Make a Wise Career Choice

STEP 1.

Explore Yourself

Study your aptitudes and interests, along with your intelligence and personality.

STEP 2.

Explore Careers

Review all types of careers, and study closely the ones that interest you the most.

STEP 3.

Make a Choice

Use the facts you obtained in the first steps and match yourself to the career for which you are best suited.

After you complete these three steps, you are ready to plan an educational program that prepares you for success in the career you select. Do not make the mistake that so many do when going into an educational program without a career in mind...or even the general area of a particular career field. This indecision can lead to wasted time and money, and later, when you are out of school, you will find nothing is more frustrating than to find yourself in a career for which you are not suited. Remember this! Make a wise career choice and pursue it. It's up to you to decide what you like and what you want to do to get the greatest returns in satisfaction and income out of your career choice.

Make a Wise Career Choice

Your interest gives a clue to the career best for you:

Interest area:	Outdoors
What it means:	You prefer work that keeps you outside most of the time. Most jobs deal with animals and growing things.
Typical jobs:	Forest rangers, naturalists, Extension workers, farmers, nursery personnel.
Interest area:	Mechanical
What it means:	You like to work with machines and tools.
Typical jobs:	Automobile mechanics, engineers, watchmakers, drill press operators.
Interest area:	Computational
What it means:	You like to work with numbers.
Typical jobs:	Bookkeepers, accountants, bank tellers, mathematicians.
Interest area:	Scientific
What it means:	You like to discover new facts and solve problems.
Typical jobs:	Doctors, chemists, nurses, engineers, aviators, dieticians.
Interst area:	Persuasive
What it means:	You like to meet and deal with people and to promote projects or things to sell.
Typical jobs:	Actors, politicians, radio announcers, ministers, salespersons, store clerks.
Interest area:	Artistic
What it means:	You like to do creative hand work that has "eye appeal" and involves attractive design, color, and materials.
Typical jobs:	Painters, sculptors, architects, dress designers, beauticians, interior decorators, graphic designers.
Interest area:	Literary
What it means:	You like to read and write stories, poems, or articles.
Typical jobs:	Novelists, historians, teachers, actors, news reporters, editors, drama critics, book reviewers.
Interest area:	Musical
What it means:	You like going to concerts, playing an instrument, or singing.
Typical jobs:	Music teachers, organists, singers, members of band or orchestra, choir directors.
Interest area:	Social Service
What it means:	You prefer helping people, especially those who are sick, needy, or have special problems.
Typical jobs:	Extension workers, nurses, scout leaders, vocational counselors, teachers, ministers, personnel workers, social workers.
Interest area:	Clerical
What it means:	You like office work that requires precision and accuracy.
Typical jobs:	Bookkeepers, accountants, file clerks, secretaries, statisticians, traffic managers.

Revised by Dr. Rae Wilkinson, State 4-H Curriculum Specialist.

Mississippi State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.

Information Sheet 505
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. Ronald A. Brown, Director

Copyright by Mississippi State University. All rights reserved.

This document may be copied and distributed for nonprofit educational purposes provided that credit is given to the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Visit: DAFVM || USDA
Search our Site || Need more information about this subject?
Last Modified: Monday, 29-Mar-04 10:01:44
URL: http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is0505.htm
Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution.
Recommendations on this web site do not endorse any commercial products or trade names.