Persons and Careers - Group 3 PowerPoint PDF

# Persons and Careers ## Lesson Objectives: 1. Students will explain essential career development concepts and their relevance to individual career paths. 2. Students will analyze how their personal life goals affect their career choices and planning process. ## What is career? - A career is def...

# Persons and Careers ## Lesson Objectives: 1. Students will explain essential career development concepts and their relevance to individual career paths. 2. Students will analyze how their personal life goals affect their career choices and planning process. ## What is career? - A career is defined as the combination and sequence of roles played by a person during the course of a lifetime (Super, 1980). - Your career basically dictates a lot of things in your life - it can determine the kind of lifestyle that you will be leading, the quality of relationships that you have with people around you like your family and friends, the kind of balance you will be able to keep with your life and your responsibilities. There are two other concepts that we often associate with the concept of career. ## Two other concepts of career - **Job:** A job is a position an individual holds doing specific duties. - **Occupation:** An occupation is defined as the similar work for which people have similar responsibilities and for which they develop a common set of skills and knowledge. ## What influences your career choice? - When we think about career choice, several things immediately come to mind - job description, training and education required, career outlook, and salary - but there are a number of other factors that may influence your decisions. - There are a lot of theories to consider in the relatively new field of career development. ## Influence Factors - **Skills and Abilities:** These theories recommend creating occupational profiles for specific jobs as well as identifying individual differences, matching individuals to occupations based on these differences. You can identify activities you enjoy and those in which you have a level of competency though a formal assessment. - **Interest and Personality Type:** This theory establishes a classification system that matches personality characteristics and personal preferences to job characteristics. The Holland Codes are six personality/career types that help describe a wide range of occupations though a formal assessment. - **Life Roles:** Being a worker is just one of your life roles, in addition to others such as, student, parent, and child. How we think about ourselves in these roles, their requirements of them, and the external forces that affect them, may influence how we look at careers in general and how we make choices for ourselves. - **Previous Experiences:** Having positive experiences and role models working in specific careers may influence the set of careers we consider as options for ourselves. In this way, we focus on areas in which we have had proven success and achieved positive self-esteem. - **Culture:** Racial and ethnic background, as well as the culture of an individual's regional area, local community, and extended family, may impact career decisions. Our culture often shapes our values and expectations as they relate to many parts of our lives, including jobs and careers. - **Gender:** Both men and women have experienced career-related stereotypes. Gender is a factor included in multiple career development theories and approaches including, Social Learning and multicultural career counseling. - **Social and Economic Conditions:** All of our career choices take place within the context of society and the economy. Events that take place in our lives may affect the choices available to us and even dictate our choices to a certain degree. Changes in the economy and resulting job market may also affect how our careers develop. - **Childhood Fantasies:** What do you want to be when you grow-up? You may remember this question from your childhood, and it may have helped shape how you thought about careers then, as well as later in life. ## Super's Career Development Theory - Donald Super influenced the idea that developing a sense of self and realize that you change over time is important when planning your career. - According to Super, self-concept changes over time, and develops as a result of experience. ## Ten Myths About Career Planning - It tells you why it will affect you in the long run. Keep in mind that the road to career happiness is usually full of bumps, curves and tangents rather than a straight, direct path from point A to point B. While peer pressure and post-study placements could be major influences affecting your decision at 16, there are those who end up regretting their decisions even when they are 30. ### Myth 1: Arts/humanities majors usually are unemployable after college (Fact: Skills matter in every stream) - Humanities majors usually provide training in basic areas called transferable skills such as interpersonal communication, writing, research, and critical thinking. Transferable skills, acquired in one area, are widely sought after by employers. Arts majors can find diverse careers. Humanities graduates may struggle to find a “niche” due to lack of knowledge or awareness of available options. ### Myth 2: Selecting what's 'hot' at the moment is safe (Fact: What's hot today may not necessarily be 10/20 years later) - Selecting a major or pursuing a career just because it's hot can be dangerous. There are two things you must understand before opting for this approach. First, what is 'hot today may cool down, or disappear completely, in the near future. Secondly, such a choice fails to take into account the interests and abilities of the student, or the kind of environment in which they are most likely to succeed. But career satisfaction involves far more than simply being able to do a particular job - it requires interest, commitment and passion. ### Myth 3: Career assessments / counselors will not be of any use for me (Fact: You must know what your aptitude is before choosing a career) - Psychometric Assessments (Aptitude Test) can provide additional information that may be helpful as a part of the career planning process. Assessments would provide a clear idea as to ones aptitude, strengths and weakness and their mental capabilities, which aids in selecting a career, but with thorough brainstorming with the career counselor, who can chalk out various career options based on the match between the student profile and the career. Of course, it's up to you whether you want to pursue what the counselor advises you to, but do not skip this step. ### Psychometric Assessments - Are a standard and scientific method used to measure individuals' mental capabilities and behavioural style. Psychometric tests are designed to measure candidates' suitability for a role based on the required personality characteristics and aptitude (or cognitive abilities). ### Myth 4: If X is happy in a particular field, I will be happy too (Fact: You are not X) - Everyone is different and what works for one person won't necessarily work for another, even if that other person is someone with whom you have a lot in common. If someone you know has a career that interests you try and get more details about the career in terms of the job description, the skills required and market demand of the career. Then match the description with your traits and then make a choice. Be aware that what you like may not necessarily be a good fit for you. ### Myth 5: If I wait long enough, luck will eventually bring me to the right career (Fact: Procrastination is no substitute for laziness) - It is unlikely that you will just "bump into" the occupation that will perfectly match your skills and interests. The more information you gather about yourself and the occupations you are considering, the more likely it is you will make a wise career decision. It is true that some things beyond your control will influence your life, but you must take an active role to determine your own fate. Look around you those people who are unhappy in their careers most likely just "fell into" something without careful planning. Do you want the same thing to happen to your career graph? So think wisely and plan the process. ### Myth 6: Making a lot of money will make me happy (Fact: The ingredients of fulfilling career also includes passion and commitment to growth) - While salary is important, it isn't the only factor you should look at when choosing a career. Countless surveys have shown that money doesn't necessarily lead to job satisfaction. For many people enjoying what they do at work is much more important. ### Myth 7: Once I choose a career I'll be stuck in it forever (Fact: You are never too old to switch careers) - Not true. If you are unsatisfied in your career for any reason, you can always change. Discussing your interests with knowledgeable people who could guide you towards another career could land you in a satisfying job profile. ### Myth 8: If I change careers my skills will be wasted (Fact: Being multi-skilled allows you to learn and adapt accordingly) - It is true that certain jobs require some specialised skill set. But note that mostly jobs require a common type of skills which most of the individuals possess. Your skills are yours to keep. You may not use them in the exactly same way, but they won't be wasted. ### Myth 9: I will decide after the results are out (Fact: Impulsive decisions lack planning and direction) - Though one can keep options, but having a sound academic background always proves beneficial while making a career. The two years of Junior college (class 11 and 12) are very essential as they form a base for a particular career. One cannot ignore the knowledge gained whilst studying. Deciding after graduation sometimes leads to impulsive decisions as, the earlier educational qualification may not be applicable to the area of work that you plan to pursue in later life. ### Myth 10: I love this hobby, but I don't think I can make money out of it (Fact: If you love what you do, you will not feel like you are working) - An oft repeated line, it explains why part-time hobbies like cooking, photography and design that were once pursued during weekends are now being pursued as full time careers. And most of these hobby-turned vocations pay really well if pursued professionally. ## Thank you for listening 12-Prosperous!!