It’s never too early to start thinking about your future career, even if you’re a student. Thinking about work can be daunting, but it’s worth trying to find the excitement in all the possibilities of your future.
So what are some of the ways that you can start planning for a future career?
Focus on your strengths and interests
It’s important to quality of life to find a career that will suit your strengths and will hold your interest. If you aren’t exactly sure what your strengths are, it’s worth talking to people close to you: your friends and family will have ideas. Once you find a few fields of interest, do lots of research into them, and remember that it’s fine to keep your options open. Look out for the subjects that you might need to take. If you find that you need a certain ATAR for university or a certain course to become accredited in the area you’re interested in, that’s great! Now you have a concrete goal to work towards: an incentive to study hard and do your best at school.
Talk to people working in the areas you’re interested in
There’s no need to commit 100% to a future career while you’re in school, so it’s a great time to investigate the field or fields you’re interested in. Talk to professionals currently working in the field you’re interested in – ask them about their day-to-day work, what the best and worst parts of working in the area are. It’s important to think not only about the kind of work involved, but also the lifestyle associated with working in the area. Ask them also about their path into their role: how did they get there? It’s better to be informed early on than spend years working towards entering into a job you find you don’t like! Take the opportunity in high school to do work experience in an industry you would like to know more about – if you don’t have any contacts, ask your school for help in reaching out. Later on, look into internships or work placements to give you more in-depth experience in the fields.
Be purposeful about part-time or casual work
Doing part-time or casual work while you’re in school or university is invaluable: it will give you the ability to talk about skills you learnt when it comes to all-important job interviews in your chosen career. So think about what you want to do and how you can begin to hone some of the skills that are valued in that career. If you want to work in the arts, you could try and find work at a theatre; if you are planning to work in a job that involves talking to members of the public, find a customer-service job; if you want to be a teacher, you could look into tutoring work. If you’re creative, you can find many different ways of developing the skills you are going to need.
If you loved this article, you will LOVE all of our other articles, such as: 3 Facts You Should Know About Your ATAR, Tips for Supporting Your Child in Year 11 and 12! and Will anyone care about your ATAR in a year?
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