Choosing a Career? Know What You Don’t Want
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When you’re considering career options, it’s natural to want to focus on the positives. But looking for possible negatives too can help you avoid unpleasant surprises in the future.
Some careers might look perfect on paper but turn out to be the wrong fit once you’re in them. That’s why you need to research your options in detail. Find out all you can about your chosen career. Evaluate every aspect and be realistic when you make your choices.
Consider what you can’t or won’t do
In every part of our lives, there are things we strongly dislike or aren’t able to do. In this article, we call these things “Nopes!”
Maybe it’s eating deep-fried crickets. (Nope!) Or jumping out of airplanes. (Nope!) Or petting tarantulas. (Nope!)
What makes us say Nope! in our daily lives is different for every person. And the same goes for careers.
In a job or career, a “Nope!” is a task, situation, or responsibility that makes us uncomfortable. It may go against our values or be beyond our abilities. It’s something we simply can’t or won’t do—even if we’re passionate and committed.
Find your passion and find your Nopes!
Getting to know yourself is the first step in planning a career. The process uncovers your skills, interests, and abilities and connects them with occupations that might suit you. It helps you identify what you like, what you’re good at, and what you’re passionate about.
Knowing yourself is a great start, but it’s important to know as much as possible about the careers you’re considering too. Because sometimes passion isn’t enough.
Maybe you’re passionate about animals and you want to be a veterinarian. But vets sometimes have to euthanize sick animals. Is that something you could bring yourself to do? Or would that be a Nope! for you?
If you love children, you might want to be a teacher. Could you handle 30 energetic 6-year-olds all on your own? Even if half of them had learning disabilities? Or does that sound like a Nope! for you?
Or maybe numbers are your passion, and you want to be an accountant. Could you work for a casino because the money went to charity? Or would the dangers of gambling addiction make it a Nope! for you?
Sometimes passion isn’t enough
The typical career planning advice is to find your passion and then follow it. But that’s not always the best approach.
The UK-based not-for-profit 80,000 Hours points out 3 problems with this approach. (The organization’s name comes from the 80,000 working hours in a typical career: 40 years x 50 weeks x 40 hours.) These problems are that:
Many people don’t really know what their passion is, so telling them to follow it is pointless at best and demoralizing at worst.
Passion is just one aspect of a satisfying career. If you’re an actor who can’t get a job or an emergency room doctor in an overcrowded hospital, passion for your work is not all you need.
This approach limits your options. It’s important to explore what your interests could be as well as what they are. Not only that, but interests also change over time. It’s also possible to have more than one true passion.
Nopes! matter too
Knowing what you don’t want in a career is just as important as finding your passion.
Look at possible careers from every angle to figure out what’s a Nope! for you. And remember, everyone is different. Something that makes a career the wrong fit for you might not be a Nope! for someone else.
Here are some factors to consider:
Personality. Are you an introvert? A risk taker? Do you need creativity and change? Could you handle a career where the tasks were repetitive?
Values. Could you do work that doesn’t feel meaningful if it pays enough? Could you earn enough to support the life you want?
Character and ethics. What kinds of conduct could you overlook? Could you work for a weapons manufacturer? Or do research on animals? What would make you feel ashamed, cynical, or morally compromised?
Physical strain. Could you handle a career that required heavy lifting? Could you work outdoors in all kinds of weather?
Psychological demands. What stresses you out? Could you deliver bad news? Make split-second decisions? Work under constant scrutiny? What environments drain you? Could you handle being exposed to trauma, crisis, or grief?
Work and workplaces. Could you work for a commission instead of a salary? Could you work in isolation from other people?
Work-life balance. Could you be happy in a job with a 60-hour work week? Could you live with a long commute?
Balance optimism with realism
We often want to see people, situations, and our own future more favourably than the evidence supports. And usually, positive thinking is a good thing!
But when we’re planning a career, this attitude can also make us overlook warning signs. Being aware of a tendency to ignore possible problems can help you discover your Nopes! early—before you invest a lot of time and money in a career that’s not a fit.
Look more closely
Many careers have hidden demands that might not be obvious on the surface. How can you find out? And how can you tell if a career might suit you? The best way is to get as close to a hands-on experience as you possibly can.
Informational interviews
Spend 20 to 60 minutes interviewing an expert about real-life career experiences. Be sure to research the person’s position and prepare relevant questions that can give you insights and clarity. For example:
What made you decide to pursue this career?
What was the biggest surprise when you entered?
How does your job fit your lifestyle?
What’s your least favourite part of your job? (Would the downsides be a Nope! for you?)
Job shadowing
Ask one or more professionals if you can follow them around and observe their routine over a normal workday. You’ll get a firsthand look at how their job works and what the work environment is like. Be sure to ask questions and take notes. Check out this article for tips on how job shadowing works and how to get started.
Work experience
Consider volunteering, working as an intern, or taking a short-term job in a field you’re considering. You’ll get hands-on experience and an insider’s viewpoint without having to make a long-term commitment.
Analyze like a scientist
Exploring career options takes time. You might not find the right career on your first attempt. But thinking like a scientist by following these steps can help you get there:
Pick a career option (or several).
Identify your must-haves, your Nopes! and your questions.
Gather more information through interviews, job shadowing, or work experience.
Use a decision framework to analyze your findings. Include factors that are important to you.
Eliminate options that go against your values, compromise your character, or aren’t a good fit.
Creating a decision framework for your career
A decision framework can help you compare career options based on what matters most to you.
To make a decision framework, reflect on your priorities, start by listing factors that are important to your career, such as personal fit, meaningful work, location, job security, income, work-life balance, or helping others.
Next, assign a weighting to each factor to show how important it is to you. For example, a factor that’s very important might receive a higher percentage (25%) than a factor that’s only somewhat important (5%). The total of all the weightings should
Then choose a few career options you would like to compare. For each career give every factor a score on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means the career doesn’t meet that need well and 5 means it meets very well.
To calculate your results, multiply each factor’s weighting (%) by the score you gave it (1-5), then add the totals together for each career option. The career with the highest score may be the one that best matches your priorities.
Note: Remember to change the percentages to the correct decimal place when making your calculations. For example, “25%” would be “0.25” and “5%” would be “0.05”.
Use your Nopes! to guide you
Discovering a Nope! moment isn’t a failure. Learning what doesn’t work for you is valuable career information. It doesn’t mean you have to start all over. Rather, it helps you refine your options in the light of more realistic expectations. For example:
An animal lover who couldn’t euthanize a sick pet might consider a career in pet therapy, which uses animals to help people recover their physical or emotional health.
A would-be teacher who finds large class sizes stressful might pursue a career in child psychology, working with children one-on-one.
A person drawn to health and human services might choose community health over emergency medicine, to avoid dealing with trauma.
It’s OK to change direction. Don’t limit your options, Careers you’re unsure about could end up being amazing!