Think about what you are or were good at in school. Think about the subjects you excelled in in school. Though it may not be your favorite thing to do, choosing a career based on something you are skilled at can help you excel and provide yourself a secure future.^[4]

• Look at the examples from the previous step if you need ideas.

2

Consider what skills you excel in. If you are particularly good at certain skills, such as fixing things or making things, this can provide you with a great future career. Schooling may or may not be necessary, but skilled labor is often in demand and you will find it fairly easy to find work.

• For example, carpentry, auto repair, construction, and electrical work all benefit from people who are good at fixing things or working with their hands. These also tend to be stable, well-paying jobs.
• Other skills, such as a skill for cooking, can also be easily turned into a career.

3

Assess your interpersonal skills. If your skills lie more in helping and communicating with other people, there are jobs for you as well. People who communicate and interact with others well can easily get careers as social workers or in marketing and similar business positions.

• If you’re more the type to take care of others, consider nursing or work as an administrative assistant or office manager.

4

Ask someone if you don’t know. Sometimes it’s hard for us to see the areas in life where we excel. If you don’t think you’re good at anything, ask your parents, other family members, friends, or teachers what they think you’d be good at. Their ideas might surprise you!

• Your friends and family can also help you network and get you in touch with people in your chosen field. You can also join a MeetUp to meet others that are involved with the work you hope to do.

Considering Your Current State

 

1

Explore yourself. Figuring out what you should do with your life may sometimes require you to get to know yourself better. If you want a career that will really make you happy, you have to have a very good understanding of what you want and what you enjoy. For some people, this means taking some time off to decide what’s important to them.

• There is nothing wrong with this, so don’t feel bad. It’s more important that you figure your life out as early as possible, rather than getting knee deep in a career which makes you hate your life.

2

Consider your financial situation. Your ability to pursue or change careers may hinge on your financial situation. Some career paths require special schooling and this is sometimes expensive. However, you should not feel that being poor restricts you from getting the education you want.

• There are lots of government programs to help you pay for schools, as well as scholarships, grants, and apprenticeship programs.

3

Think about the education you will have as you enter a career. It is important to consider what education you already have or will have as you begin pursuing a career. If finances may prevent you from pursuing more schooling, you may need to consider what you already have. It may also be necessary to stick with your existing high school or college degree if there are time limitations or other restrictions.^[7]

• If you find that you are limited to jobs relating to the degree you already have, consult with a career counselor to find out what options are available to you.

4

Determine if you want to go to school. If restrictions do not bar you from pursuing more schooling, you may want to consider this option. Not everybody excels in school or needs a traditional college education, but most career paths have associated training which you can do and will help you advance more quickly.

• Technical colleges, for example, may be a good option for those who would prefer not to pursue a traditional education.

5

Do more research. If you’re still confused, consider doing more research on this topic. You can find more helpful information here or consult with your adviser or college of choice.

Assess Yourself

Before you can choose the right career, you must learn about yourself. Your values, interests, soft skills, and aptitudes, in combination with your personality type, make some occupations a good fit for you and others completely inappropriate.

Use self-assessment tools, and career tests to gather information about your traits and, subsequently, generate a list of occupations that are a good fit based on them. Some people choose to work with a career counselor or other career development professionals who can help them navigate this process.

Make a List of Occupations to Explore

You probably have multiple lists of occupations in front of you at this point—one generated by each of the self-assessment tools you used. To keep yourself organized, you should combine them into one master list.

First, look for careers that appear on multiple lists and copy them onto a blank page. Title it “Occupations to Explore.” Your self-assessments ​indicated they are a good fit for you based on several of your traits, so they’re definitely worth exploring.

Next, find any occupations on your lists that appeal to you. They may be careers you know a bit about and want to explore further. Also, include professions about which you don’t know much. You might learn something unexpected.

Identify Your Goals

Once you make a decision, identify your long- and short-term goals. This helps to chart a course toward eventually landing work in your chosen field. Long-term goals typically take about three to five years to reach, while you can usually fulfill a short-term goal in six months to three years.

Let the research you did about required education and training be your guide. If you don’t have all the details, do some more research. Once you have all the information you need, set your goals. An example of a long-term goal would be completing your education and training. Short-term goals include applying to college, apprenticeships, other training programs, and internships.

Write a Career Action Plan

Put together a career action plan, a written document that lays out all the steps you will have to take to reach your goals. Think of it as a road map that will take you from point A to B, then to C and D. Write down all your short- and long-term goals and the steps you will have to take to reach each one. Include any anticipated barriers that could get in the way of achieving your goals—and the ways you can overcome them.

This may sound like a lot of work—and it is. But it’s much easier to forge a career path when you know what you want. Taking these steps early will save you a lot of struggle and uncertainty in the long run.

Computer programming

Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as analysis, generating algorithms, profiling algorithms’ accuracy and resource consumption, and the implementation of algorithms (usually in a chosen programming language, commonly referred to as coding).The source code of a program is written in one or more languages that are intelligible to programmers, rather than machine code, which is directly executed by the central processing unit. The purpose of programming is to find a sequence of instructions that will automate the performance of a task (which can be as complex as an operating system) on a computer, often for solving a given problem. Proficient programming thus usually requires expertise in several different subjects, including knowledge of the application domain, specialized algorithms, and formal logic.

Tasks accompanying and related to programming include testing, debugging, source code maintenance, implementation of build systems, and management of derived artifacts, such as the machine code of computer programs. These might be considered part of the programming process, but often the term software development is used for this larger process with the term programming, implementation, or coding reserved for the actual writing of code. Software engineering combines engineering techniques with software development practices. Reverse engineering is a related process used by designers, analysts, and programmers to understand and re-create/re-implement.

Music And Programming

I started programming and learning music around the same time. I never thought about any kind of relationship between the two until many years down the road. As of now I have been doing both for over twenty years and I have noticed many similarities. These are my personal opinions as both a student and a teacher of programming and music, although I do cite several scientific studies on some topics.

Misconceptions
The first similarity I noticed is with people’s perception and misconceptions. There is an aura of mystery for many people that persuades them it is too difficult or complex for them. They feel like they just don’t “have it” or weren’t “born with it”. Some believe you need a talent granted by a special gene combination or a special type of brain. This mentality discourages many people from trying.

What Is Your Purpose In Life? (Real Examples Of Others)

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Having a purpose in life is one of the fundamental factors of happiness. Without it, you’ll live your life less focused, less efficient and you’ll often feel restless and stressed because you don’t feel aligned with the things you do. This article is about different purposes in life, with actual examples and how you can define your purpose in life.

What are some examples of a purpose in life? There are a lot of commonly known purposes in life, like:

• Providing for your family
• Living a successful life
• Making positive connections with others and enjoying those around you
• Traveling the world
• Fighting the declining condition of our planet
• Etc

Discovering your purpose in life

People don’t wake up one day and have a “eureka” moment and suddenly know what their purpose in life is. No, you have to discover your purpose by trial and error.

So how do you discover your purpose? Not by sitting in a chair by the window. You find it by doing things and taking action.

What’s important here is that you try new things. If you haven’t yet discovered your purpose in life, then you are not going to find it by trying the same things over and over again.

It’s also important to know that your purpose in life and your job are not the same things. Too many people look for a job that is simultaneously something that can fill their purpose in life. A very small percentage of people find actual purpose in the work they do.

For example, I personally have a very simple purpose in life, and it has got nothing to do with my work! That’s not to say that I hate my work, I just don’t regard it as something I’m passionate about.

Long story short: you have to discover your purpose in life by trying out new things. If you feel like you haven’t yet found your purpose in life, that means you need to try something new that sparks your interest again.

Ways To Improve Your Personal Development Skills

Personal development is the ongoing act of assessing your life goals and values and building your skills and qualities to reach your potential. They can contribute to your maturity, success and satisfaction. Many people strengthen their personal development skills throughout their lives to better themselves and reach their goals. They can do this through education, advice from a mentor, self-help and more.

• Personal development skills can be soft or technical skills.

• Select which skills to develop by performing a self-analysis on your areas for improvement and necessary skills to advance in your career or industry.

• Focus on transferable skills that make you a competitive candidate in any job.

Why are personal development skills important?

Personal development skills are important because they allow you to create strategic and tactical plans for personal and professional growth towards your goals. It can be helpful to hone personal development skills so that you can naturally work them into your daily routines and use them to:

• Achieve personal and career goals

• Advance in your career

• Improve your strengths and talents

• Better yourself

• Find fulfillment and satisfaction

Examples of personal development skills

Personal development skills can be traits or qualities you already have or ones you can gain through education and training. Individuals will value different personal development skills depending on their goals, but here are some examples of skills people commonly practice to facilitate personal growth :

• Communication

• Interpersonal

• Organization

• Problem-solving

• Self-confidence

• Adaptability

• Integrity

• Work ethic

• Leadership

Communication

Communication includes your ability to speak, write and listen. With these skills, you can understand what others are saying and feeling and also convey your own ideas and feelings. Good communicators can speak clearly and confidently, using a tone that is positive and appropriate for the situation.

Interpersonal

Also called people skills or social skills, interpersonal skills are the verbal and nonverbal behaviors and reactions to interactions with other people. They affect your ability to build relationships and make impressions on others in social situations.

Organization

Organization skills include the tidiness of your physical and digital spaces as well as your ability to plan, schedule and prioritize. Good organization can help save time, prevent miscommunications and improve efficiency.

Problem-solving

Problem-solving is your ability to handle challenging or surprising situations. Good problem-solvers can stay calm when they encounter obstacles and assess all their options to find the best solution.

Self-confidence

Self-confidence is the belief in your abilities, actions and decisions. If you have confidence in yourself, you might be more likely to pursue ambitious goals, try new things and believe you can succeed.

Adaptability

Adaptability is your ability to adjust quickly and easily to new things. People who handle change well often get along with a variety of personalities and thrive in any environment. They can also remain calm in surprising situations.

Integrity

People tend to trust those who are honest and stand by their values. Integrity means doing what is right and telling the truth, even if doing so presents challenges. Having integrity can lead to a good reputation and opportunities for advancement.

Work ethic

Work ethic includes not only hard work but also reliability, responsibility, quality, determination and discipline. People with good work ethic tend to be productive and have a positive attitude.

Leadership

Leadership is the ability to guide people. Good leaders can motivate others and help them reach a shared goal. They build confidence and improve morale.

How to improve your personal development skills

You can enhance your personal development skills by taking classes, learning from the people around you, gaining new talents and improving upon existing ones. Follow these guidelines to develop yourself personally:

1. Overcome your fears. Fear can prevent you from growing and progressing. If you are afraid of public speaking, for instance, take a class or join a group that helps people become better public speakers. If you are afraid of taking risks, find a mentor who can help you make good decisions and build your confidence. Grow and learn by trying things you might not be comfortable doing. If you are shy, try starting a conversation or introducing yourself to new people at a reception or workshop.

2. Read. Reading can expand your knowledge and vocabulary and keep you informed. It can also stimulate your mind and can improve your critical thinking skills. Try setting a goal to read at least one educational or motivational article a day, or one book a month.

3. Learn something new. Learn a new skill or topic, whether you do it yourself or sign up for a class. You might, for instance, take courses to learn another language, a new software program or how to write creatively. Consider watching a webinar on professional development topics such as entrepreneurship or social media marketing.

4. Ask for feedback. Approach a family member, friend, colleague or manager, and ask them to give you feedback on a recent project or accomplishment. Use their positive comments as well as their constructive criticism to find ways to improve. Sometimes you need an outside, unbiased opinion to get a different perspective.

5. Observe others. Watch and learn from the people who inspire you. This could be someone you know, such as a supervisor, family member or public figure. Identify the qualities you admire in them, and try to replicate those in yourself.

6. Network. By interacting with many types of people, you can learn new ideas and understand how to communicate and work with different personality types. You can also meet people and develop relationships that might help you in the future. Network through industry organizations and shared interest groups, or attend conferences and events on topics that interest you.

7. Keep a journal. Writing in a journal every day or week can help you gain self-awareness and reflect on recent events, decisions and conversations. You might keep a hand-written, private journal, or you might choose to share your thoughts and experiences by blogging. Use it to set and assess goals and progress.

8. Meditate. Many people meditate to gain clarity and awareness and to reduce stress and anxiety. Meditation can help you focus on your self-development and goals in a healthy, positive and calm way. Even scheduling a break from work or quiet time to yourself can help you relax and focus.

9. Get a mentor. If you need help identifying ways to build your self-development skills, talk to a mentor. This individual could be a manager, professor, someone you admire or a professional personal