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Recommended reading: Reality Check
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In a recent interview with Grant Baldwin, author of “Reality Check,” he offered the following tips to students to avoid being hit by a wake-up call as they start their careers:
1. Don’t pick something for the money. In a society that pushes you to “Go Green” with the environment, it is easy to use that advice when looking for a career! But, students often pursue a professional path for the money, only to find they may be loaded with cash but miserable in the work they are doing. While money is certainly a factor when searching for a career, it should never be the only factor. We all need to make a living, but you need to take the time to determine how important money is to you.
2. Passion will carry you a long way. In “The Millionaire Mind” by Thomas Stanley, he did a study of several thousand millionaires in an attempt to identify their distinguishing traits. Were they wealthy because of their IQ, GPA, college major or business selection? In fact, he found quite the opposite. The one characteristic that millionaires had in common is they were all doing something they loved. Stanley said, “if you love, absolutely love what you are doing, chances are excellent that you will succeed.”
3. Consider how long your working life will be. How many adults do you know that have worked at the same job doing the same work for their entire lives? Probably very few, if any. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates about one in five workers will change jobs every year. They also estimate that each generation will average more job moves and career changes than the generation before.
4. Avoid picking careers to appease your family. In many families, there is some type of “generational career” or family business that new graduates may feel pressured into. The danger is that sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, parents can push you to fulfill their dreams. You don’t want to wake up in 20 years and realize you’ve been doing something to make your parents happy but have been miserable the entire time.
5. Don’t stress about the “hot industry.” Every year, there is a new “hot” industry that offers a ridiculous amount of hype by promising unlimited income potential, endless growth, numerous opportunities, etc. After the dot-com bubble burst, university degree programs for computer-related careers saw a noticeable drop in new students, while unemployed programmers returned to school to find a new career path.
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