15 Tips To Pick The Best Career

Endless learning experiences

I have had over twenty careers in my life. Waiter, busboy, massage therapist, professional speaker, event planner, seminar leader, book author, professional problem solver, and business consultant.

When a person needs some advice in making a career choice I usually present the scenario in the simplest of terms and then fan out a bit, as I dissect the process. I want to do that or you here.

Let’s Start at The Beginning

There 9 levels to any person’s career:

Level 1 — No job — Financial support from parents or generous friends

Level 2 — A natural entrepreneurial inclination — Or a paycheck inclination

Level 3 — Education — This can be (a) learn as you go, or (b) formal education.

Level 4 — Learn as you go, means fail, pick yourself up, and start all over again. Formal education means learning to avoid mistakes by studying the mistakes and successes of others.

Level 5 — Job with a degree, or succeed or fail in the world of entrepreneurship.

Level 6 — Job with a degree, Get promoted to a manager

Level 7 — Start a side hustle

Level 8 — Multiple income streams including your job (lots of benefits)

Level 9 — No job — Live your passion, invest well, and live the good life.

If you choose to take the paycheck route there will be a much greater sense of security in the beginning.

According to Dr. Balaji Viswanathan an entrepreneur and inventor. There are certain things you need to do to prepare for the life of an independent businessperson

1. Cut spending to a bare minimum. Learn how to live frugally (even if you don’t want to start living like that right now). In a startup life, a lot of times you have to figure out ways to cut down spending, to improve your survival rate. Learn how you can do that now. If you have figured out how to live 12–18 months without a paycheck, you are on your way.

2. Build networks. Keep meeting people at local entrepreneurship meetups & other events. You never know who among those will give you the lifeline at the right time.

3. Learn sales & marketing. Your startup’s future depends on it. You have to learn ESPECIALLY if you are an engineer. You just can’t think that you will hire someone who will automagically sell stuff for you.

4. Build your savings. The one who has gold in his pockets sets the rules, in a startup.

5. Figure out the top 5 things you want to do in your life and do it NOW (if you can). In a startup life, you won’t have time to do them. By doing them before, you will have fewer regrets starting up on your own. You can always convince yourself that you did those things that many of your peers (who are still making that hefty salary) have not done.

6. Watch inspiring movies. I watched the entire list here: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Cheers. When you watch movies such as Stand & Deliver or Life is Beautiful, you get a different perspective on life. This will be helpful when you are under pain and just want to give up (this situation is more likely than you imagine).

7. Do something adventurous (such as hiking the Grand Canyon from north to south side, 5-day camping in Central America, or volunteering in Africa). You will learn teamwork, withstanding pain, and taking the right level of risks. I know many who use their hiking/camping lessons in startups.

8. Meet family, and friends and attend parties. After you start up, you will get in your bunker and meet people only when they can generate a business lead. You won’t have any time for personal life in the first 2 years.

9. Mentally prepare yourself and your spouse (if you are married) to look for the long-term gains to overlook the short-term pains. The spouse needs to be strong to enable you to run your business.

10. Ask yourself if you are really in it for the money. If yes, you will be disappointed as statistically, you will make a lot less than what you could in a big corp. On the other hand, if you are in it for creativity, satisfaction and adventure, you will be able to withstand the long pause without funding. Don’t brag about anything,

“..Do it for your satisfaction . It is important you do it straight off your heart you don’t talk about it.” — Mukesh Ambani

Finally, remember that reading a swimming book is very different from getting on to water. No amount of reading books will actually prepare you for what you are going to face. Ready to embrace the fun and unpredictable turns.

If You Love Math, How Good is Data Science as a Career?

According to Malik Arham, who writes about tech work there is no one definitive answer to this question, as each person’s experience and skillset will be different. However, if you are interested in having a career related to data science it is important to have a good understanding of both front-end and back-end development.

Additionally, it may also help to have strong design skills since many data science projects work with various content formats regularly.

Overall, there are many advantages to pursuing a career in data science.

• First of all, the industry is constantly growing thanks to new technological advances, the recent expansion in AI, and changing customer demands.
• Secondly, due not only to its growth but also the competitive environment that exists within it currently (due to the high demand for skilled professionals), earnings opportunities are promising for those who develop their talent and proficiency well.
• And finally — because so much knowledge about data science is now available online at a relatively low cost — learning new skills has never been easier.

Here are a few More Thoughts

1. Don’t focus on the technology, focus on the type of work.
2. Data Languages come and go. Architectures will come and go. The type of work you choose to do is what’s important. The technologies you use to accomplish that work will change.
3. If you want to study system administration, do so. If you want to study programming, great.
4. Find an area of work that you enjoy working in, then build the skills you need to work in that field. Avoid holy wars about this language or that language…. and don’t fall for the hype about how XYZ technology is going to change everything.
5. Use the tools you need to get the job done, don’t be afraid of learning a new tool when it’s the right one for the job. Don’t be afraid of an opportunity because it’s “not your thing.”
6. To build a successful career you need to understand your personality:
7. Not a lot of people pay attention to their personality while choosing a career but then they end up having a job or a career that they hate.
8. Hence it is extremely important to pick a career that suits the best in your personality.
9. Do you like to talk to a lot of people or do you prefer to be alone?
10. Do you like sitting in front of the computer all day or do you like to be in the outdoors?
11. There are always some personality traits a person has, some like public speaking, some like spending time alone, and some like to travel a lot.
12. Depending on what your personality trait is, you may choose your career.
13. Like to travel a lot? You may choose to be a travel agent or set up a travel company.
14. Like to stay at home all day and like tech? You can be a freelance developer.
15. Like engineering but also like to spend time outside and interact with people? You can be a civil engineer.

Here is a Medium story on this subject:

@bap_16778

Here is one from the archives

@LewisCoaches

This story is an excerpt from my Module for making the best choices, from my online Course, “The Self Improvement Lifestyle”. You review introductions to his many personal growth courses at:

Author: Lewis Harrison is a Manifestation Coach, professional futurist (forecaster), and business consultant at…

He is the Executive Director of the International Association of Healing Professionals an educational organization that offers programs around the world in Intentional Living. He is also an Independent Scholar, with a passion for knowledge, personal development, self-improvement, creativity, innovation, and problem-solving.

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Lewis

For a decade, Lewis was the host of a humor-based Q & A talk show on NPR (National Public Radio) affiliated WIOX FM in NY.