Choosing a Career - Relating yourself to the occupation

• Making career changes
• There is more than one way to look at work options
• You and various types of work
• The personal requirements of occupations
• Summary

Whether you have realised it or not, you have probably taken this step already on your journey to finding work that interests you.

Compare the facts you have collected about yourself with the facts you have collected about jobs and decide.

• Do I have the secondary school subjects required?
• Can I see myself carrying out all the different duties of the occupation?
• Would I be happy doing those tasks?
• Do I really want to do all the training involved? (How much study do I want to do?)
• Can I use my abilities in that occupation?
• Does that career satisfy my needs?
• Am I just pleasing my parents?
• Will there be good opportunities in the future?
• Do I like the sort of people I would work with?
• Would I fit into the culture of the workplace?
• Would I enjoy that sort of supervision?

You should be able to pick those occupations and career paths which satisfy your needs and which are realistic choices for you. For most people there is not just one right occupation. Follow up a number of occupations or courses that may suit you. Do not just apply for one job or course-apply for several, otherwise you may miss out and be left with nothing.

Making career changes

No matter what job you start out in, you will probably find yourself making a number of career changes during your working life. Both people and occupations change over time. As you develop more job skills, your priorities and work expectations will probably change. The things that are important to you in a job today may not seem so important in ten years time.

The nature of work is changing rapidly and will certainly continue to do so. The occupation you first start out in may be completely different a few years later. It is very likely that you will find yourself reviewing your career goals many times throughout your lifetime.

The three steps outlined above should help you make career choices, whether it is your first job or a later career change.

There is more than one way to look at work options

Exploring occupations and the world of work isn't meant to be a five-minute exercise. You really need to invest the time if you are going to achieve some worthwhile results. If you want to make 'informed' career decisions you need accurate information, advice and ideas.

Earlier in this section you matched possible job options to your interests. Whether you want to include these interests as a part of daily working life, or prefer to keep them as a separate interest or hobby is sometimes hard to decide.

There are other ways of looking at the relationship between you and possible job options. The following section outlines some other ways of looking at these links.

You and various types of work

You and a specific occupation
You may already have your mind set on a specific occupation; however, you owe it to yourself to really check out the full story.

How much training is involved? Are there certain educational or other entry requirements? What is the employment future like? Does the work change in different employer settings? What are the physical and mental demands? Are there opportunities for further development? Is the job a realistic option for you?

Having a specific occupation in mind can make it easier to plan career choices, but it is wise to keep your options open.

You and a specific industry
Most industries have a wide range of job options. If a specific occupation appeals to you, maybe there are some other occupations in the same industry that will also appeal. In some industries, getting a complete picture of the range of jobs and how they relate can be quite confusing. Centrelink Career Information Centres and Centrelink Offices have a range of posters, information folders, videos and other resources to help you explore the range of options within most industries. Larger employers and industry/employer associations are also a useful source of advice. Your school careers advisor will also be able to help.

You and occupations that are required by many employers
There are a number of occupations that are required by employers in most industry sectors. If you consider that being able to 'travel' easily between employers and industry sectors is important, choosing a portable occupation may be the answer. Jobs that allow for easy transfer across industries include training and development, financial administration, occupational health and safety, industrial relations, information technology and marketing/public relations.

You and a 'field' of work
A 'field' of work can be described as occupations with a common or united goal in the work involved. Examples include health care, environmental issues, industrial relations or counselling. People may do jobs at different levels because of their training or qualifications, and have diverse backgrounds, but all work in the same 'field'.

You and specific aspects of jobs

Mode of work-(full-time/part-time/casual/shift/seasonal/job-share) - Increasingly, many occupations are being offered on a part-time or casual basis as employers and workers look for better and more flexible ways of using resources and time. Some industries are more suited to this style of employment, particularly the entertainment, leisure, hospitality, fast food, tourism and retail sectors. Many people prefer to work part-time as it allows time for other interests.

Many occupations across a range of industries involve shift work, where the regular hours of work are not 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. Manufacturing, health services and computing are examples of industries in which employees may do shift work. Seasonal work, where crops, entertainment events or other activities occur at a set time in a given location, is another way of working. This may involve travelling to a number of locations throughout the year.

Working conditions or environment - The working conditions or environment associated with occupations may be important. For example, you may be seeking a calm or peaceful type of working environment where things are quiet and ordered. Occupations in libraries or research may offer such an environment. Some people may be looking for an 'outdoor' job whereas others may prefer to do indoor office work. But not all occupations take place in only one type of environment or with one set of working conditions. These can vary from company to company and from one industry to another. Some occupations can combine both environments, such as fieldwork coupled with laboratory/office research.

Type of workplace - In some industries there are many 'self-contained' workplaces which have a range of different occupation types and levels of employment. These include a television or radio station within the media industry; a national park within the recreation industry; an international hotel within the tourism and hospitality industry; an airport within the transport industry; or a bank or building society within the finance industry. This means that you can focus on a smaller work environment, rather than on a whole industry.

Working with people or products? - Some people may wish to work in an area with animals, children, people with disabilities or elderly people. Others may prefer working with electronics or products, or items such as motor bikes, computers, plants or ships. The links can be as varied as the range of people, animals, products or items that exist. Quite often there is a range of occupations at different levels and in different settings.

Image or status - Some people are drawn to occupations that seem to have a particular image or standing in society, for example, occupations with an image of authority or glamour. Make sure you look at the actual duties, demands and responsibilities of a job carefully. In many of these occupations, irregular and long working hours may be expected, and there may not always be a clear career path.

It is also important to realise that an occupation that's considered powerful or glamorous today may not be in the future.

Good money or good job prospects - Many occupations with high salaries involve years of study and effort, sacrifices or risks, and unusual or irregular hours. You need to consider what kind of lifestyle you want to lead as a result of your career. For many, the guarantee of good job prospects determines the occupations they are prepared to consider; however, there are often factors that can change employment predictions over time. It may be better to look at a group of jobs that appeal to you and then do your best to show that you have the ability, training and personal skills to do the work. Even when prospects don't look the brightest, a person with the right background and technical and personal skills will often be rewarded with opportunities.

The personal requirements of occupations

Abilities, skills, aptitudes and talent
You can look at occupations that rely mainly on abilities you have which are natural, learnt or a mixture of both. Some occupations can involve skills that may be gained over a short period of time while others require years of training and experience. With a bit of thought, you will be surprised how many skills and talents you can identify which can be used as links to occupations.

Physical/mental demands and limitations
How you feel mentally and physically can determine the type of occupation you can do or keep. Increasingly, there are industry standards, which cover the physical aspects of work situations. With the focus on occupational health and safety, as well as the introduction of new technologies, the physical demands are not as great as many years ago. Some occupations will always place more physical demands or expectations on workers. Others require a greater level of alertness or mental capacity. Mental demands, occurring in a more high-paced work environment, may cause stress to one person, yet provide a challenge to another.

Secondary and post-secondary studies
You may see your favourite subjects, or topics within these subjects, leading you into a field of work. Sometimes the connections between subjects and occupations may not be clear, therefore it is important to get advice on where subjects may lead.

A series of charts called Do you enjoy or are you good at... have been produced that allow you to explore jobs related to a range of secondary school subjects. These are available from Centrelink Career Information Centres, Centrelink Offices.

Values, ethics and beliefs
Some people hold strong work and/or personal values that they are not prepared to compromise. It may be that you value respect and honesty in the workplace, or in business transactions have a strong commitment to the work and expect a high level of teamwork and support from others. Therefore, it is important to think about occupations, work environments or industries where it is possible to hold and practise your values without them being threatened. There may also be beliefs or traditions that are important to your ethnic or religious background. Environmental and humanitarian beliefs may also influence your choice of work.

Non-traditional work
A non-traditional occupation is one in which the person's age or gender is different from that of the majority of the people who work in the occupation. Young people looking for work can severely restrict their options by dismissing a whole range of occupations because they have traditionally been considered 'male' (e.g. a plumber) or 'female' (e.g. a make-up artist). People must realise that these types of occupations are always available to them.

The job descriptions in the Job Guide do not make assumptions about the gender of the person doing the job and it is important to approach each description with an open mind. It is generally the person who reads the description who decides if it is an occupation that only a male or female can do-occupations don't have gender; only people do!

Work experience/voluntary work
You may have undertaken work experience as a part of secondary or further studies, or you may have worked voluntarily in a friend's business. This type of experience will often give you a 'feel' for a job or an industry. Such experience is valuable in helping you to decide if it's the kind of work that you want to pursue. Occasionally, these placements lead to permanent work because employers have had the opportunity to assess your suitability, energy, interest and potential.

Summary

By now you should have realised that there are many ways to think about occupations, careers and industries and, of course, not all have been mentioned here. It's likely that you will think of other ways as you continue to explore your options.