How to Find Your Dream Career

Millions of people make a decision every year trying to find out what they would like to do for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, jobs for life are getting rarer every year, and industries change faster than any other time before, due to the speed of communication and computer technology, you can reduce your risks and make better decisions about your future if you test drive some of the programs and look through your strengths and weaknesses. Find a few tips below.

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Consider Your Interests

The first thing you will need to take into consideration is your interest. If you love animals, a related course will make you happy and improve your work-life balance. In case you are a people person, you might consider studying at the best hospitality management school and finding your true calling dealing with customers and tourists.

Check Out Industry Growth

It is also crucial that you check out the industry statistics and predictions. If you don’t want to change your career in a couple of years and waste time and money on your education, you will need to know that there will be a demand for your skills and knowledge in the industry by the time you finish your education. There are plenty of great statistical sites and government publications that will tell you about your potential earnings after graduation and your long term prospects, too.

Focus On Jobs AI Can’t Replace

Many jobs are threatened by the development of artificial intelligence technology. If you are looking to make sure that robots will not replace you, it is important that you choose your future career accordingly. Nurses, doctors, or creative professionals, teachers are less in danger from technology. At the same time, you are going to have a job as a game developer for a long time to come.  

Test Drive Courses

In case you are still sitting on the fence and can’t decide which career path to go down on or which college or university to choose, you might want to test drive courses. There are plenty of opportunities online and at the campus to get insider information on open days and special events, so you can see what the institution has to offer.

Shadow People Already In the Job

Image via of Kadena Air Base

Sometimes you love the course, but you are not happy doing the job after you graduate, To avoid this problem, you might want to shadow people who are already working in the field, so you can make an informed decision before you would pay your college fees and spend years of your time. There are plenty of volunteering or apprenticeship programs that don’t require a degree, so you can see the potential jobs you will be doing after graduation.

If you waste time and money enrolling to the wrong course, you will find it hard to come to terms with the change and the disappointment. It is always better to plan ahead and do your research, so you can be sure that your chosen career path is in line with your personal mission.

Degrees: Top Careers That Need One & Top Careers That Don't!

Degrees are often a hot topic of discussion among anyone talking about careers. There’s always a debate as to whether or not they’re actually worthwhile. People voice their opinions from either side of the debate, and it just goes on and on.

We’re not here to enter this debate again. If you know this blog then you know we believe that higher education is very valuable. The skills you learn and the things you go through during a degree can help you in all walks of life. Having said that, there’s no denying that you can get into a lot of careers without needing a degree.

This is what we’re going to focus on today; careers you don’t need a degree for, and careers you do need one for. By looking at both sides, it should hopefully show you the different types of career you can pursue if you choose to get a degree or not.

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Top Careers That Require A Degree

In this section we’ll look at some of the top careers that require a degree to get into them:

Public Affairs Careers

The public affairs career sector is very vast, and there are plenty of jobs available. The most common of which is probably a social worker. To pursue this career, you’ll need either a DSW or MSW degree. The benefits of earning a MSW degree over a DSW is that you get better qualifications and are eligible for higher jobs. It’s also worth noting that this is just one degree that leads to a career in public affairs. There are plenty of others you can pursue to get different jobs in this sector. Degrees are required as these jobs are very important. They often involve working with the public and dealing with high-pressure situations. As such, it’s vital you learn how to deal with the public and gain knowledge of various regulations and laws to do with public affairs, etc. This is where the degree comes in handy as it teaches you this information.

Healthcare Careers

There are few careers that rely on degrees as much as healthcare ones. When you’re working with people and looking after their health, you need to understand what you’re doing. The only way you can get a healthcare career is if you study for one. With a degree in medicine, you will learn all about the human body and understand how to diagnose problems and treat patients. This sets you up for a healthcare career as a doctor. There are loads of other degrees too such as dentistry, physiotherapy, and so on. The bottom line is, qualifications are required when you deal with human health.

Engineering Careers

Engineering jobs have always been in demand as they’re very well paid. But, you have to work hard to earn your wage. To even get a foothold in this career you need to study an engineering degree. They can be long and arduous, but they’re absolutely essential. This is because engineering is a very important job where mistakes can’t be made. If you engineer a building or bridge incorrectly, it can have devastating consequences. So, you need a degree to learn how to hone your craft and develop your engineering skills to the highest standard possible.

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Top Careers That Don’t Require A Degree

Now, we can look at some careers that don’t require a degree yet still pay well and offer good future prospects:

Web Design Careers

A career in web design can be very fruitful in this day and age. Companies will pay top dollar to get the best designers to work on their websites and other projects. You don’t need a degree for this career as it’s based purely on talent and experience.

Personal Trainer Careers

Personal trainers work with clients to help them reach fitness goals. You don’t need to spend three years on a degree course to pursue this career. Instead, you can get simple qualifications by taking a few short courses. This is a job that pays well, and you can be self-employed too.

Plumbing Careers

As a plumber, you will carry out all manner of work on people’s properties. It’s a career that will always be guaranteed to work as people always have plumbing problems. Not to mention it pays incredibly well too, and you can go solo or be part of a larger company. No degrees are required here whatsoever.

There is a difference between jobs that require degrees and those that don’t. In general, you don’t need a degree when your career is based on a specific skill that anyone can learn and develop. Always check if your chosen career requires a degree or not before you commit to higher education.

Keeping Employees Interested In Their Work

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One of the toughest challenges facing anyone who runs a business is keeping their employees interested in the role. With the day-to-day life of going to the office, a lot of people find themselves struggling to remain motivated. A good manager should be able to do everything they can to keep their employees as interested in the work as possible. But how can you make sure you are doing that? The fact is, it is something of a challenge. Nonetheless, there are some basic ways that you can ensure it happens in your business. Let’s take a look at just a few of those ways now.

Allow Open Exploration

One of the quickest ways to get people to dislike their workplace is to discourage the flow of thoughts. If your workplace is not allowing people to talk openly to one another, then this is a real concern. The ideal workplace culture is one which encourages the ongoing open exploration which brings out new ideas. If you are allowing your employees to approach their work in this open manner, you will notice some significant improvements. Above all, this should lead to some fascinating new ideas coming through about how to lead the business. You might be surprised to discover just how many great ideas your employees have.

Bring In New Ideas

Speaking of great ideas, having the willingness to bring in new ideas from outside the company is always a positive. There is a real benefit to allowing your employees to be open to new ideas, even if they are not directly related to the business itself. One great idea is to have a monthly or quarterly session where you bring in a public speaker from another field. The more dissimilar to your business type, the better, as it is the flow of ideas itself which keeps people interested. If you bring in the likes of David Icke to speak to your employees, you can be sure that they will be fascinated. What’s more, it will encourage an open discussion among the staff.

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Experiment With Procedures

All businesses develop their own specific way of doing things. This is just part of the nature of business. In many ways, it is helpful, as it means everyone knows exactly what to expect. However, it can also lead to boredom among your employees if you are not careful. If you are keen to keep your employees engaged at work, then you should not be afraid of occasionally experimenting with how things are done. If you shake things up every now and then, your staff will probably find it at least interesting. What’s more, it is only by experimenting that you can actually ensure you are always doing the right thing and in the best way possible. If you never experiment, you never discover the best way of doing something. When you do experiment, however, just be sure that you let everyone know what it is that you intend to do. If you force ideas on people without any context, they might not respond so well.

Hopefully with these tips you can reinvigorate your team to be more engaged so that you all will be able to do your best work.

Thanks for stopping by!

Weekly Geek Outs - 08/19/16

Greetings!

Here's what is going on in my world this week:

• Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate Edition

Long story short, they got me. I bought this extended cut of the movie on Blu-Ray. Not worth it, does not make this complicated movie any better (see my review for more detailed thoughts). This movie is overstuffed as it is, and the scenes cut help weave some minor plot points together better, but the movie is still not great. Wonder Woman is still awesome though and should have been in the movie more.

• Capital Area Food Bank

I'm going to volunteer here with my partner with the great Day of Service Paid Time Off benefit I have with my job. They recently implemented this initiative and I'm excited to take advantage of it. I have more days to use and I look forward to building a relationship with this great community organization.

• Thought

I've said this a few times in conversation recently, and thought I'd share it with you: I didn't even know my job and the company I work for now existed when I started job searching last year. Now that I'm here, I couldn't be more grateful I stumbled upon this company and this job. My thought and advice for those worried about figuring out what is next for them or what to do with their lives; it may just be out there waiting for you to discover it. Or it may not even exist yet, either way, you just need to be patient, do good work, and put yourself out there. Luck happens more often to those that are prepared for it.

Thanks for stopping by!

This Kickstarter is Going to End Workplace Apathy

So I'm really excited about this.

I know Kevin O'Connell from some awesome chance encounters from my time at Rutgers and I've followed the growth of his project, The Niche Movement for a while now. I love how he is constantly working to help people find their niche and give them the gift of immense happiness and fulfillment in their lives.

The path to satisfaction in work has changed dramatically in recent years and there needs to be a new handbook for this generation of job seekers. Kevin is hoping to do just that with his latest effort with The Niche Movement.

Kevin is crowdfunding the development of a new book based on the ideals put forth by The Niche Movement in hopes of reaching an even wider audience with his inspiring message. I know personally that Kevin is extremely passionate about this and will help out so many more people with this book getting out into the world.

Having all of us feeling more fulfilled, driven by our innate passions, purpose, and beliefs will change everything for the better. Help support make this vision a reality.

Check out the full, formal press release below and make sure to check out The Niche Movement and support Kevin's Kickstarter today. Every little bit helps.

July 14, 2014 - Kevin O’Connell, founder of The Niche Movement, today announced the launch of a new crowdfunding campaign focused on his new book, The Niche Movement: New Rules for Finding a Career You Love. The book aims to debunk common ideologies surrounding the job search, entry level employment and employment unhappiness by offering true, inspirational stories along with research and advice from experts and influencers from around the world who chose not to take the conventional approach to career exploration.

The last eight years working with college students and young professionals proved to O’Connell that most academia and student affairs practices are not teaching students to take risks in their twenties. With his entrepreneurial, educational, and marketing backgrounds, he’s taking his passion to a whole new level with The Niche Movement: New Career Rules for Finding a Career You Love.

The book will amplify a message that needs to be told: a job worth loving exists, you just have to find it. “It’s 2014,” O’Connell said. “This generation need to be told this.” The book, which will include stories of others who have found their niche, will serve as a platform to empower young adults to take risks that will lead them to finding their niche. It will teach the new rules for finding a career path worth loving.

“I eat, sleep and breathe college student’s lives,” he says. “I’ve been in the trenches where I have seem them thrive and a year later frustrated in their “post-graduate life.” I’ve seen the bad advice not work.”

According to Kevin, significant opportunities for change are constantly being overlooked.

With his new book, he hopes to open the eyes of college students, recent grads and other young professionals and help them harness the professional and personal experiences they’ve had, the experiences they’re living, the experiences they’re going to have and continue to ask themselves: why am I doing this? How can I get back to what motivates me?

The Niche Movement: New Rules for Finding a Career Path You Love can help change the way we view employment. It will rewrite the way we approach career development for good.

The job searching process is a very lonely one; one that instills a sense of frustration, stress and even self-doubt. O’Connell’s stories will provide a support system, a personal guide and our society should want that for young adults. “I’m not a job board. I’m not a recruiter,” O’Connell said. “I’m trying to help connect the dots for young professionals and find their way.”

A successful campaign shedding light on this unconventional career advice would create a platform to scale the larger project: end unemployment happiness for young professionals and twenty-somethings. Starting Fall 2014, The Niche Movement will be hosting monthly, inexpensive career events for people who want the information in addition, to the workshop and keynotes, and online programs they already offer.  

Kevin’s dream is to create a pipeline between really great companies with really great jobs with really great students because, “right now, they are both missing each other.” He hopes his stories will go well beyond the idealistic commencement speeches and give real world solutions for this generation to find the work they love.

Kevin O’Connell is a student affairs professional who has done everything from service learning to student leadership to social media strategy. He is a driven, enthusiastic up and coming entrepreneur whose passion for young leaders drove him to create a movement. Kevin is a true believer in authenticity who values honesty, trust and execution. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Courtney O’Connell, and their black lab, Luke. For more information on Kevin and The Niche Movement, visit thenichemovement.com.

Thanks for stopping by!