Personal Finance 1307

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”   Confucius

Some people know from the start what they want to do with their life.  My cousin made the decision to be an attorney somewhere around his freshman year in high school while a couple of doctor friends of mine knew early on that they wanted to pursue a career in medicine.   However, most students entering college from high school really do not have a good grasp of the opportunities out there for them and the career that would be the best fit for the them.  However, they have to make some decision because they have to select a major focus for their degree. 

 

The selection of a career is one of the most important decisions in your life because it is the biggest factor affecting future income potential while also directly impacting your feelings of happiness and accomplishment.  You need to find a career that really makes you happy because your potential for success is substantially increased if you are happy in your profession.  

Furthermore, people need to match their careers with their desires for family.  Though we always hear the silly platitude that we can have it all, as a single father with 4 young children, I can tell you unequivocally that you cannot have it all.  Generally, these career sacrifices are made by women and as a father of three daughters, I am concerned about them having equal opportunities in their career aspirations.  However, there are only so many hours in the day meaning sacrifices must be made.  The key is making the best decision on when to sacrifice career desires for family or vice-versa. 

 

There are a lot of good resources on the web to help you make this decision.  Including a number different permutations of the Jung and Briggs-Myers personality tests that try to match your personality to the best career.  I have been surprised at how insightful these tests are in identifying personality characteristics.  The key is to be honest when taking the exam so that you get a result that will help you. 

 

Despite lots of media hype on the pay differential between men and women, the actual cause is career selection and then the trade off between family and career. Women tend to go into careers that do not pay as well as those for men in both the blue collar and white collar sectors.  So, if money is the primary motivation and you are willing to give anything a try then look into some of the projected hottest fields for the future.   The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the best resource to go for this information breaking opportunities down by education level providing something for everyone and guidance as to what education you need to pursue for your chosen career.