We all want to succeed in life and have a mind blowing career, or at least a career we will enjoy. Nowadays there are many more options available than fifty years ago, we can be doctors and teachers, fireman and pilots, or we can own our own business, be freelance web designers or IT managers. The range of possibilities makes our career choices so much harder. Are we really capable of spending our entire life in the same career? Some are, and some aren't. The important thing is to plan ahead not just for tomorrow, but for five years down the track, ten and even twenty, that doesn't mean you'll be doing the exact same thing throughout, instead you will be preparing yourself for more opportunities that may arise.
What do you like?
The first thing to do is to decide what you enjoy doing. No point in getting yourself into a career that will involve you doing something that you hate. We spend about one third of our lives working, therefore it's much better to enjoy most of it then slave away everyday complaining and working yourself to your grave. Usually what you like is also something that you are good at. These two things go hand in hand. If you love working with people and couldn't imagine being in a monotonous position, you could try public relations or event planning. Introverted? Stay in the background and be an assistant or scientist. Love helping people and are always full of useful advice? Psychologist, teacher or nurse. Want to see the world? TEFL teacher or freelance writer.
Educate yourself
Education is one of those precious things no one can take away from you. Lose your house, money, and all material possessions, but no one can take away what you have learnt. When we are young, many of us think of school as a waste of time, it's not, and it shouldn't be thought that way later on in life either. Continue your education even after you have graduated from university or worked in your career for decades. Take post graduate courses, read magazines, surf the Internet for new information, ask questions, and continue to be curious about the latest developments in your area, related fields and whatever else might interest you. It's good to know a little about a lot. You never know who you might be sitting next to at a party, a new friend or someone who will help you grow in your career.
Make the right choices
If you want to be a real estate agent, why are you working at the corner store. You should be applying for work in the field you are interested in. Ask about an assistant's position or maybe offer to do some marketing for an agency, if there's no jobs available, volunteer your time. Want to be an entrepreneur? Talk to the right people, come up with an idea and get started. The only thing getting in your way, is you.
Never give up
Sometimes our choices will be frowned upon by the people in our life. Our parents, friends and partners may not approve of our career path, but unless they have valid reasons for their disapproval, don't let their reservations get in the way of your dream career. 'It won't work' is not a valid reason. It might not work for them, but for you it might be the only thing that works. If you want something in life, you have to go out and get it, fight for it, because no one else is going to do it for you.
Draw up a plan
So you know what you want to do. You've outlined your obstacles, you've hounded the right people for advice, and you're on your way to completing or upgrading your education. What next? Well you have to set up a plan of how you want your career path to look. Are you going to start at the bottom of the corporate ladder and slowly work your way up? Well then, prepare your CV and start sending out a personalised one to all the possible job prospects. Maybe you're already in the job and want a promotion. Find out what needs to be done to get promoted and do it. Show your boss that you are invaluable to the company, upgrade your skills and make your employer aware that you are interested in growing with the company. If they refuse to promote you, there's always the option of applying for a higher position with another company. After all you've got the experience, and you've just upped your CV to the higher ranks.
Planning your career path is simple if you know where to start. Keep in mind, however, that nothing is set in concrete, it's more soil than anything else. Rain, snow, hail and sunshine are all going to stuff with your plans. You're also going to change your mind about many things, that's perfectly normal. Enjoy what you are doing, take chances, trust your instincts and have a rough plan of what you want to do and where you want to go because there will be moments when it all gets messy and your plans will alter and need modification. Modify them to your needs and keep moving forward to where you want to be in your career.