CAREER CHOICE

Most people are trapped in this struggle of finding the best career paths in their life and I too has been a victim of indecision though I was really sure of what career path I wanted way before I even enrolled for the degree. This has been the most painful moment in life as most people are indecisive or actually do not even know the career path they want. Nowadays as most people are now getting up to the university and they are tempted to make late decisions because they have never understood the power of career on the success of their lives. Many people have made careers based on what their parents wanted, what society perceived as the best job, career that make them gain respect and worse still those that were high paying, and this is the worst tragedy and no wonder why we full of incompetent employees in the work places. I would like to share with you, my first step to choosing a career that is best for you.

EXPLORE

As I said before that most of the children are just passive recipients of information especially that concerning careers and they mostly get the advice from their parents or guardians. Most parents have gone on to dictate what career path they want their children to follow and they will do everything to make sure that they do so and this has been a rising problem especially in Zimbabwe and this has fuelled an uprising of supplementary education at all level and the question is, is it worthy all the hustle. I am not encouraging laziness but I am also worried by the energy that is wasted in a wrong career. Have you ever thought of the many hours that you spent reading for a program you did not like, pursuing a career that your parents wanted and you do not have any interest at all? It is a tragedy and for those who have made those mistakes it’s never too late to correct and for many young people who are aspiring the best of career choices then this is for you.

The world is a beautiful place and you need to explore it with a watchful eye, and as a fish I say those that are alive swim against the current whilst those that are dead flow with the water and it is only that person that really needs the best out of his or her career that they swim against the current. One thing that has deceived most young people is that they listen to people who always tell them the best out of their careers and they always think that their careers are perfect and do not even imagine any hurdles and stress associated with those jobs only to be shocked when they actually get into the field and they suffer from crisis of expectations and depression will haunt them. This dissatisfaction is largely revealed about how some employees look forward to holidays, leave days, weekend and end of working hours and it shows that these people are not really satisfied with what they are doing and that just wish that they could retire.

Another mistake most parents make on their children is that they want them to pursue the careers that maybe were well paying in their days, a career that their relatives pursued and they living large, they want the prestige that their child is enrolling for the best degree in the country and they never or rarely take into consideration the passion, capabilities of the same. Another so called “elite and educated” society is that of our educators whom we have in the past surrendered our destiny into their hands and they can tell you that you cannot do this program, job or subjects by merely analysing your grades. This grading system has been biased as it does not take into considerations the passion, dreams and likes of the child. I would like to applaud the new education curriculum in trying to address that problem, by giving every child at least the chance to explore themselves in all the fields so that they can make a well-informed decision but as long as the same educator is still dominated by that ego of that they know it all, then they will be little change and we will continue having our kids falling into the same pi that swallowed our elders. I do not criticise the idea of having parents have a say on their children career paths but that should not be ego driven but you need to be dynamic because after all, it is their life not yours and let them have a say on the careers they want. Will you be with your child when he or she stands up in court defending a client? When they will have been playing with the gas in the lab? When they will be underground engineering the mining operations? When they will be on their laptop programming software’s? If NO, then why do you have exclusive say on them?

Now you need to explore the careers that are there in the world and one thing I have used when I was a kid is that when I found an interesting job, I would always ask my dad more about it and even when he was not sure of more about the profession, he would at least try to explain a bit and next time when we would meet those in the field or a company on that, he would take me there so that I learn more. This gave me insights on various jobs and I did not even face many challenges when it came to choosing the best career for me. Nowadays it is now very easy because of the internet, you can explore many jobs and get to read more insights about the jobs and you should take into considerations some important features of the careers and these are working environment, personal requirements, qualifications, working hours, some negative sides of the job, health implications and last of all the salary or wage. Do not be tempted to search or look at the salaries and do not go into the internet and always search the most paying jobs because the salary is the worst trap into unwanted careers. I would always go onto the internet and would always open multiple pages on the internet concerning jobs I had interest in, and would always look at the salary last and as I stand today I have discovered many jobs and at last I had to evaluate basing on my passion, desires, goals and capabilities until I came up with the best career path for me. Get on your feet today and knock as many doors as possible asking about careers and be open to information and be willing to learn. I encourage that you as a school child, during your holidays to try and explore as many career paths as possible and usually go for those you have interests in and if it is possible volunteer to work with them for free and that way you will discover the hidden secrets about carers so that when you actually enrol for your advanced studies or program you actually know what you love and you want to do. Explore as many carers as possible and as you explore you will actually see that there many careers that are more interesting more than the traditional ones you have been told by society.