Jamaludheen Malikkunnu, Chief Career Counselor at CIGI and Life Coach shares with us the important things to keep in mind while choosing a career.
One of the most important things to consider when choosing a career is our aptitude in that area. Aptitude is an ability that a person is born with. There are several aptitude tests to find out the aptitude of every individual. Aptitude tests such as Differential Aptitude Test (DAT), Kerala Differential Aptitude Test (KDAT) conducted by the Kerala Higher Secondary School Department, as well as aptitude tests conducted by an agency called Pearson, help students to choose their careers according to their aptitude.
Interest is the second most important factor in deciding a career. Although our interests may change, we must consider those interests while choosing a career. Third factor that we need to consider is our physical ability to choose a career. We need physical qualifications to work in certain areas. For example, jobs that need things like sight and hearing, we have to consider whether we have it or not to choose a career. Similarly, when selecting a career, it is the concern of all people to consider the possibilities of the job as well. The opportunity arises when everyone is able to integrate them into this course or job considering the possibilities as well.
When a person chooses a course according to their interests, tastes, and abilities, they will have the opportunity in areas where he/she can contribute. But on the other hand, when a person studies a course and his abilities and tastes are all different, he is unable to contribute to the field and the particular individual lacks opportunity.
The next thing we need to consider when choosing a career is the institutions. Institutions should also be selected wisely when choosing a career. It is also an important factor to look at the companies that get the highest exposure. Similarly, in some cases, gender dominance or gender difference comes up for discussion. Especially in the case of girls. For example, the presence of girls in the nursing sector is high. There are also areas where there is the dominance of men. Instead of saying that people of the opposite sex should not go to such particular areas, it should be said that it would be better to choose that area as a career option considering its nature of work and gender dominance.
The next factor is a person’s personal values. For some individuals, their personal values often prevent them from going into certain areas. For example, there are people who do not want to do alcohol-related work. Similarly, there are people who do not accept the need for certain attire for certain jobs. It is their personal values regarding such people. It may or may not be connected with their religious beliefs. We can discuss this subject in two ways.
Financial background is another thing we need to consider. There may be financial costs involved in reaching certain areas. But once we get to that area, we may not have to spend money later. But some are quite the opposite. In some areas, it can be very easy to reach but once you get there you have to pay a huge amount of fees. We also need to consider whether our family can help us financially in such situations. So, we have to think about whether the courses we choose are financially comfortable or not to choose a career.
Another factor we need to consider is our personality. One of the things we often discuss in common is introversion and extroversion. People who are extroverted, mostly interact with people, they are eager to get involved in public affairs unlike introverted people. So, when choosing such courses, we need to identify exactly what our tastes are.
All of the above are important things to keep in mind when we take a course. Remember that audacity and ambition have a better chance to develop once you are fully aware of how you function, what your strengths are and what you value. The future is yours!