Anyone who uses application training does so with the aim of finally finding the dream job for themselves. But choosing a career is accompanied by difficult decisions that affect far more than “just” your own career. So it happens that many pupils, students and, in some cases, even graduates do not know which path they actually want to take after their training. For this reason, we give you a few tips for choosing a career below.

Why is it so difficult to choose a career?

This question can be answered briefly: Because choosing a career is one of the most difficult decisions in a young person’s life. But why is that? To a certain extent, it has to do with the changing times.

It has long been a thing of the past that our professional career is dictated to us by our guardian or our social status. We decide ourselves about our (professional) fate. Unfortunately, one would be tempted to say, this choice includes a vast array of options. This, in turn, is related to the number of different professions. 327 apprenticeships were recognized – and that is still humane. At the beginning of the 1970s, applicants had to choose from more than 580 professions. As soon as we decide on a certain profession, we close a whole series of doors in the same breath that may never open to us again in the future. That is precisely what makes choosing a career one of the most difficult decisions ever.

Career choice: What influences our decisions?

We have now clarified that choosing a career is often difficult. But which circumstances influence us in this decisive decision? Here are some of the most important factors at a glance.

Factor 1 when choosing a career: Security

The world of work is constantly reinventing itself. Continuous modernization may mean that tomorrow a profession will be required that is unthinkable today. Practically the same process, however, also repeatedly causes some traditional occupational groups to die out. Of course, we want to avoid this with our career choice and, if possible, choose a field that will still be in demand tomorrow. Because of this fact, IT professions, for example, are so popular with school leavers – it is not foreseeable that the trend of progress and digitization will no longer continue. IT people play a significant part in this and benefit from this development.

In terms of security, one can of course also speak of financial independence – this also plays a major role in choosing a career. However, the salary has lost a lot of its importance over the years. Especially for the representatives of the so-called Generation Y and Generation Z, soft factors are more important.

Factor 2 when choosing a career: interests and personality

Choosing a professional field whose content and tasks do not matter to us personally would be anything but beneficial. We want a job that reflects our interests and that is also close to our hearts. Only then can we fully identify with him and reach our full potential.

You can see the importance of an applicant’s interests and personality for the economy by consulting a few job advertisements from newspapers or application platforms. Particularly creative employees are wanted in marketing, the future social worker should be communicative and emphatic and the next generation in the accounting department should have analytical skills.

The thought of lazy pupils/students is also a cliché: The majority of young people are also looking for a challenge in their job and want to be encouraged. The monotony of tasks and the feeling of a lack of appreciation make career starters in particular wear out faster and lose their interest in the job.

Factor 3 when choosing a career: work-life balance

Work-life balance has become enormously important in recent years. Work and family have to be compatible, especially for young people – in return, they accept cutbacks in terms of salary. Conversely, for companies, this means that new employees can no longer be lured, or at least only to a limited extent, with better salary prospects. Further benefits are needed: These can be, for example, flexible working time models, home offices, company kindergartens, or in-house restaurants and fitness offers.

The aim for employers must be to create a feel-good atmosphere for employees. The free choice is that the offers especially for new, young employees do not collide with the ideas of the existing workforce. There are quite different views of a successful work environment between the different generations.

Factor 4 for choosing a career: Your own situation

The personal situation can be very different from applicant to applicant. However, like the other circumstances, it has a decisive influence on the choice of career.
Singles are far less committed than people in a partnership and may be more willing to move for better job prospects. If there are already children in the household, you are also restricted – this is especially true for single parents.

If you have a lot of families and home ties, you will probably not take up a new job if it means making a fresh start 400 kilometers away. It looks different if your job is precisely to lead you into a new environment and you would like to leave your familiar environment voluntarily.

Which job is right for me?

Which profession is the right one for you depends mainly on the factors mentioned above? What are your demands on the future standard of living? What are your interests and what are your personal strengths? How much time would you later like to spend at or with work and in what atmosphere would you like to live out your day-to-day work? These are all questions that you should ask yourself in order to find the ideal job for you.

Tips for choosing a career

Numerous useful sources of information and tools have developed to help you make the right career choice. For example, the job reports from the employment agency. These give you a rough overview of the job itself, the duration of the training and potential contact points for your application.

If you are unable to classify your interests and skills correctly, the Internet can be of great help. In the quiz “Which job suits me?” From mein-wahres-ich.de, for example, you will learn a lot about your personality and, based on your test results, will also receive a number of career suggestions. If you are flirting with studying at a university or college, student portals such as Uniturm.de provide help with choosing a course as well as a free course selection test.

If you are having a hard time choosing a career for yourself, feel free to talk to others. It is possible that friends and/or relatives have an activity in mind for you that you have not even considered yourself. In addition, people around you may be more aware of you than you in terms of your skills and personality. So if you take a path that your friends and relatives think does not suit you, you will certainly be informed.