Two thirds of workers under 30 do not think they are in the right career and more than half expect to undergo a career change within two years. If you are one of these young people you have time to do something about it. What you do now is critically important. Your education is key to the career choices you are about to make. 
“There is a Good Chance You’re in the Wrong Job”, Time magazine, June 30, 2014: In a new survey, nearly half of more than 1,000 employees say they are still searching for the “right’ career and more than a third think they’re going to switch careers within two years. Two thirds of workers under 30 are of this opinion but even more unexpected is that roughly one in five workers in their 60s still feel they’re in the wrong job and plan to switch within two years.
Here are some key observations from the Introduction to the forthcoming second edition of my award winning book Your Future is Calling. The advice is especially important to career changers.
Your most important decision is what you study, not where you study it. With good information at the beginning, it is possible to make sure that your degree is not worth less to you (who you are) or worthless to employers. To create the worth you need to make some important decisions before you begin investing your time, energy and money in what you study. Data shows that the right investment in the right degree pays off handsomely. Indeed, it is likely to be the best investment you will ever make. But many get it upside down by trying to “figure it out” along the way. This is precisely why we see the survey shown in the BUZZ Today. It can happen to you without valuable information at the beginning.
Some hope that their university selection will fulfill the potential for the right career in the end. It is a false hope. Guarantees do not come from the prestige of the institution awarding the diploma. There are no guarantees.
Your Future is Calling provides data on the decisions career changers need to make. This is about you. “Who you are” matched to career opportunity in the labor market is far more important than which college or university you attend. This is why the book begins with inexpensive ways to measure “who you are” and then progresses to data on career opportunities in the real world.
If your degree completion efforts put you into a new career that does not fit “who you are” it will have been a terrible mistake. Blindly migrating from one career to another is not a good strategy to say nothing about the student debt accumulated along the way. Your future depends on well informed decisions today.
The best decision for you requires the very best facts. Important information is available in Your Future is Calling in the chapter “How to Select the Right Career for You” and the chapter “The Bountiful Treasure Chest of Career Information – O*NET”. Don’t jump careers without them.
The key is to invest in learning that matches not only job opportunities but who you are. It can be done. Millions are doing it.
