Who has never asked the question in their life: “Who will I become in the future? What profession should I choose? We used to think it was so easy. Some claimed that they would be designers, others - doctors, others - builders, etc. However, there is a category of people who from the very beginning did not know what they wanted and wanted in the future.
Before deciding what to become, you should decide what you want to get from your profession, think about what brings you joy and pleasure. In addition, other criteria should be taken into account, such as the desired lifestyle, the level of salary that would satisfy you. But first of all, it is important to consider your abilities. If you can't handle complex math problems, even though you spend a lot of time understanding them, then you don't have to be an engineer, programmer, or scientist.
Reasons for choosing a particular profession
Many people believe that the choice of a future profession is influenced only by a person’s interests. However, it is not. There are many more factors in career guidance than you might think. Here are the most important of them:
- Material well-being. We indicated this factor first in the list, since most often people are interested in the financial component. It is important that work can provide a comfortable existence not only for the person himself, but also for his family. Highly paid jobs include: IT specialists, top managers, financiers, marketers, etc. It is important to remember that the profession itself will not bring significant dividends if a person does not prove himself, improve his skills, and gain new knowledge.
- Prestige. Every decade there is a fashion for one profession or another. At first, everyone, imitating Yuri Gagarin, wants to become an astronaut. Then lawyers, and today officials. We advise you not to put this factor at the forefront when choosing a profession. Fashion is fickle. It is not a fact that the profession you receive will be relevant after you graduate from university.
- Mom and Dad's opinion. Parents rightfully consider themselves more experienced and knowledgeable than their child. But they cannot know all the child's preferences. If you don't feel like following in your father's footsteps, be brave and speak your mind. You can ask advice from other people you respect, for example, teachers.
- "For company with a friend." If all your schoolmates are going to enroll in one educational institution, there is a great temptation to follow them. However, you may very quickly regret such a rash decision.
- Own desires. One of the most important factors when choosing a future profession. The main thing is to learn to distinguish momentary whims from real, conscious desires.
Uncertainty
This reason could be combined with the first one, which states that teenagers are not interested in anything. But it is worth highlighting separately, since the problem is really very serious.
Some teenagers may be sure of what they want, but will still continue to doubt. For a child, the period of choosing a profession is not easy, at least because it is something new, unknown, and also requires such high responsibility. And what will happen next? What if I was wrong? What if it's not mine?
It is extremely important to explain to the child that there will be difficulties and they cannot be avoided. There will be doubts, but this is not a reason to refuse the interesting adventures that await him ahead. And a mistake in choice is not death, but only an opportunity to start doing something new.
What to do if you have no ideas?
Many high school students face uncertainty. What to do if you don’t know where to study next?
- Assess your own abilities. Write down your skills on a piece of paper and relate them to possible professions.
- Make a list of possible options. Review it after some time. Perhaps some professions will no longer interest you.
- If your head is completely empty, you can always choose one of the options: take the advice of your parents, go to the same university with friends, postpone admission for a year, and work during this time.
- Try to start building your career in one of the directions. You may get an interest in the restaurant business by working as a waiter. Test yourself in real work activity. Based on the experience gained, you can draw conclusions about obtaining future education.
Of course, you can make a mistake. But this is better than complete inaction. The acquired skills will benefit you in any case.
Many hobbies
This is the opposite problem to the previous one. Some children cannot decide what to do because they like everything. In fact, this is not the biggest problem, since now there are a lot of professions, and some of them allow you to combine incompatible things.
Yes, at first you will have to think about how to help a teenager decide on a profession. But when this period is over, the child will find a very unusual and interesting activity. For example, if he is interested in computer games and journalism, why not become an esports journalist?
Is it possible to choose a business you like for the rest of your life?
According to statistics, more than half of Russians work outside their profession. Some respondents do this without much enthusiasm. A small percentage is in search, constantly changing jobs. And only a few lucky ones manage to choose their future profession in their teens.
As a rule, such people show interest in one activity since childhood. Future successful actors begin to play in the school theater and act as entertainers at various events.
Advice for parents! If your child shows a keen interest in a particular activity, do everything possible to help him achieve self-realization.
Middle school: starting testing
In grades 5–9, it is already possible to determine the areas of a child’s professional interests, his inclinations and abilities. You can start “from the opposite” - understand that it is definitely not suitable for the child. For example, it is hardly worth pushing a shy teenager into a profession that requires a lot of communication with people, or a restless tomboy into painstaking and immobile work in one place.
A psychologist will help you decide more precisely. It is in high school that many parents first turn to a specialist with a request to help their child make a decision.
A psychologist has a whole arsenal of techniques for determining professional inclinations. For example, in the fifth or sixth grades this could be a short conversation on the topic “My favorite activity.” In the seventh or eighth grade, a child can already write an essay “How can I help people?” With ninth graders I use the “I want, I can, I must” technique.
Svetlana Belolipetskaya, psychologist
It’s worth starting as early as possible, says psychologist Svetlana Belolipetskaya, because career guidance is a long process. It is impossible to talk with a specialist for half an hour and get the secret of success.
I have clients who take their first test in eighth grade. Then they return a year later, and we look at the dynamics: some professional areas are leaving, others, on the contrary, are strengthening. It's a really long process.
Svetlana Belolipetskaya, psychologist
Recommendations for choosing a profession
Difficulties with choosing a profession arise even for those who have previously decided on their favorite school subject. For example, a schoolchild can easily solve mathematical problems. In the future he may become a teacher, scientist, financier or engineer. You should not take this factor into account only when choosing a job.
Carefully analyze all the roads open to you, taking into account the associated factors. So the teacher will need to have a lot of contact with children, and the engineer will need to have perseverance. This is why it is worth evaluating:
- Future prospects.
- Own capabilities.
- Compliance of personal qualities with the chosen profession.
Listen to the opinions of people who have significant experience in this profession. For example, you are fond of football and don’t miss a single training session. But the coach says that you lack technical skills. You will either have to work twice as hard, or choose an activity related to football (referee, sports official, physical education teacher).
Additionally, listen to the opinions of people who have previously chosen the profession you like. You can attend a career fair, open classes, seminars or lectures. Don't choose an activity based solely on perceived prospects.
Search for studies
How to choose a profession for a teenager? Psychologists recommend paying attention to specialties outside your city or country. This advice is especially useful for those who live in small towns where there are a limited number of educational institutions.
By looking at the capital's universities, it will be easier for you to understand the opportunities that are open to your child. There is always a large number of different specialties here. But there is another side to the coin - moving a child to another city. Here, not every parent is ready to support their child, especially if there are problems with independence.
What professions will be in demand in the future?
According to experts, the following professions will be in demand in the near future:
- Programmer.
- Manager.
- Designer of virtual worlds.
- Builder.
- Space tourism worker.
- Office manager.
It is logical that doctors, teachers, and kindergarten teachers will always be in demand. Girls cannot do without hairdressers and nail service specialists. It is also unlikely that tourism, and with it the hospitality industry, will become a thing of the past.
Professions related to Internet technologies will become most popular. People also cannot do without bread and circuses, which means actors, musicians, cooks and pastry chefs will also be needed. You can often hear that most workers will be replaced by robots. But these are still only unfounded statements that have nothing to do with the real state of affairs.
Ignorance
This is one of the common reasons why many people do not understand how to decide on a profession. Teenagers have no idea about specialties. Of course, if we are talking about bloggers or businessmen, then everything is clear to everyone. But what do they study at the Faculty of Systems and Media? What can you become after receiving a degree in International Relations?
Many teenagers represent most professions, looking back on what they were taught in kindergarten. Therefore, it is easy for them to navigate what a cook, a policeman and a doctor can do.
This is the fault of everyone: teachers who do not talk about professions, the media, which could also be engaged in education, and on the Internet you also need to specifically search for the necessary information. Therefore, all that remains is the parent, who can learn a lot of interesting things himself and help the child expand his knowledge.
Tests to help
Today, various tests and techniques developed by scientists and psychologists can help determine your future career. Below we will talk about four techniques that have proven their effectiveness.
Socionics test
Socionics determines people’s abilities, taking into account a number of parameters:
- Rationality.
- Logics.
- Extra/introversion.
- Ethics.
- Intuition.
As a result, you can find out which of the 16 psychotypes a person belongs to. Based on this, recommendations for vocational guidance have already been given.
Important! Socionics is not an officially recognized science. The results of the study are of a recommendatory nature.
Holland Questionnaire
This test is a little similar to the previous one. The questionnaire also divides people into types:
- Intellectual.
- Conventional.
- Realistic.
- Artistic.
- Social.
- Enterprising.
As a result, you also receive recommendations that can be an impetus for the right choice of profession.
Klimov's technique
Based on the methodology of Academician Klimov, tests are compiled that are asked to be taken at every Employment Center in our country. It consists of 20 questions. As a result, the person’s psychotype is determined and recommendations for the profession are given:
- Human.
- Self-realization.
- Technique.
- Artistic image.
- Sign system.
- Nature.
Based on the results, you will be able to find out what talent you have and in what activity it is best to apply it.
Career choice matrix
Another effective technique with its advantages and disadvantages. The first includes a small number of questions, a fairly accurate result. A disadvantage of this study is often cited as the limited choice of recommendations.
Demand
It is equally important to choose from those professions that are in demand in your country or city. Of course, you can get a specialty that will require moving, but you should talk about it and plan right away.
When it comes to the question of the demand for a profession, it is worth understanding that we are not talking about prestigious specialties, but specifically about those in which one can find a job. To do this, you can use the ratings of local employment centers.
You can also pay attention to more universal specialties. For example, now knowledge of foreign languages is definitely suitable for everyone, since with them you can get several completely different professions at once. For example, a person graduated from English philology, but did not go to work as an English teacher, but became a journalist for a foreign publication.
How to help your child decide on a profession?
Only the parents are more concerned about the choice of a future profession than the child himself. The following advice from psychologists will help set your child on the right path:
- Have unobtrusive conversations with your teenager. Try to identify his preferences by learning about the prerequisites for these preferences. This way you will understand whether the child chose a profession consciously, or was simply exposed to fashion trends.
- Help your child learn more about his chosen field of activity. Buy specialized literature and offer to see what the work looks like in practice. It wouldn’t hurt to arrange an acquaintance with a person who has also chosen this profession. The experience of real people can differ significantly from the emasculated picture on the TV screen.
- Offer to take a career guidance test. Explain that the results are for guidance only.
- Do not insist if the teenager does not want to go to university. To master a number of professions, studying at a technical school or college is enough. Over time, the child will be able to realize for himself whether he needs higher education. This will help him treat his studies more responsibly, and not go to classes “under pressure.”
- If you live in a small town, find out what professions are popular in large cities. Perhaps this way you will not only influence the future well-being of your child, but also save money. In some cases, studying in big cities is less expensive.
- Help your child try his hand at his chosen profession before entering university. If he dreams of the restaurant business, let him work as a simple waiter. It will be useful for future auto designers to be an apprentice in a car service center.
- Give your child the opportunity to make their own decisions. If he makes a mistake, he will still gain valuable skills. Plus, you won't become the target of his unfounded accusations of poor choice. It is better to be in the status of a friend than to earn the reputation of a dictator.
Independence
It is very important that your child is independent. It is unlikely that such a character trait can be instilled a couple of years before admission; by and large, it is advisable to do this from birth. But if you are just now thinking about it, then start right away.
Independence will help the child choose his own profession. Otherwise, he will listen to the parent’s opinion or advice, and then will blame them for his lack of fulfillment.
Changing profession after 30 years
The topic of choosing a profession is relevant not only for schoolchildren. Life is an unpredictable thing, and sometimes adults have to think about changing their occupation. The reason may be moving to another city, lack of demand for existing knowledge, and much more. Most often this applies to people who have just crossed the 30-year age mark. It’s not for nothing that psychologists call this period a crisis.
Changing professions goes side by side with personal fears. The most popular of them:
- I'm not young anymore.
- Young university graduates are breathing down my neck.
- I'm afraid of change.
- How can I explain to my family and friends why I made this decision?
The first thing to do is calm down. Remember, at 30 years old a person is still considered young and promising, and existing skills will be an additional advantage.
Most often, changes occur according to one of the following scenarios:
- Mastering a new profession that is more in demand today.
- Transition to a related field while maintaining the general vector of career direction.
- Transforming a hobby into a means of earning money.
Let's look at the pros and cons of each scenario:
- You will be able to earn more money and gain prospects for career growth. The disadvantage is the fear of leaving one’s home.
- There are practically no downsides, especially if the transition is smooth. But there are a lot of advantages - you don’t need to study again, you may not even have to quit your current job.
- Here again everything is tied to fear. You can't be sure that your hobby will bring in a lot of money. But, as they say, you won’t know until you try.
The importance of salary
Almost everyone wants to earn good money, so when choosing a specialty, they are guided by this motive. It doesn’t matter to such people where and how they work, the result is important to them. Today it is very difficult to get good money right away. Some people don’t have the patience to study and gain experience for a long time, so sometimes girls get jobs as waitresses and get good tips, and boys go abroad to earn money and work as laborers. But is it so important to focus on a high salary when determining your life path?
In many ways, salary growth depends on experience and growth in qualifications. Professions where it is initially good, in most cases do not provide for career growth. For example, after 5 years, the income of a saleswoman and a novice engineer will be at the same level, and after another 5 years, the engineer’s salary will leave the saleswoman’s wages far behind.
