SUMMARY
The process of choosing and planning a career ranks as one of the most important
events in a person's life. Consquentley it is the cause of much worry and stress for
many people. An individual going through this process is faced with quesion...
SUMMARY
The process of choosing and planning a career ranks as one of the most important
events in a person's life. Consquentley it is the cause of much worry and stress for
many people. An individual going through this process is faced with quesions such as,
"What kind of work do I want to do?" "Will I be able to find
employment if I choose this particular career?" "How do I know I am
making the right choice?" The burden of trying to answer these question can be
overwhelming.
Benjamin Desraeli, the former prime minister of Great Britain, once said, "As a
general rule, the most successful people in life are those who have the best
information." This statement is especially approciate for you as you go through
your career planning process. Acquiring information about yourself, career opportunities,
and the relationship between the two will appropriately prepare you to make a good,
well-inforned career choice. It is accurate, unbiased information that holds the key to
your successful career planning program. This study is designed to increase your
knowledge of those factors that will affect your career development and help you find
answers to the perplexing questions you will face during this process.
The term "career planning" can be defined as acquiring and using
information about yourself and the world of work to make occupational choices and
formualte plans to achieve career goals. Implicit in the idea of career planning is that it
is an ongoing process. It is not a once-in-a-lifetime event that one completes never to
think of it again. As people mature, their interests, skills, and preperences change. As a
result of these changes within the individual, the Job that a worker at one time had
enjoyed may no longer be satisfying. The characteristics and duties of the job may also
change with time, resulting in a less than satisfying work situation. Either of these
events can restart the career exploration process.
Spending time engaging in career planning is important for another reason. Your job
and your personal life do not exist independently of each other. Your level of happiness
in your work will impact your degree of happiness in your personal life. It is difficult,
if not impossible, to completely separate your work and your personal life. If you spend
eight hours at work each day feeling miserable because you hate your job, that
miserable feeling does not just end when you leave work at five o'clock, it carries over
into your home life. Conversely, if you are interested and enthused about your work,
that positive feeling you have from doing something you love can have a very positive
effect on the time you spend away from work. Since your job has this type of impact
on your personal life, the importance of making a good choice cannot be overstated.
Proper guidance in your career decision making can siginificantly improve your ability
to choose a career that will help you achieve not only career goals, but your personal
goals as well.
Generally speaking, the most valuable dimension to career planning is the
development of a realistic understanding of your values and potentials and their
relationship to career opportunities. This knowledge of " how to" can be utilized
throughout your life to maintain employability and a successful career path.