Career

Why Choosing a Career Is So Difficult

Tavian Jean-Pierre

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Published in

DataDrivenInvestor

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Jul 28, 2022

6 min read

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Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

We are often asked to niche down on our interests and decide on a career path at a time when our lives are changing. At those tender ages in school, we are still learning about who we are and trying to find our identity in a world of chaos.

Unfortunately, the education system can often make it feel like our career choice in our younger years is final. Once we decide on the subjects we would like to study, it gives us a scary feeling that we will be stuck doing this one subject and career for the rest of our lives.

I spent most of my schooling years believing I would be an engineer for the rest of my life. Although I was not too frightened of that reality, there was a small part of me that felt I had limited myself too soon.

In fact, our careers can sometimes feel like that. We may at times feel as though we do not have enough time to explore our other deep interests as our careers take up most of our time.

It was not until I got a career mentor at the age of sixteen, I had hopes for my future career choices whatever they may be. She said:

“Everyone has at least three careers in them”

She told me her story of how she went from engineering to sales over the course of her career. And now she is in the insurance industry thriving in her position at the top of an organisation.

It was through her story I realised that adults do not really have their minds made up on what job or career they like either. And the stats on both job and career changes support this view.

Most people have 12 jobs throughout their lifetime. Although this seems like a reasonable number, it is contrary to what we think when we graduate from university and get our first jobs. We have a view that we may be with this company forever or at least a substantial amount of time.

Also, the main factors for these job changes are pay increases (about 39%). However, 21% is due to changes in interest. To make matters worse, most people do not use their degree in their day job. A study showed that 53% of people did not apply any content they learned in their degree in their career.

For any student trying to decide on a career, this makes it significantly harder. It appears that the content of their subjects tells them nothing about what a career in their field of interest looks like.

Finally, it can be hard to find valuable work experiences. Research has shown that paid and long work experiences (typically over a month) benefit students more. However, many work experiences are still unpaid and are not long enough for students to get a good feel for the work.

Choosing a career is tough, and rest assured that it is subject to change. Over the course of a lifetime, you will probably have more than one chance at choosing a career.

However, when considering any career, there are three things the individual should think about to ensure a career path that makes them happy.

3 Things That Impact Our Career Choices

The social cognitive career theory suggests that three areas impact our career choice:

Intrinsic: These are decisions made to please ourselves. When we choose things to bring us happiness, pleasure or joy, they often come from our innate desires.

Extrinsic: These are decisions made to please society. Although we often think societal approval is unnecessary, it defines what we believe about wealth, prestige and fame. So, we often make decisions to feel a part or influential in society.

Interpersonal: These are decisions that please those closest to us. People like our family and friends often make up our circle and influence our choices.

It would be all well and good to say that we need to find a balance between these three pulls on our career decisions, but that would be wrong. Each person experiences these motivations differently in their lives, and their choices depend on what pulls they value more.

For example, those from collectivist societies (China and India) are more likely to value interpersonal relationships. Their parent’s or families’ occupations will often have a significant influence on the decision of their careers.

We also find that communities that value the collective over the individual are more likely to want prestige in their jobs. As a result of being clustered in a community, students from these backgrounds are more likely to go for jobs that their society believes are honourable and held in high regard.

However, we find that those from individualistic societies (UK and USA) are less likely to be driven by prestige. Instead, they are more likely to be pulled by intrinsic values such as interest, hobbies and happiness. Parents in these cultures are more lenient with their children and give them more autonomy.

Although this seems like a better alternative, individuals from these societies find it harder to achieve job satisfaction. They also struggle to choose a career in the first place due to not having the guidance needed.

Paying Attention to Your Pulls

As much as we would like to think we have control over our motivations, many of them are decided for us. The community we grow up in, and our parents will define much of our extrinsic and interpersonal pulls.

Therefore, we must learn to be honest with ourselves. We must not follow the herd we are a part of and identify what is truly important to us.

After realising that I did not want to do engineering, I started thinking about the pulls in my life that were most important. I realised that extrinsic pulls such as prestige, impact and fame were drivers of my career choice. So were my intrinsic values, such as my interest and contentment.

Although many people frown upon my extrinsic pulls and call me self-absorbed, I had to be honest with what I wanted out of my career. Regardless of what other people thought, it was my career at the end of the day, not theirs.

For you, your interpersonal pulls may be stronger than most. You may feel the need to impress your parents or do the job that will keep you close to your friends. Whatever you identify as the most essential pull in your life, stick with it and run with it.

There is too much advice out there telling people to:

• Follow their passion
• Follow their interest
• Do what makes you happy

All of these bits of advice would be great for an individual who feels intrinsic pulls the most, but that is not the case for all people. And if you are honest with yourself, you might find that you are extrinsically motivated, and want a high-paying job and status.

Honesty is key in choosing a career. It is the one trait that will guide you to the career you see most fitting for yourself. Even if you choose wrong the first time, being honest will quickly move you away from a job you do not like.