Deciding on a Career When You Don't Know What you Want...

One of the most exciting things about life is that you can pursue any career you want. But what if you don’t know what you want? Here’s how you can find out!

Get your brain working
Make a list of jobs, careers, and school courses that have interested you or that you think might interest you. Write down every type of job that appeals to you. Don't try to analyze whether you should list a job—write them all down.

Ask Questions
You don’t have to be Mike Rowe on TV’s Dirty Jobs to figure out the pros and cons of a job. Ask people who might know about a career on your list to talk about it. If you’re interested in a job as a small business manager, ask the gas station owner, the manager of your local McDonald’s, or the office manager for your doctor about the pros and cons of managing a small business. The same goes for the mechanic at the place where you get your car repaired and the stylist who cuts your hair, if you’re interested in these fields.

List the Pros and Cons
Write down every pro and con, along with the skills and experience needed to be successful. Then match them with your interests, needs, and wants.

Start Crossing Off
Cross off the jobs on your list that don’t fit you, but only if you have a good reason. If you're artistic but can’t add a column of numbers, then a job in finance is probably not for you. If you’re a numbers person who can't draw a straight line, then you should probably cross artistic careers off the list and consider something that uses your math ability.

Get experience
There are more ways than a full-time job to gain experience. Try out as many co-op programs, internships, and volunteer jobs as you can in different career fields, so you can discover what you like. Babysitting, working in the school office, writing for the school paper, and managing equipment for a school sports team all count as experience. Employers view unpaid experience as important.

Use Your Time in School Wisely
If you work at a few different internships or volunteer jobs, you will get an idea of what you're good at and what you don't like. Use these experiences to plan on a college degree field or to land your first paid job, one in a field that’s to your liking.

Adapted from an article by Anthony Balderrama, a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com.