What If You Don't Know What Career You Want?

You don't need to have it all figured out

Something that you probably won't hear often enough is that you don't need to know what career you want.

At 18, you're not expected to have your entire working life mapped out. Even at 21, after university, it's completely normal not to know exactly what you want to do.

You might have friends who seem to have everything planned. One wants to become a doctor. Another has secured a graduate job. Someone else already knows exactly which company they want to work for.

That doesn't mean you're behind. A career isn't usually one big decision. It's a series of smaller decisions, experiences and discoveries.

You don't need a five-year plan

It can be useful to have goals, but don't put pressure on yourself to predict exactly where you'll be in five years.

Your interests will change. You'll discover things you're good at. You'll find things you don't enjoy. You'll meet people who introduce you to careers you didn't even know existed.

That's all part of figuring it out.

It's worth asking yourself what you want to do next rather than asking yourself what you want to do for the rest of your life. It's good to have goals that you want to accomplish, but sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves to reach these goals. Taking things one step at a time and focusing on next steps rather than the big picture can be helpful.

Try some work experience

Work experience can give you a glimpse into an industry without committing to it as a career. You might discover that you love it, or the reverse. Both outcomes are useful. Even a short placement can help you understand what a particular workplace is like and what different roles actually involve.

Consider an internship

Internships can give you a more detailed look at a particular role or industry. You'll get to work alongside people who are already doing the job and see what their day-to-day work actually involves. You may even discover a career you hadn't considered before.

Talk to people

Sometimes the best way to understand a career is simply to talk to someone who already does it.

Ask them:

• What does a normal day look like?
• What do you enjoy about your job?
• What's difficult about it?
• How did you get into it?
• What do you wish you'd known when you were starting out?

Try volunteering

Volunteering can help you develop skills while exposing you to different environments and types of work. You might discover that you enjoy working with people, organising things, solving problems or taking responsibility. And even if the experience doesn't lead directly to a career, you'll have learned something about yourself.

Get a part-time job

A part-time job offers so much more than simply earning you some extra money. You can still learn a huge amount about working life. You'll learn how to communicate with colleagues and customers, manage your time, take responsibility and deal with situations that don't always go according to plan.

You may also discover that you enjoy working in an environment you hadn't previously considered.

Explore apprenticeships

Apprenticeships aren't only for people who have known what they wanted to do since they were 15. They can be an excellent way to explore a particular occupation while earning a salary, gaining workplace experience and working towards a qualification.

If you learn best by doing, an apprenticeship could also help you discover what you're capable of in a real working environment.

You are allowed to change your mind

This might be the most important thing to remember. Choosing something now doesn't mean you have to do it forever. You can change jobs or industries, you can go back into education, you can learn new skills, and even discover that the career you thought you wanted isn't actually for you.

Your first opportunity doesn't need to be the perfect opportunity. It just needs to help you learn something about yourself and where you might want to go next. You don't need a five-year plan. You just need a first step.