Major Problems Students Face In Choosing A Career
A difficult phase for many students is when they come to the time to choose a career once their studies are done. Choosing a career after college is a big decision that is done early on in life. Sure, you can change careers later, but many people want to get it right the first time and they do not know how or where to start.
Students will encounter many problems when it comes to choosing the right career. Due to outside factors like income and lack of guidance, they may end up choosing the wrong career rather than one that brings them passion. Here are some of the major problems that many college students seem to face when it is time to choose a career.
1 | Lack of Guidance
It is becoming more common that students are not receiving the kind of guidance that they need to succeed in almost any kind of field. With so many people finishing school each year, it is sometimes hard for guidance counselors to provide guidance, and the students are the ones left behind.
All students need to get guidance to help them choose the right career choice for them. Many students are graduating after four or five years of college completely in the dark on which choices are actually available to them based on their interests.
If you go into the world of working with only one or two options presented to you for a career, that can be very limiting. You may pass up other great opportunities while you sit around waiting for those few select positions to open.
When thousands of students do this each year, the competition gets fierce. A handful will get the jobs they want while the rest are out of luck. What’s worse is there are many potential job opportunities available to these students, they just haven’t taken the time to learn about them.
Finding the right guidance can help prevent this problem.
2 | Financial Conditions
Many recent graduates will admit that one of the largest obstacles that face them when they first start choosing their career is related to financial conditions that are not favorable. Education is expensive and when a student has to worry about paying back student loans, it will greatly impact what jobs they take and even where they will work.
There are many expenses found just to enroll or register for college courses. Many times the families of a student will not be able to come up with the money to pay for the education themselves. This leaves individuals with one of two choices; either take out a large number of student loans or not go to college and struggle with finding a job.
The government does back many scholarship programs and all college students should research and apply for as many as possible. The cost of education is still high and many times you will need to take out large loans in order to cover it.
With the choice being between getting a large loan or not going to school, many college students find that they get out of college with a large financial burden. They may need to limit some of their career options so they can choose something that can pay the bills, including their large student loans.
3 | Making Copy-Cat Decisions
Some students fall into the trap of a copy-cat decision. This means that outside of not getting the guidance that they need when making career decisions, many students are making decisions without the right kind of information to help them out.
These students will often take a specific course as their career objective because they see their friends are doing it. They fail to understand that the degree they will pursue during college will lead them to the job they want to do later.
Since they are not receiving some of the assistance and guidance they need, it is easy for students to get lost in the crowd. They do not know what they want to do for a living or how to get there even when they have some good ideas.
They know they need to make some decisions, but they are so lost in the crowd at school. Through this, they will just follow what others are doing and hope it will work out. Unfortunately, it rarely works out at all.
4 | Fear Of Failure
Too many times we just become scared of failing. We do not want to look like we aren’t hitting major milestones or like we did something wrong. We will go with the easy route in the hopes of avoiding mistakes and never failing.
This is not a good way to grow any kind of career. Failures are like the stepping stones of success. If you never fail at something, then you will never get better and see success.
Many students who are really limited with their financial resources will be worried that they will choose a career that will not secure them a good job and financial means in the future. This may lead them to pick a career based on money, not on what they really want to do.
Learning to let go of that fear of failure, and understanding that you can move mountains in any career choice as long as you are passionate about it can go a long way in helping you grow your career in the future.
While there does need to be some thought and planning behind your degree and what you plan to do in the future, do not let fear take over for your career-related decisions. Personal obligations can factor in, but they should never be the only factor.
Choosing Your Career After College
College is a big step that should be celebrated. You are working hard for at least four years to find the right career for your needs. Choose the career based on the job prospects, your personal goals, and what you enjoy doing and many of the top concerns will magically disappear.