible choice.
So, try to envision yourself as an adult, in your daily life as a professional, and see if you can envision yourself living like that. Here are two questions to consider when choosing a career: does your preferred career path sound practical for you? If you’re not willing to move out of your city, will you find enough jobs in your area?
5. Your career should be compatible with your personality and your strengths.
Knowing what your strengths are is the first step of choosing your career. Ideally, it should make the best use of your skills and personality traits. For example, if you are a creative person, it’s a great idea to choose something that gives you a creative outlet.
If you choose something that doesn’t match your personality, it may be extremely hard for you to cope up in the future. For example, if you’re an introvert, a career in politics is probably not a great idea, or if you get stage fear, performing arts may not be for you.
Every career requires you to step out of your comfort zone in some way or another, but it should not be so drastic that you’re unable to cope. Also understand what skill sets your career will use. Ideally, it should use nearly all your skills, so that you feel you’re able to give it your best. This brings fulfillment.
For example, being a model or beauty blogger makes you famous only for your face, so it can be frustrating for someone with an intellectual side.
To choose what is best for you, you also have to choose something that you are the best for.
6. You should be able to earn enough to make a living.
The hard truth comes at last. This is an advice on choosing a career path we hear from our parents all the time, but it’s the truth of life. Your job needs to be in something that earns enough for you to be able to pay rent, sustain your family and save up for retirement. Money is one of the crucial factors to be considered in career planning.
So, for example, if you want to become an entrepreneur, but have little to no savings, it’s best to wait for a few years until you save up enough to quit your day job. Being practical is the best idea when choosing your career, as its one of the most important decisions you make.
7. Your career should be able to help you achieve your long-term goal.
We all have a dream. Be honest with yourself, what’s your dream? You have to choose what your expectations from your career are early on. What’s most important for you: money, job satisfaction or work-life balance? Are you looking for a simple, carefree life, or do you want money and/or fame? We don’t achieve all our dreams, but it’s important to have them, so you know where you’re going in life.
What do you think success is? It’s different for everyone. And everyone’s definition even changes over time. Most mid-career changes happen because people realize their job isn’t taking them where they want to be. This is one of the most crucial factors to consider when choosing a job.
Ideally, your career should bring you not only money, but also happiness. In the real world, no one is happy all day, every day. But if you choose a good career path, you will at least be happy once every other day.
So, it’s a good idea to know what your real ambition is, and then your career choice will become easier. You just have to consider options that you think will help you fulfill your long-term goals. And it’s okay to keep questioning it even after you have a job.
References:
– https://www.uschamber.com/co/grow/thrive/stages-of-career-development;
– https://www.canr.msu.edu/agriculture/
– Michigan 4-H ( [email protected])
– Abhishek Sareen at careernuts(https://careernuts.com/author/abhishek/)
– https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/career-stages