Assessing Your Skills and Interests: Choosing the Right Career Path

As the saying goes, if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. This means that if you pick a career that allows you to spend every single day doing tasks that you enjoy, then you’ll be working, but it won’t feel like it.

How can you be sure that you’re choosing the right career path? How can your skills and interests translate to the working world? Here are some ways to determine the best career for you.

Consider What You’re Interested In

What do you enjoy doing? What makes you pay attention more than anything else? What activities make you the happiest? These interests can fall into a number of categories, like:

• Academic – Which subjects do you love to study? Do you prefer to read and analyze books in your literature courses? Or do you like to conduct chemistry experiments? Maybe solving complicated math problems is more your speed? No matter what, add these subjects to your list.
• Physical – Your interests don’t always have to be academic. Are there physical activities that you enjoy? Do you spend your free time running marathons? Do you love gym class? Are you someone who plays a sport during every season? These interests are valid as well.
• Artistic – Artistic interests involve more than just drawing and painting. You might enjoy beading and making jewelry. You could spend your free time designing clothing or singing or dancing on stage. Maybe you enjoy acting and being in front of others.

Think About Your Skills

Next, it’s time to consider your skills. What are you good at? This list doesn’t have to just consist of school-related pursuits. Don’t forget about what you do in your spare time as well. For example, do you volunteer at your church? You might be good at organizing events for them or leading the various youth groups. Do you volunteer for any important causes? You might be good at speaking to people or putting together packets to distribute.

Spend some time considering which skills you possess. See if you can compile a list of ten of them. Once you have your list written out, examine it. What do those skills have in common? Are they all computer related? Do they require you to interact with people? Are you a good planner? All of these things can help you determine what your future career should be.

Find Careers That Fit

By combining your skills and interests, you can find a career that fits. Choosing the right career path can help you pick a college major and get you on a good path to the future.

Start Your Career Path at Dean College

Are you ready to start your career? It all begins with a degree from Dean College. With numerous degree and certificate paths to choose from, you’ll be on your way to feeling as though you’ve never worked a day in your life.