It is important to choose a career where you will enjoy and do well, but how do you know what that is? You can start by reflecting on how well you’ve performed in previous roles (assuming they’re relevant to the job you’re interested in) and what that suggests about your suitability. Did you enjoy yourself? Did you have talent for the profession? How do you think you would develop in the future?
If you don’t have previous experience, we recommend that you do “cheap tests” – getting the greatest possible insight into a profession with as little investment of time as possible. It is unnecessary to spend several years on an education if a conversation with a professional is enough to realize that a job is not for you. Here are some suggested tests:
Read up on the profession, for example online, in books or take a short online course that teaches you the basics
Talk to people who are already working in the field, for example through your own network, leading institutions, or via LinkedIn
Make study visits or ask to shadow someone during a working day
Take on a small project where you get to test the tasks included in the job. For example through volunteer work, a freelance assignment or an internship. If you are considering doing research – initiate your own research project for a few weeks and see what you think.
It can be particularly valuable to try different career paths if you are young. Investing a few months or years at the beginning of your career to find a job that really suits you is probably something you will get back for several decades.
In conclusion, it’s hard to just imagine how well you’d fit a role. We therefore recommend that you see your options as hypotheses and do tests to get more information about how well they work in reality.
Read more
How to explore: Do cheap tests first – article by 80,000 Hours
Two cheap ways to test your fit for policy work – post by Mathias Kirk Bonde on the EA Forum