Career Choices

CAREER CHOICES

These days, young people are pressure increasingly early to make a choice when in comes to their future. However, a lot of high school and cegep students still do not know what they would like to do with their life and it is perfectly normal. The process of finding one's ambition and desire for the future should not be rushed. Perhaps the most important and life changing decision in a student's life is choosing a career path. It is not one to take lightly; much consideration should be put towards coming to a sensible conclusion. In fact, it can be influenced by a great deal of different factors such as the knowledge of career markets, academic performances, individual skills and competencies, and of course, individual interests.

Firstly, most would consider that interests might be the main influence to students who are still unclear about their plans for the future, but in fact, more often than not, skills and competencies make for a larger part of the equation. According to a Cornell University study (Explaining Influences on Career 'Choice' in Comparative Perspective)conducted by professors from Britain, Israel and Turkey, individual skills and competencies tend to be the most influential on students' career choices¹. As a matter of fact, it is not a surprising result. Indubitably, it is understandable to be compatible and to feel more interested by a career in which you have a greater ability to perform and greater opportunities to advance and excel in your field. For example, you might have a tremendous interest and love for hockey, but if you can't skate, you can't really make it as a professional hockey player. However, skills tend to have a close relationship with interests in the sense that you are more likely to like something you are good at because it requires less effort and human being are intended by nature to want to do the least possible effort.

In conclusion, there is a multitude of factors that can influence one's decision when it comes to choosing a career. From academic performances to skills and competencies to personal interests, the order in which they are considered is entirely dependent on the individual. Some people even think that there is a strong genetic influence on career choice² and that we are genetically predetermined for a career and that it can be passed down from generation to generation, but the nature versus nurture debate is just a whole other story. 

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1 Explaining Influences on Career 'Choice' in Comparative Perspective ( http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=intlvf&sei-redir=1#search=%22influence%20career%20choice%22)

2THE TIMES, Family Tree 'shows a strong genetic influence on career choice'. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article678660.ece)