It is common for career advisors to receive inquiries from people saying – “These are the career options I think I want but I’m very confused and I need your help. Can you provide me more information about the career prospects, market demand, my chances of getting these jobs and what education/training I need to get the jobs”
My response to these questions is something along the lines of – “Career advisors cannot know the answers to these questions because there are thousands of occupations out there and it is impossible to know such details about each one. So If you are looking for ready-made information in-a-box, then I can’t help with that. To answer all your questions, you need to spend the time/effort researching your shortlisted occupations. A career advisor can guide you through the entire research process, or you can conduct the research by yourself.”
In order to answer these questions about possible career options, you will need to do the following:
- Conduct extensive secondary research on your career options. On the internet you will find occupational databases and other websites which will have this information. Also check if there are any books that can help. This effort will provide a good deal of information and make sure you are not completely clueless. A new tool that provides some interesting insights on this front is PathMotion. The best part of the website is the ability to search for a particular job and see what type of work/education other people pursue before/after being in that role.
- However, the best information will come from primary research i.e. talking to people who have firsthand experience in the jobs that you are targeting. So ideally, either they have worked in that role previously, or they are currently doing that job. They will be able to provide you with ALL the details you need about the job (lots of which you won’t find on the internet or in books) and you can get information specific to your needs/goals. So use your professional/personal contacts to find people to talk with and also use online networking tools like LinkedIn, which will provide you with many relevant people to get in touch with instantly. You will receive excellent/credible information on career options you are considering from them
