How To Pursue a Career that You will Love?

Pursue a career that you love doing

Throughout life, we have always been told to pursue a career that we love.
And as we start brainstorming, the first question that shakes our reality is:

Can what I love make me money?
What career should I pursue?
What do I want to do for a career?

Pursuing career aspirations constitutes a huge part of our lives.

Unfortunately, plenty of us work for jobs we don’t like and only the strategic ones landed themselves in careers they enjoy.
The truth is, there’s no singular route for all of us to follow.
Because of our unique differences in areas of interests and skills, each one of us may find fulfilment differently and would pursue careers based on that uniqueness.

What should your career be?
For everyone, your selection of a career should be at the intersection of passion and earnings.
Something that gives you a sense of satisfaction, and purpose and makes you look forward to starting your day.

If you’re still wondering, we’re here to guide you on how to find your career.

Why Do You Need To Pursue A Career?

To pursue a career that’s meaningful will affect not just your professional life but increase your happiness in every other area of your life.

It will influence areas including your goals, where you want to live, when you want to get married, when to have kids, etc.

The careers to pursue should be driven by a combination of passion, skills, demand, and potential income.
This will allow you to excel at your career while earning well and making an impact through your daily work.

What Career Should I Pursue?

It should be something that’s aligned with your interest, be meaningful, be fulfilling and it should give value to other people.
It’s not all about making money.
The truth is, some people who have exorbitant amounts of money aren’t really happy.

On the other hand, if you can make a comfortable and decent living doing what you love, it builds your confidence and drives you to become the best version of yourself.

How do I pursue a career?

To pursue a career today is much different than it was in the past.
According to statistics, the previous generation; the baby boomers, basically held about 12 jobs before they turned 52 years old.

And about half of those jobs were held when they were between 18 to 24 years old.

Today, with the growing demand in technology and the landscape of work shifting to remote work, society has been observing how quickly career paths could change.

While some people are striving, some are fighting desperately to land a job during these times.
So, how do I decide on a career path that will be good in the future?

1) Analyse Yourself
Figuring out a career that’s best for you?
You need to analyze your strengths, interests, and passion and find that sweet intersection in between.
If you’re not sure what career to pursue, one of the best ways to analyze yourself is with the SWOT methodology.

SWOT stands for:

Strengths
Weakness
Opportunity
Threat

The SWOT methodology will help you in finding your career path that’s based on your unique personality traits.

Some questions you will need to ask yourself will be:

What area are you naturally good at such as your strengths?
List your skills
Brainstorm your natural talents?

Other than these, weaknesses refer to the areas which need improvement.
Often, these are aspects that could hinder your career development or prevent you from excelling in a particular field.
It’s better that you be honest with acknowledging them rather than confining yourself to a career doing something you may not like daily.

Opportunities include benefits that you may have that others don’t.
It could be as simple yet profound such as job experiences that you may have had before or geographic benefits of where you are residing.

Here are three questions that will help you identify opportunities:

What’s the current state of the economy?
Are you working in a thriving industry?
What are the new technologies available in that industry?

Lastly, threats are also external factors that can negatively affect your goals.
Often, this involves how strong the competition is, how the industry contracts or how it could pivot into something else in the future.
Along with the industry that you plan for, you would need to plan how to shift your personal plans with it.

2) Research Careers That Suit Your Analysis
Now that you have analyzed yourself, it’s time to identify the available careers based on your analysis.
Remember, a job is more than just working to make a living.
It’s also about your progress in life, your growth and development, and the meaning you would find in your daily work.

3) Visualize
Visualization is part of positive psychology.
It’s a psychological technique that’s effective in order to lead a meaningful life.
This involves thinking or imagining your best version of your future self.
Moreover, the key is to see your future self as realistically as possible.
This will help you tailor your steps to attain that vision and it’ll allow you to become motivated in pursuing the goals you have set for yourself.

The more connected you are with how you feel for your future, the higher the possibility that you would make decisions that will lead you in that direction.

4) Take Action
Now that you have a clear view of your future, it’s time to take action.
Reaching your goal isn’t as easy. You have to develop the right habits and put your priorities in place.

When taking action, remember.. Any step is better than no step.
Make sure you don’t overwhelm yourself.
Taking small steps could make a huge difference.
Otherwise, you’ll burn out.
Also, track your progress on a daily basis and make sure you enjoy the process.

What Are The Top 10 Best Careers To Pursue?

What do I want to do for a career?
If you’re deciding on a career where you can find job satisfaction, high salaries and remote-work options, the technology space is where the future is at.
Here are the top 10 high-paying careers you can choose from.

Career 1: Software Developers

Why do you want to pursue a career in IT?
The average salary of a software developer in the U.S. is around $97,763 to $108,249.
Today, software development is one of the most in-demand skills in the tech industry and can potentially bulletproof your career path if you understand how to be good at your craft.
Aside from getting a good salary, the job is flexible and you can work from anywhere in the world.
You can be as creative as you want and there’s always continuous learning.
With over 21 different types of Developers, there is a space for everyone.

Career 2: Data Analysts

Data Analysts are one of the best careers to pursue today.
These tech professionals receive about $66,383 each year.
The demand for data analysts gets higher every year.
Data Analysts are sought out by a huge variety of companies and industries both in the U.S. and across the globe.
With that said, some of the top companies to work for in the U.S for data analysts include Facebook, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Citizens, USAA, and Move.Inc.

Career 3: Cybersecurity Experts

The cybersecurity space offers plenty of perks.
Its two biggest advantages is excellent compensation, good learning curve, and a low unemployment rate.
Some of the most notable are huge growth potential, flexibility, constant problem-solving and creating a real impact.
Cybersecurity experts have an average salary of $69,123 to $76,336 annually.
If you love information security, privacy and being challenged, becoming a cybersecurity expert can be one of the best options for you.

Career 4: Artificial Intelligence

Why is artificial intelligence important today?
Businesses from different industries across the world are depending on artificial intelligence to help them accelerate within the market without the need for human error and to streamline different important processes including design, production, and development.
Artificial Intelligence Engineers receive an average salary of about $130,900 per year.
An entry-level position can start at around $110,500.

Career 5: Registered Nurses & Medical Professionals

The demand for registered nurses will increase by 7% by 2029 according to a BLS report.
The medical field remains one of the strongest career options today.
Likewise, they have a competitive salary and health benefits, job security, a constantly changing work environment, and meaningful work.
Registered nurses in the U.S. have a salary ranging from $60,110 to $90,760 for the highest 25%.

The average yearly wage for other healthcare professionals including surgeons, medical technicians, and physicians is around $69,870.

Career 6: Plumbers & Electricians

We need reliable systems to function seamlessly for the livelihood of every individual.
By helping people with a core function in life, there’s a huge opportunity for business growth, career advancement, job security, and job satisfaction.
Other than trade school, there isn’t much of an emphasis on education to become successful.
On the lowest scale, plumbers in the U.S. can earn $59,800 while electricians earn about $60,370.

Career 7: Dentists

Dentists have one of the highest salaries in the US.
On average, they receive about $236,586 annually.
However, to become one, you need years of schooling plus the high cost of education can be discouraging to many.

On the other hand, dentists are growing in demand with a 7% increase in employment according to the BLS’ Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Career 8: Mental health professionals

The mental health industry has extremely high demand as mental health is increasingly being acknowledged as a need rather than a want.
According to a BLS report, there will be a 23% increase in demand for mental health professionals in the areas of mental health counselors, behavioral disorders, and substance abuse.
The average mental health professional in the US earns about $42,689 annually.

Career 9: Veterinarians

Veterinary medicine is becoming more popular due to the increasing number of pet lovers and owners.
And it’s one of the most rewarding careers if you’re an animal lover.
You have to treat and cure different animals from a variety of sicknesses to injuries.
U.S. veterinarians receive an average salary of about $108,113 a year.

Career 10: Teachers and Educators

Teachers in the U.S. have an average annual salary of $40,000 to $60,477.
Depending on geography, the country you are residing in plays a huge role in the salary that you will receive.
Luxemburg, the highest-paying country for teachers, pays its teachers by up to $124,000 a year.
Teaching is a noble profession and it’s increasingly becoming in-demand.
If you want a meaningful job, teaching might be a good career path for you.
It’s challenging but it’s rewarding as well.

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Deciding On A Career With A Career Expert

According to Jobvite, CPO, Rachel Bitte, a career coach serves as your brand awareness ambassador.
They have a good understanding of identifying your best traits and qualities for your professional experience.
Combining that with their deep knowledge and analysis of the economy, they can structure successful pathways for you.

Determining your life goals

You can make a significant career change if you know what you love and decide to build a career around it.
The first thing you need to consider is how to set a goal.
And one of the best ways to do that is to use the SMART method.

SMART goals refer to goals that are:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

This will help you identify and focus on achieving tangible goals.

Pursue A Career With An Action Plan

Thoroughly go through your:

Employment History – List any job you’ve had in reverse chronological order.
Education & Training – List any school/certificate/program you attended.
Conduct a Self-Assessment with a Career Expert – Take note of occupations suggested to you during this time.
Depending on your interest, narrow down your list to your most desired occupation.

Now you know how to get a head start.

Follow your action plan
Start creating goals around the career that you have chosen.
Break them up into short-term goals (within 1 year) and long-term goals (5 years or more).
Now you can start determining the actionable micro-steps that you can take to attain those goals.

Summary – Pursue A Career That You Will Love

Only when you have a clear vision of what career to pursue, will you be able to make the decision to follow it.
Whether you’re pursuing a career in the tech, medical field, mental health, dentistry, education, or any other vocation job, the first step is always the hardest.
However, it will all make sense once the journey is in motion.
Importantly, you’re now pursuing something that you love instead of wasting time on something that you don’t care about.
Create the impact that you want, earn the best salary for your family, and lead the life you always dreamed of.
But remember, each problem you meet along the way is an opportunity for you to become better.