Choosing a profession may not be as easy as it seems at first glance. In addition to personal preference, there are many factors that need to be considered in order to avoid mistakes.
It is mistakes in choosing a profession that can lead to many unpleasant consequences — from financial instability to professional burnout. To avoid this, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the possible mistakes that a person most often makes when choosing a professional field of activity.
Choice without reliable information
Very often, various kinds of professions seem ideal, because a person sees only the end result and does not even know about the possible pitfalls that certain specialists face every day. Professions described in books, magazines or simply presented in a favorable light by other people very often become disappointments.since an unprepared, uninformed person is simply not ready for the loads and responsibilities that have fallen on him.
Also, do not romanticize the profession., presented in a favorable light in some feature film or television series, because in reality everything is not as rosy as it is shown on the screen. For example, the work of a surgeon is not only operations that he can easily cope with, but also great risks, and stress, and numerous revisions, and paperwork. And the activity of the investigator is not always as exciting as it is presented in detective stories, since most of it is just a routine.
Therefore, when choosing a professional activity, one of the most important factors is compiling a complete information picture. It is necessary not only to consider in detail the advantages, but also to analyze in detail each disadvantage, to study the entire area of responsibility, all the risks to your own life and to other people, and also to clarify all the possible difficulties that you may encounter.
And only when you have the full range of information, you will be able to understand whether this or that profession suits you or if you should pay attention to other options.
Focus on prestige and profitability
Another common mistake in choosing a profession is the wrong orientation of a person. Often the decisive factor is not one’s own preferences, knowledge, skills, but the desire to have a prestigious status in society and an income above the average in a city or even a country. It is the pursuit of prestige and high earnings that most often leads to professional as well as emotional burnout, which can result in mistakes in work, unwillingness to continue one’s activity in the chosen field, as well as more serious consequences — depression and anxiety disorder.
Focusing on wages is a mistake since most often the profitability of a particular profession is judged by many by the advertisements for vacancies. But it should be borne in mind that when indicating a possible salary, the employer is very often cunning, not reporting that such factors as length of service, experience, advanced training and more also affect wages. So it must be taken into account that the starting salary will be several times less than indicated, and it may take years of practice and effort to achieve the desired level.
The same goes for prestige. After all, it’s not enough just to occupy a promising position, you need to strengthen your position and make a lot of efforts so that you begin to be treated with due respect.
Choice under peer pressure
Often a person makes a mistake in choosing a profession under the pressure of others.. Someone else’s opinion often makes us consider certain professions unpromising, but at the same time it is not supported by any weighty arguments, and also does not take into account the personal preferences of each person. So, for example, under pressure from the family, very often children continue the activities of their parents, even if they never liked their profession. The observance of family traditions, as well as the preservation of the family business, very often become decisive arguments that practically deprive a person of choice who is in search of a profession to his liking.
You should not rely on the experience and opinion of relatives in such a case, because you have every right to make your personal choice and master the profession that you really like. The same goes for parents’ attempts to fulfill their expectations of life at the expense of their child. For example, if your mother dreamed of being an economist, but for some reason she could not fulfill her dream, you are absolutely not obliged to do it for her and associate your life with activities that you do not like.
Quite often, a person’s abilities are judged by how he coped with school subjects.. For example, if a student performed well in English lessons, they can be pressured and forced into a profession related to foreign translations. In fact, a penchant for certain subjects or sciences can really help you in choosing a profession, but you should not be limited to only one option.
Also, the pressure of others can manifest itself through the depreciation of abilities and the suppression of a person’s self-esteem.. If someone speaks negatively about your physical abilities, this does not mean at all that you will not be able to succeed in a dance or sports career. And the oppression of your intellectual abilities is not proof that mental work, a profession in the field of science or programming is not for you.
It is important to remember that no matter what profession you choose, success will not come immediately, it must be achieved through regular training and improving your skills.
Other major mistakes
In addition to those described above, there are also many other mistakes that lead to the wrong choice of profession. Let’s take a closer look at the most common of them.
- A typical mistake is choosing a profession based on the life and work of some famous person whose work you respect and revere. In this case, a substitution of concepts may occur and in the end it will turn out that you do not like the profession at all, but only a specific person — your idol.
- Often, school friends enter the same university in the hope of maintaining their friendship and carrying it through the years. This is a huge mistake, because each person is different, and your and your friends’ preferences may differ, which means that everyone’s right to choose should be respected and everyone should be allowed to go their own way.
- You can also make a mistake relying on a specific place of study, where only a limited range of professions is mastered. By focusing on one university, you can deprive yourself of the right to choose another field of activity that may suit you better.
- Do not forget that the world is changing, and many professions can simply become outdated and fade into the background, which means that it will be extremely difficult for you to succeed in them. Therefore, when choosing, you should consider how relevant the field of activity you like is.
- Ignorance of one’s own preferences, unwillingness to understand oneself and understand one’s abilities also lead to an erroneous choice of professional activity. But in this case, simply studying information sources will not be enough, and you may need the help of a professional psychologist.
As you can see, there are many factors that can lead to the wrong choice of profession, so you should approach this matter with all responsibility.
Give yourself time for reflection, for self-knowledge and gathering information, because it is better to postpone the decision for a short time than to spend several years mastering a profession that you don’t even like.
