A career is a profession, a life-long occupation or an employment by which a person regularly earns a living, especially one for which the person has had a period of training in an institution or through apprenticeship. There are several things that one has to consider before choosing a career. These things are also clues that can help a person to assess himself or herself as to the kind of career that meets his or her abilities and interests. These things are indispensable in choosing a career. They include things to work with such as people, objects, ideas as well as knowing oneself thus one’s interests, skills, and aptitudes.i. What You Want To Work WithIn the choosing of a career, it is often advantageous for people who enjoy working together with other people, what is usually termed as ‘teamwork’, to excel in their chosen profession. It has been proven that those who enjoy working with people usually get on well with others. They make friends more easily and enjoy solving problems related to people. These individuals who show intense interest, care and concern for people are usually good at teaching, legal practitioner, advertising, curator, and anthropology.
Generally people who are interested in working with their hands and exploring objects with their hands are good at practically oriented professions. These individuals, who are well versed in the handling of tools and materials, are advised to select careers that are purely practical in nature. Such careers include sculpting, pottery making, textile designing etc.People, who enjoy working with facts, usually enjoy reading and researches. Owing to this, they choose to be social commentators, art historians, authors, researchers etc.ii. Knowing YourselfAnother essential factor that can assist one in choosing a good profession is considering one’s interests, skills and aptitudes. Your interests are the things you enjoy doing, very curious about and will like to spend a lot of time on. The young artist seeking to choose a career should take considerable time to consider the area of the arts that he always love to engage in and desires to explore more into it. For instance, do I enjoy drawing of pictures and scenes? Do I have a heartfelt yearning towards this aspect of art, wanting to spend a lot of time in doing it? Do I quickly want to sketch an interesting scene I come across while undertaking my day to day activities? If the answer is yes then I will be good at picture making and may think of being a portrait designer or a picture maker. The career one has a keen interest in should be chosen because if one is not very much interested in a chosen profession it will reflect negatively on his output of work.Skill is one’s ability to undertake a project expertly. A skill for a particular field in art is acquired through diligent training. However, an artist may not have skills in undertaking all projects in art. He may be well versed in a certain art discipline. He may have a natural flair for the making of articles in that area of art and has enhanced it through training and practice. There are various production techniques in all the areas of art. The artist may have skills in carving, modeling, coiling, weaving or casting. It is advised that the art area that the artist is able to employ his skills whether trained or gifted in the masterly production of artefacts should be chosen as a career. It is also very possible that an artist may have an interest in a certain field of art say sculpture yet he may not have the requisite skill in producing sculptural works. It will be wrong and even disappointing for an artist to choose a profession in art which he has interest in and yet do not have any skills for it.
Your aptitude is your natural ability or skill, especially in learning and your readiness to adjust to meet the standard or demands of what you are interested in. Research has shown that people who are always ready to learn and adapt to new conditions and environment excel in their chosen professions. Granted, we may have the interest and skill in undertaking projects in a particular area of art. However, if we do not have the inner drive or are not naturally inclined towards a certain profession, ever ready to learn and acquire new knowledge to meet the set standards in the industry we intend working for, it will be advised not to select that profession.