Today’s post is by Carolyn who is a guest poster who writes about choosing the right path for you. She focuses on career choices, graduate schools, and registered nursing schools.  

In our society, we’re expected to have an idea of what we want to do for the rest of our life by the time we turn 18 and are applying to college. By 22, we’re expected to have a four-year degree and a professional career.

Lurking in the shadows of young, successful business superstars like Mark Zuckerberg, you may feel inadequate and confused if you haven’t already found your dream job. However, not everyone has a cut-and-dry career path! In fact, very few people know what they will do with their lives upon college graduation.

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If you’re struggling to find the best career for you, follow these tips:

• Go where the people are: If you have a vague idea of what you want to do, then follow the people who do it! Networking is a great way to find out more about an industry. While the internet has made networking easier, nothing beats face-to-face contact. Go to lectures, parties, or festivals where you can meet successful people who can either offer you advice or maybe even a position.

• Ask questions: If your father, mother, uncle, aunt, friend, cousin, or boss has a position you think you would want, sit them down and ask them plenty of questions. Ask them if they would be willing to send you presentations they’ve delivered, proposals, or even business plans.

• Survey the scene: If you’ve already found the city you want to live in, look at job descriptions and job listings in that city. Research the top businesses to work for and pinpoint their locations. This will help you get to know your professional landscape and network in the future.

• Know what you’re good at: Identify your strengths and find a career based on what you’re good at. If you don’t know your strengths or weaknesses, intern, intern, intern. When interning, you can try out different career paths and get a little change in your pocket while you’re at it.

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Overall, don’t be stressed if you don’t have a clear notion of what you want to do for the rest of your life. When asking industry insiders about their past professional history, you’ll almost never find a logical or predictable career path. Just put yourself out there, network, and try out different jobs. You never know: your dream job could be where you least expect it!

Have you found the best career for you? How did you find it?