No matter what stage of your education you are in currently it is important for you to know why you are studying. In the first 12 years of schooling what you learn is mostly not up to you as there is little latitude you can take but even in high school you have some choices which can affect your future choices so it is important to have a plan as early into your schooling as possible.
Career planning is important because it provides an idea of interests, talents/skills and a path to follow. It can give insight into what would be satisfying and challenging throughout a career which is necessary for long term success in any field.
Without career planning you may find yourself involved in actions which may not provide you with any of the most important things which makes for a successful career. To consider a career successful you will have to have a balance of the following characteristics. The balance will be dependent on your psychological and physiological makeup but without these you will not be considered successful to yourself or others.
- You enjoy the majority of your work day
- You are challenged regularly
- You feel your work is valuable
- Your salary provides a comfortable lifestyle
- You can perform the necessary tasks
- There are opportunities for advancement
The better you understand what your preferences are and what you are good at the faster you will find a career which fits your particular needs. Career planning will help you to understand what you need and what your priorities are before you spend time or money pursuing a particular career.
Career planning helps find a career which is interesting and challenging
You probably know the feeling of repeatedly looking at the clock while in a class which you don’t enjoy. It could be due to the instructor, the course material or your mental state but it happens to all of us. The challenge is that time seems to slow down as the minutes tick past and the instructor continues to talk.
Imagine that feeling and now consider yourself at work doing something which you don’t enjoy. It may be okay for a while but as the days and months drag on you will find yourself with that same feeling of waiting for the day to pass so you can go do something you want to do. After a while it will not matter how much you are making, if you don’t like what you are doing you will dread the 40 hours a week or so you spend at work. Not a great way to spend your day.
Career planning provides you with a better understanding of what you like to do, what your interests are. With this information you are in a better position to choose a career path which will be interesting and challenging.
Improves the chances of developing adequate income quickly
Unless you are independently wealthy, employment is primarily about income generation. Earning enough to provide for yourself and any dependents you have. Whatever your situation your career needs to have the capacity to provide adequately for your lifestyle.
Career planning includes research into possible job markets including the current and upcoming workforce, salary ranges and growth demand. This provides information on the risks of specific fields of study and the chances of reaching the required income level for a comfortable lifestyle.
Once you have spent some time determining your income requirements you will find many possible careers will be eliminated. Although you may enjoy these types of jobs if they don’t provide enough income for you to be comfortable you will soon become dissatisfied.
Provides opportunities to learn about strengths and weaknesses early
We all have a perception about ourselves which is imperfect. You may think you are good at something and make decisions around that belief but without some outside information you are betting on your perception rather than what others may find to be true. To be sure about your strengths and weaknesses it is best to get some outside opinions before committing to a course of study or career choice.
Each career has its required skills, knowledge bases, physical requirements and psychological demands. Without having most of the required strengths and understanding areas of weakness, success is difficult to achieve in any chosen career.
This is one aspect of career planning which is stressed in all career planning programs because it is so important. Without a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses it is hard to determine what career choice would be successful.
Lowers risk of wasting time on education
This is an age-old question. Should I go to college or should I just get a job now. For most of us the answer is to get some type of education which has value in society. It may not be a university degree or two. You may not want to become a PHD in anything. It would be a personal tragedy to spend four years of study time only to discover you don’t like the career you end up doing.
Career planning not only determines what your interests are but also what you are good at. With these two together and an idea of your psychological makeup you will be in a good position to make an intelligent decision regarding what types of careers you would be interested in and would find fulfilling.
To determine your interests check out this artcle. It will provide you with a track to follow to find your long term interests which could provide you with a long term successful career.
Reduces the risk of wasted financial investment
Education is expensive and it is only getting more so. University students can spend anywhere from $20,000 – $100,000 per year on a program which is not useful unless it is completed which takes most students 5 years to complete. You do the math. Trade schools are cheaper but still cost $5,000 – $20,000 per semester with many programs lasting 2 years.
Without career planning you will risk spending money or worse going into debt to gain knowledge which you may never use. Since only 60% of university students complete a bachelor degree and some take six years, the risk of investing in schooling without doing any career planning is high.
As mentioned above the cost of schooling is high. It can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete a bachelor program and for many professions this is just the start of the schooling required to become an accredited member. Doctors require ten years minimum. Lawyers have similar schooling requirements with the added two years of articling for pathetically low wages before passing the bar.
Career planning helps to reduce the risk of investing in the education needed to participate in a chosen career choice. Providing a clear idea of what careers an individual has a high chance of succeeding in makes the investment valuable rather than a lottery.
Student debt is growing in North America and shows no signs of slowing down. It is easier now than ever to acquire education loans, loans which will follow you until they are paid in full whether or not the education provides you with any benefit financially.
Without doing any career planning you may have the marks which will help you be a good candidate for your chosen program, being a good risk for a loan but if you either don’t complete the program, switch to another program or take longer than you expect to complete you will still need to pay the loan back.
Statistics indicate that about 40% of university students do not complete their degree programs. What the statistics don’t show is the number of graduates who complete their degrees but don’t get the benefit of the schooling. Some graduates never find work in their field, some work for a short time and find it not what they expected while others get stuck in careers which they don’t enjoy but are forced to continue working due to financial pressure.