What Makes a Good Career?

Not many people think long and hard about their career in the current age. It’s a tough world, and there are bills to pay, and people are forced to consider any adequately paying job they meet the qualifications for. On top of that many desirable (and lucrative) careers are locked behind an unofficial requirement for un- or poorly-paid internships, putting them out of reach of a lot of people on a purely financial level, and more who don’t have the connections to find out about and take up such opportunities.

If you are able to take the time to consider the direction you’d like your career to go in over the course of your life, you can make better decisions. Obviously, you have the most scope to make decisions affecting your career early in your life: you can choose A Levels to suit a degree which fits you for a start in your chosen sector. That said it’s never too late, and if you’re dissatisfied at work reviewing your career choices and contemplating a sideways move could be the answer you’re looking for.

What Motivates You

One of the most important questions you can ask yourself is ‘what motivates you?’. If you know what you derive a sense of reward from, then researching jobs that deliver that sense of reward could be your path to a lifelong career.

If you value security and stability, then you may wish to consider a governmental career. Whether they’re criminal justice jobs, NHS admin roles or even a career in the civil service, jobs attached to the government come with a strong sense of security: these are, in many ways, the last remaining jobs for life!

If you’re more motivated by monetary rewards and challenge then a career in sales may be for you, where your hard work can have a direct impact on your take home pay each month.

Making Changes

If you identify the right career, you may not be able to leap into it immediately. If there’s a skill gap, or experience that you need to gain, then it might feel like the door is closed to you, but you shouldn’t lose hope. If you can identify the problem, then you can start to work on the solution. Where a formal qualification is needed, then a night school course could supply the deficit – an accounting qualification can open some significant doors for example.

If you need practical experience to demonstrate your skills, then donating your time can help fill out your CV. Whether you’re redesigning a website for a friend’s business, helping to audit a local charity’s books or running some social media campaigns for a club, you’re demonstrating you can put those skills to work and get results, which can only help your efforts.