How do I choose a job I like?

Question

My brother has known what he has wanted to be since he was four years old. Now he's in college for it. But I have been changing constantly until this year, when I have completely ran out of ideas...

I've taken those tests that tell you what you'd be good at, or at least like. I always get psycologist, which is what my mom is, and I don't want to be that. Otherwise, it says artist or writer, which is what all my classmates say I should be. But I don't think I'm good enough to actually make a living on it.

So, what are some things I can do to get ideas for a good, stable career? Please help, and thanks in advance, it's very much appreciated!

Answer 1

That's a great question!

There's an excellent resource book called "Cool Careers for Dummies" with information for people like you concerning 150 intriguing career choices you may not be aware of.

It's a reference book, which means you don't have to read it from beginning to end--You can dip into it wherever and whenever you want or need to. It costs $2.95.

I have a question for you; Are you waiting for a sure thing? Something that sounds fabulous and something you're sure you'll succeed at? That rarely happens. You don't know a career is right for you until you've been there, done that. Plus, there's a lot of things that happen at random, so learn to believe in randomness. Planning is good however, more often than not--things just happen.

MAKE SOME EFFORT TO DECIDE IF YOU HAVE A TRUE VOCATION, BUT MANY TIMES PEOPLE DON'T, so learn to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.

Create your own luck. When you are around successful people, let them know you're looking for a career. Tell them what you love and that you are open to a wide range of options.
You may learn of some opportunity you never would have thought about!

Here's some ideas that may help;

1. Pursue lists of careers on the internet. Open your favorite search engine and try the following search terms.
(Type in what you are interested in)+Careers
(Type in what you are interested in)+Trends.

a. VGM Career Horizons publishes such titles as:
"Careers for Homebodies"
"Careers for Courageous People"
"Careers for Animal Lovers"
"Careers for High-Energy People"
Etc....You get the idea.

Create your Perfect cool career.
Do what you love.
Provide a service to others who do what you love.
Teach others to do what you love.
Write about what you love.
Speak about what you love.
Create a product related to what you love.

I hope this helps! Good luck to you.

Make a list of the things you love and go from there. Chances are you can make money doing it with some effort!

Answer 2

I had a similar problem when I did career testing... I was good in a number of areas and so ended up with a career like "teacher" or "counsellor" as a suggested vocation and I didn't want to do either!

I also wanted to write and make my living at it. But I wanted a job that would pay the bills first -- there are a lot of poor writers around!

What I realized was that I wanted to work with people and I loved variety. I also wanted to do work that was of good service to others. I like being appreciated. I also like getting a chance to be the centre of attention. At the time, I had a bachelor degree in sociology (good if you are interested in working with people) and I wasn't interested in some of the kinds of job that I could get with that -- and didn't want to do a PhD in the subject... and the jobs I could get paid really lousy.

I found the Master of Information Science degree (at the University of Western Ontario in Canada) and I decided it would work for me... It would give me some marketable skills (since a sociology degree hadn't -- at least not for the business world) and I could go into either the library field or the business field. Perfect! I had options.

In the end, I got into consulting with a management consulting firm, and I loved that work... and it paid the bills. I did my writing on the side.

In the last couple years, I have managed to make my living by writing full-time: not a famous novel yet, but by writing for websites.

This is a long winded way of saying: you can pick something that you will like that will pay the bills, and in the meantime, you can work towards a role that might just be more fulfilling for the long haul, like artist or writer, by doing it on the side.

My advice is to move towards types of work that might fit the kinds of things that you like doing in general. Do you like to research? Are you good at analyzing a problem? Do you like interacting with people? Do you like variety? Then consulting could be a way to go -- as it was with me.

Answer 3

To answer that question, you have to ask yourself, 'what do I like doing that I may be able to make money at?' My passion in writing, and I'm getting ready to take some English, Creative Writing and a sort of history class of past writer's, such as Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelly (she wrote Frankenstien), and Aleister Crowley (he is the inventor of modern tarot, the writer of some rather idolic poetry, and was also a student of dark magic). So, just find something you love to do and find a way to get paid for doing it.

Answer 4

Just find a job you like that pays your living expenses and develope your art or writing as a hobby.
Maybe one day, your hobby will become you good source of income.

Answer 5

The best job in the world is one that you would still do with a horrible hangover.................

Answer 6

Criminal justice.