- Finding a Job
- How to Choose the Right Career Path
By Indeed Editorial Team
Published 25 August 2020
Choosing the right career path can have a significant impact on your life and may lead to a long and rewarding career. Reviewing your career path can help you understand and plan your professional goals for the future. In this article, we discuss everything you need to know to help you choose the career path that best matches your strengths and interests.
What is a career path?
A career path includes the various jobs you have taken in your chosen field to help you advance professionally. It also includes both your short-term and long-term goals for professional success and a plan for achieving those goals. Your career path is unique to you and may not look the same as someone else's career path within your same field. Most career paths begin with the training or education needed for the industry. From there, you start your career with your first job in your chosen field.
As your skills and knowledge progress and you gain more experience, you can take on more advanced roles within your chosen field. This is called career progression or moving vertically in your career path. You can also move laterally across your career path by taking on a different role at the same career level to learn new skills or specialties. While most career paths involve either vertical or lateral movements, you can also choose to move down your career path to a lower level to achieve the lifestyle you desire.
Why a career path is important
The career path you choose is important because it impacts the training you receive and the actions you take to get hired and continue to advance within your field. It's essential to choose a career path that interests you to help you stay motivated and encourage you to continue learning and growing in your career. Choosing the right career path may also have a big impact on your overall job satisfaction, which can affect your work performance.
How to choose your career path
You commit a lot of time to the career path you choose, so it is important to find one that interests and excites you. It should encompass your professional goals for the future, match your personality and fit in with the lifestyle you want to have. An important part of deciding which career path you want is spending time on self-reflection. You can use the following steps to help you choose a suitable and realistic career path:
Decide on your career goals
Develop a five-year plan and a 10-year plan
Determine your personality type
Consider your previous experience
Learn the job requirements for career paths that interest you
Write a list of your interests
Discover your core values
Take job growth into account
Consider your salary needs
1. Decide on your career goals
Start the journey to your career by asking yourself questions to decide what career you want to pursue. Here are some examples of questions you can ask yourself to outline what is most important to you in a career:
What do I want to achieve in my professional life?
What position is my ultimate goal? Am I happy with a mid-level job with less stress, or do I want to reach for a CEO position?
What things are most important in my life?
What are my favourite things to do? Would I want to do these professionally?
What topics interest me the most? What do I like to learn about?
What are my greatest strengths? What are my soft and hard skills?
Am I best suited to specialise in something technical, or would I rather aim for a management role?
Realise that your answers may change as you grow. Personal and professional changes influence your feelings about your career path. Ask yourself these questions regularly to keep your goals aligned with your interests and ensure they are within your reach.
2. Develop a five-year plan and a 10-year plan
Developing a plan may make it easier for you to see what steps you need to take towards your career path, so decide what career milestones to aim for. You can use other people as an example. Find people with a career that you may be interested in and see what they have achieved in five or 10 years. Make a note of any job titles they held and when, and use this information to decide which job titles you would like to aim for.
Research what skills and experience you need to achieve these goals. You may have to undertake a course or other prerequisites for the positions you wish to reach. By breaking your projected career path down into a smaller time frame, it becomes easier to see that your goals are achievable.
3. Determine your personality type
A personality type is a specific set of traits shared by a group of people. Understanding your personality type can help you choose a suitable career path. You can use personality quizzes to provide insight into your skills, pinpoint your strengths and values and determine what line of work could suit you.
Some personality tests even list career paths that fit your personality type. Consider taking a few different tests to see if they provide similar career path suggestions. Here are three well-known tools:
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: This personality test asks you how you respond in different situations. You answer on a sliding scale from one option to its opposite. The test then uses this data to classify you under a particular personality type. You are also able to read in-depth information about your personality type.
The Keirsey Temperament Sorter: Like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, this is a self-reflective quiz. It focuses more on your behaviours and nature than your tastes. This test gives you more information on what roles agree with your temperament type.
The Jungian Type Index: This is another self-assessment tool. Once you answer the questions, it gives you information on your personality type and suggests possible career paths by using Jungian psychology to analyse your answers.
4. Consider your previous experience
Think about the way you have felt in previous jobs to find insight into which career path may be best for you. Figure out what you enjoyed at school or in any previous job and see if you notice any patterns, such as being able to use a specific skill. Make a note of the roles where you felt the most fulfilled and use this information to narrow down your options.
5. Learn the job requirements for career paths that interest you
Decide if your education to date is suitable or if you need to engage in further study. Consider the costs and time involved to decide if engaging in further education would be worthwhile.
If you would prefer to receive training through the workplace, look at industries that value career path and succession planning. Succession planning focuses on training existing staff members to prepare them to take over for more senior staff members as they retire. This is a great way to progress in your career path and could mean that you may not need to have as much prior education.
6. Write a list of your interests
Think about your hobbies and what kind of career they would suit. In the short term, you could consider volunteer roles that fit in with your interests. This is a good way to test out how you would like to work in the field. If you are already working, consider a weekend course to learn skills related to your new career path choice. See how it feels to implement those newly learned skills.
7. Discover your core values
Think about your core values, which are the morals you are unwilling to compromise. Knowing what these are can help you make an informed choice about the types of jobs you could take along your career path.
8. Take job growth into account
Decide on a career path in an industry that is expanding and has many job opportunities. Look at what industries are currently growing and will continue to grow. The healthcare and technology industries are great examples of industries that are constantly growing and have many available jobs at different levels of skill and experience.
9. Consider your salary needs
Consider what type of salary you want for your lifestyle. Search average salaries for different job titles to see an overview of how much you can expect to make in your chosen field. Take note of the starting salary as well as what you could earn as you progress.
Changing career paths
Once you have chosen a career path to follow, you do not have to remain committed to it. Your goals may have changed, or you may decide that your current career path no longer suits your interests. Many people decide to change their careers after several years. You can use the skills and knowledge that you developed in your current career to help you adapt to a new one.