Part 1 Recap:

Knowing thyself is an art and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Knowing thyself paves way towards a greater clarity in career planning.

Now that you’ve gazed into your own cocoons and mulled over your strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes and potentialities with a fine-tooth comb, you’re pretty much on your way to be a boon for yourself and the career world that’s set to revolve around you.

So are you good to go? We don’t mean to rain on your parade but not quite yet because that’s just one bitty chunk of the bigger portrait – which escorts us to the second part of our series *drumrolls*.  

Part 2: Understand the Working World

Bye-bye seniority, hello 21st century!

Gone are the days where tenure poses as the defining factor to crawl scale your way up the corporate ladder. #Letsbehonest, technology has radically revamped the workplace over the last couple of decades. Think Facebook is still the faddy hub for millennials? Well, rack your cranium over that notion again because Snapchat is on its way to be crowned as the next mobile must-have.

Here are two critical parts to understanding the working world.

#1. Survey the Field

As the silver spoon generation young, bold and aspiring millennials enter the job market with limited exposure to the ins and outs of the industries, professions and labour market trends, career exploration is as an essential piece of the career development process.

Yes, we are talking beyond drawing a parallel between the world of culinary and the acid-tongue chef, Gordon Ramsay and his barrage of unforgiving (but creative) insults.

Often, you may be able to pin down careers you’re interested in without a hitch, but yet you may struggle to put your finger on what education or skills you need in order to excel in that field. As such, surveying the field also incorporates a thorough understanding of the general structures of the world of work, along with its career possibilities and alternative pathways.

Kick start your blown-up-research by digging deep and chewing over the pointers below:

• Occupations – find out job descriptions and qualifications necessary to gain entry to careers. Will you need a Masters degree, or is an undergraduate degree sufficient?

• Industries and professions – look at current developments and industry outlooks to get a scoop on hiring process, career paths and potential employers.

• Labour market trends – what are the current and projected labour market demands, recent salaries and skills necessary for employment?

• Education & degree  courses – research information on the assortment of courses available through colleges and universities.

The gist is to match your interest with the nature of the careers that you have in mind.

But don’t get too wrapped up with an in-depth analysis of a specific industry. Instead, seek to lock down a basic inclination for the type of work you’d love to be doing.

#2. Understand Employment Trends

Picture this: As you wander along the highway for a night cruise, the sight of a gleaming job title plate (screaming “Coin Facilitation Engineers”), hits the corner of your eyes. From a distance, you begin to scratch your head – in attempt to decipher it. In a split second, you’re greeted by a jovial toll booth collector and the mystery is solved.

Chances are, you have no idea that the grandiose title of “Gastronomical Hygiene Technicians” also stands for a dishwasher, “Petroleum Transfer Engineers” for a petrol station assistant, or “Domestic Technician” doubling as a housewife (we can go on, but we’re cringing too).

Yes, the modern office is now bowing down to a breakneck in technological transformation, and that goes double for today’s rapidly evolving and sometimes ridiculous job titles. This is where the essence of understanding employment trends flows in. It strives to identify what options / opportunities exist, how they can be accessed, the changes that are occurring in workplace as well as its impact on individuals.

With the influx of new technologies on our ever-changing job market, it comes as no surprise that many careers today may be very different or perhaps, non-existent in a few years down the road.

Today, there is already a multitude of jobs that are set to rock the future. Fields such as big data, data security, ethical hacking, cloud computing, user experience (UX), user interface designer (UDI) as well as 3D printing are pretty much on their way to take the world by storm.

Nonetheless at the end of the day, always bear in mind that things will change and there will never be a definite guarantee. As much as the market trend offers glimpses of desirable alternatives, you should never plunge headfirst into a particular course or degree solely because employment trends tell you to do so (or because all your friends are doing it).

Now that you’re all pumped up, here are a few more question for you to sleep on tonight.

• Does the career / educational pathway you are looking at fit your personality (interests, strengths, skills)?
• What would make a job satisfying for you?
• Which work environment fits you best?
• Will the career / educational pathway that you are considering provide employment opportunities and a flexible path for the future?

#3. It’s a Match!

Citing the father of career counselling (#dontplayplay) - Frank Parson, a gratifying career decision is conceived out of three factors:

1. Clear understanding of yourself (traits, aptitudes interests, personal abilities).
2. Sufficient knowledge of about the world of work and the labour market.
3. Rational and objective judgement about the relationship between individual traits and the labour market.

In short… your personality traits + a course (or career) that is a good fit with your traits = enhanced success + satisfaction.

With all that being said, Part 1 and Part 2 of our series are two critical components that you should not turn a blind eye on (yes, we did not cook them up out of thin air).

As we draw closer to the last part of our series, you can slowly remove your worry-hat as we explore other practical considerations (ya’know money and time) that you ought to weigh before pulling the trigger.

Missed out the first part of our fool proof guide to choosing your ultimate college programme? Don’t fret, read up The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a College Programme (Part 1).

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Grace Chan

Writer. An ardent follower of Carl Jung & Rumi. A green tea junkie whose daily dose of therapy include binging on the divine fluid. Grace also feeds on Psychology and will give away just about anything to cuddle with furry felines.