Choosing a Career Pathway
Your Three-Step Guide to Getting Organised
Step One - Know Yourself What kind of person are you? Are you best-suited to an occupation where there is plenty of social contact, or do you get more achieved alone? Do you tend to sit back and analyse the situation first, or are you more likely to leap in and learn by having a go?
All of these questions are important - you could spend four years at uni studying for a career that, in the end, you won't feel comfortable in. To find out what kind of occupations YOU are suited for, based on your personality, try a Myfuture quiz. HOW DO I GET A CAREERS REPORT? 1. Sign up for MyFuture - it's free and takes about 2 minutes 2. Follow the instructions to complete your Career Profile 3. Click on the suggested occupations to watch a video or read more about them. REMEMBER - it's only one tool; you will need to consider your interests, abilities, and job availability when considering which field you'd like to enter. |
Step Two - Know your Optionsjoboutlook.gov.au/A-Z.aspxWant to be an architect but worried that no-one will be hiring when you graduate? Concerned about spending time and money studying for a career in a field where computers are making the humans obsolete? Use the resources below to help you decide.
WILL THERE BE A JOB FOR ME? Find out by visiting the Job Outlook site. You can research specific industries and see predicted growth in employment, average earnings, and other useful info for over 350 specific occupations. The current 'batch' of job outlooks runs to 2019 - further than that and it's harder to make accurate predictions, but if you're looking for general information about long-term trends in employment, the future employment trends page contains some good articles which should point you in the right direction. I'M REALLY GOOD AT ENGLISH/MATHS/FOOD TECHNOLOGY. HOW CAN I TURN THAT INTO A JOB? Use the 'Bullseye' posters (bottom left on the myfuture home page) to see which careers your favourite school subjects can lead to. If you're good at Maths, you can take heart in the fact that many of the 'best' jobs at the moment want people with your particular set of skills (hope you got the 'Taken' reference there). Have a look at this US site which rates the best careers every year. The Aussie hiring landscape is similar enough for it to be relevant. More info here. |
Step Three - Choose Your Subjects for Years 11 & 12 (Year 10)I KNOW WHAT JOB I WANT IN THE FUTURE - HOW CAN I CHOOSE THE RIGHT SENIOR SUBJECTS?
Go to The Good Universities Guide and do a search for undergraduate courses in the field you want to work in. Check the prerequisites for the courses that you find - some will list subjects that you need to take for four semesters in Years 11 and 12 in order to be eligible for entry. If you're looking to enter a field of study where there are always more applicants than places, you may want to investigate field positions too. HOW DO I CHOOSE IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT JOB I WANT? You've done a bit of research into possible careers, but you're still not sure what you want to do. Don't worry - if you're not one of those people who's known since they were five that they wanted to be a veterinarian specialising in Orangutan welfare, you're not alone. In any case, today's high school students are likely to have multiple careers within their lifetime. Most of the time, if you already have a career it will be your interests and abilities which push you into making a change, and they should also be what you look at now. Make your choices based on what you like and what you're good at - often the same thing. Don't worry about OPs or courses unless you're pretty sure about where you're heading. Feel free to come and visit the Careers Room and ask for help deciding. |