What do I need to think about when considering which job?
Deciding on a particular job or career can be a hard choice; there can seem to be a never ending range of choices and opportunities to think about. You also need to bear in mind that jobs are changing with new technology so you need to keep on eye on where things are going.
Whether you are clear about what you want to do or are just exploring options, it is worth thinking about what is important/not so important to you in a job.
Discuss your plans with someone. This could be a parent/carer, teacher, tutor or a careers adviser. You can access an adviser through the National Careers Service for Young People.
If you already have an idea of the job you want to do:
That's great, but it is still worth gathering as much information as possible about your chosen job or career choice.
You can:
- Find out all you can about the job or career that interests you. In Careerpilot you will find information about a range of job sectors and Job Profiles to help you.
- Think about the job or career itself – what it offers, the qualifications and skills that you need and how the job market in that sector is doing.
- Do the Careerpilot Skills Profile in the Career Tools. You will be able to see what skills you have and you can also see your skills against the skills required in a job in any job profile. Do you see any gaps? How can you fill them? What qualifications or training do you need?
- It’s always worth discussing your plans with someone. This could be a parent/carer, teacher, tutor or a careers adviser. You can access an adviser through the National Careers Service for Young People.
- Remember it is always worth having a look at more than one job and more than one job sector, just in case your first idea doesn’t work out
If you are still exploring jobs and careers:
Many young people are not sure what job they might like to do in the future and that's fine. If that sounds like you then, when you are choosing qualifications choose a broad selection of subjects, this can help keep your options open and give you lots of choices later.
You can:
- Start by doing the Careerpilot Job Sector Quiz. This will help you find job sectors that could give you what you want from a job.
- Check out the job or career itself in the Careerpilot job sectors. Look at the detailed job profiles to find out what a job offers, the qualifications and skills that you need and how the job market in that sector is doing, will it go up or down?
- You could start with a subject you love and get ideas of where it could take you or look at careers related to your strengths and values.
- Do the Careerpilot Skills Profile in the Career Tools. You will be able to see what skills you have and you can also see your skills against the skills required in a job in any job profile. Do you see any gaps? How can you fill them? What qualifications or training do you need?
- Do the Careerpilot Buzz Quiz which is a fun way to, in under five minutes, discover:
- your strengths and what makes you tick
- get an idea of a few job areas that might suit you.
Questions to ask yourself
- What sort of work environment would suit me? Indoors or outdoors? In an office or more active?
- Would I rather work with other people or on my own?
- Do I want to work for myself or someone else?
- What sort of money do I want to earn?
- How do I learn best?
Support from school/college
Schools and colleges sometimes offer careers software which you can use to help you find jobs/careers to suit your skills and interests. They also offer events and visits which involve employers and give you an opportunity to find out about different careers.