by Jared Garrett

Created on: October 30, 2007

For many college-bound folks, college is seen as the road to a job. However, statistics today show that maybe half of college graduates end up working in the field of their college major. Thus, we can guess that while college can be a help in the process of discovering what you want to do for a living, it does not always provide the final answer.

We can say that there are three areas to ponder and weigh as we try to find out what we want to do for a living: what we love, what we are good at, what will support us and family.

What we love
More and more these days, doing what you love is a priority. As a common practice, this is a fairly new thing. It used to be that a person would find what they were good at or what they thought would make good money, and that would be their career choice. Another common way to choose one's job was to take part in the family business, and we're not just talking about the Mafia here.

Now, however, people want to feel fulfilled and excited about their job. We have career coaches that guide professionals as they seek a job that gives them more satisfaction. This is really not a bad thing at all.

The point is that considering what you love to do is a valid approach to finding out what you want to do for a job. Often we will feel more dedicated to a job that is something we love and enjoy. We are also more likely to stick with a job that we like. So keep this in mind, despite the difficulty that sometimes exists as you seek a job you love. It can be incredibly gratifying to fight hard to get a job you love and to actually land it.

But there is more to think about.

What we are good at
Have you ever been good at something but not really enjoyed it? Some people are gifted teachers, but they really don't like the idea of being in a classroom for the rest of their lives. What are they to do? Is there a way to balance what you enjoy and what you are good at? This becomes a real issue as we find out the talents and skills that we have and take steps to develop these abilities.

What is great is that we can head to college and take classes to help us discover what we are good at and what we enjoy. Furthermore, usually we enjoy doing the things that we are good at.

The main point here is that you want to think about what you are good at, rather than only what job you think you would enjoy. For instance, a man might know he is a very good teacher, but he may have no interest in teaching as a career. He can try to figure out what it is that makes him a

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