I am a final-year Management Studies student who is completely confused about the career to settle on – although I have mapped out career plans many times. I know that most people have a well-laid-out career plan, but I am not one of them. My first career choice was to be a mathematics teacher, then an entrepreneur and presently, an accountant. However, I am still not sure of the career I would like to pursue. I am getting older and it is important that I make a decision. Please advise.

CHOOSING a career is one of the most important decisions you will make in your life. The type of career you choose will impact greatly on your lifestyle, as well as the contribution you make to society.

In today’s world, where there are a growing number of career areas and the ever-changing needs of the workplace, it can be tricky to settle on a career, as well as to come up with a specific plan to realise it.

The choice you make should be based on your interests, values, abilities, as well as the demand for the area you choose. Before making this choice, however, you need to do your own self-assessment. This will help you to identify your real interests, values and abilities. There are career self-assessment instruments which you can gain access to from the career centre at your university. You will need to align your interests, values and abilities to some careers.

Narrowing your choices

Various career development specialists have found that some of the people who find it difficult to make career decisions are those who do well in all the subject areas. These, however, must be carefully guided. Making the decision is necessary and can only be done after you have looked at the various options, and researched them.

Try to find out the nature of the duties you will perform, the scope for employment in the field, the nature of the rewards, as well as the marketability of the area when you graduate and beyond.

You may use the library at your career centre, as well as the Internet to do your search. Try also to talk to others in the areas you are investigating. As you continue to try and narrow your choices, you may even want to do some work in the ones you are seriously considering. This could be on a voluntary basis or otherwise paid employment on a part-time or summer employment basis.

If your university career centre has a job-shadowing programme, you could also ask to become involved in it. Involvement in a mentorship programme facilitated by the career centre is, too, a good idea.

After going through the process, some people still make a final decision after they have entered the world of work and have the opportunity to fully explore the options.

There are some organisations that are cognisant of the challenges some recent graduates face and so design what they term management/supervisory trainee programmes that help the new employee to explore various areas of opportunities in this special training programme. At the end of this programme, the employee could be placed in his/her area of preference.

Choosing a major

It is important that when you are pursuing studies at the university/college level, that you are aware of your broad area of interest, even if you are not specific about the career. From what you have said, you seem to be pursuing a major which can facilitate the three career options you mentioned (entrepreneurship, accounting and teacher of mathematics), as well as other options, such as marketing, production management, general administration and human resources management.

When students are not very sure of their career interest, they will pursue a general degree, and then try to determine their career objective before moving on to do graduate studies. Try to do well at your studies, so that you will qualify for graduate studies.

Flexibility

In today’s world of work, employers do not only focus on the type of major students pursue, they also want to know that you maintain a high grade point average, as well as participate in various activities outside of the classroom. These are activities that will help you to develop numerous relevant workplace skills and competencies, including time management, good interpersonal and communication skills, creativity as well as decision-making and problem-solving skills,flexibility and commitment to organisational goals. Additionally, they are interested in recruits who are lifelong learners.

Deciding on a career may pose challenges for some individuals but with expert guidance and a willingness on the part of the student to seek assistance and follow the prescribed recommendations, those challenges can be overcome.

Merrit Henry is the student services and development manager at the University of the West Indies, Mona. She may be contacted at merrit.henry@uwimona.edu.jm.