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How do I know if my choices are the right one to choose?

Am I going on the right path? #LifeChoices

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Christina’s Answer

Your career choices are “right” - as in right for you - when they do 2 things: 1) they include something you enjoy, you are interested in or experience that gets you to the work you enjoy, and 2) they help pay the bills. There will be times throughout your entire life when those 2 things may feel unbalanced - maybe 1 more than the other. There won’t be one way to do this either as there are infinite options depending on timing, what you need, what is available, etc. It is important to remember that even if you try something that isn’t the right fit, it still gave you something you didn’t have before: knowledge of what won’t work for you and a different path to try.

Christina recommends the following next steps:

Come up with 3 tasks or topics you enjoy and actually try them out — volunteer or shadow if needed. If you don’t know where to start, take the Strong’s Interest Inventory. The career center at any community college should have this or there may be some options to take it online for free. It doesn’t take long and you can even grade yourself if needed.
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Amy’s Answer

The best tool I've used to help me choose the right jobs for me (and thus decide my career path) is the venn diagram discussed in these three articles:
- https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/4-steps-to-help-you-choose-the-right-career
- https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/25/this-simple-diagram-will-help-you-figure-out-what-to-do-with-your-life.html
- https://careers.workopolis.com/advice/the-simple-diagram-that-can-lead-you-to-your-ideal-job/

The diagram differs a bit in each article, but the one that I like this best contains these three circles:
1) Things you LOVE (and/or are passionate about)
2) Things you are GOOD AT (skills/strengths)
3) Things you can MAKE MONEY doing (employment opportunities)

It's really hard to fill in these circles, but I like to keep sticky notes and stick them on my wall as I learn more. The things that go in each circle are NOT always careers, e.g. for the LOVE/PASSION circle:
- I LOVE kids
- I LOVE helping others
- I LOVE solving problems / puzzles / figuring things out
- I LOVE writing and communicating
- I LOVE making things (creating things)
In time, I found that I could use all these things I love to give back in this community here at CareerVillage! This is just one example of how the things I identified helped me to get to a great place with how I spend my time.

For the GOOD AT circle, make sure you again don't just try to fill this with jobs, but all kinds of skills, e.g.:
- I'm good at communicating
- I'm good at inspiring others
- I'm good at math
- I'm good at noticing little things / details

For the things you can MAKE MONEY at circle, this is where you should put down careers... Do research to find careers that include these passions and require these skills - not just by searching online/asking in this portal, but by asking others you know, your career counselor at school, etc. Research careers that are growing the most in the industry right now, or that need the most college hires and add those to this circle. And then if any of them also encompass things you're good at and things you love, those are potential target careers for you!!

For me, I ended up (accidentally) stumbling in to a career in Information Technology. It happened to be a place where both my skills and passions were greatly aligned. And I'm happy to say I've loved every bit of it!

I hope this helps. Best of luck in your search!

Amy recommends the following next steps:

Make your own venn diagram, and continue to update it year after year to help you grow into your best career
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