What is a career?
A career is a journey, not a destination.
Many years ago, a career was the thing you worked towards your whole life. It followed a straight line from school to retirement, with many people staying in a job for life.
But these days, most people think of a career as an employment path that takes them through life. People change jobs, move into different industries and can totally change direction of their career. A career can involve training, casual, part-time, full-time or even volunteer work.
Thinking of your career as a ‘work in progress’ is a great start. This allows you to see that the opportunities for training, promotion and professional development are on-going – and they are all around you. People learn on-the-job as well as in formal education and training programs.
Plan your career
When you start thinking about planning your career, remember that this is not a one-off decision that you’ll be stuck with forever. Throughout your working life you will have opportunities to assess what jobs and training are available to you that will assist you in taking your career to the next level – or in a completely different direction, if you like.
How to choose
There are thousands of occupations for you to choose from, and when you’re starting to plan your career, it’s useful to have a job in mind.
If you have limited work experience, it can be difficult to decide what work you would enjoy or what jobs your would be good at.
There are lots of resources available that can help point you in the right direction. The following websites are a good place to start if you’re looking for some guidance about the kinds of jobs that are right for you:
My Future
The section titled ‘my guide’ features a personal career guidance tool that can help you choose jobs that match your personality, interests and skills.
Career Quiz
Answers some questions about things you like to do, and the Job Search Career Quiz will tell you what type of work you are most suited to – technical, administrative, people-focused, and more.
