I am a career counselor and have been doing student’s counseling for about twenty years now. One of the most common challenges that most of the students face in the quest of setting their career goal is the confusion in their mind regarding multiple career options available these days. It becomes tough for them to choose a suitable career path for themselves because they are not aware of the opportunities associated with the concerned fields. Leaving all the stew behind, they need to set a plan that suits their interest and motivates them to kickstart with their strategy to move ahead in life.
There is a very well-saying by Napoleon Hill, “If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail”
The phrase well justifies the importance of planning in every field of life. Hence, the importance of career planning in a life of a student is pivotal in determining the success in the desired career. No matter, whether you are aspiring to be a Doctor, Engineer, Writer, bookkeeper, sportsman, model, graphic designer, IT professional or a movie star, it is imperative to find out the way to achieve your aim in life.
The essence of career planning focuses on the important aspects like:
- The long-term objectives
- The subject to take up for higher studies and also to explore the competitive exams to appear for entering the preferred stream.
- How to yield a job in a chosen career?
- A far-sighted approach to life by setting priorities in life
Every individual has a different perception for career planning. For some, it is an avenue towards a better future, while for some it is entirely a source of future income. Whatever, be the individual perception of it, one has to understand that it is an essential tool for identifying the avenue towards its fulfillment.
Discussed below are the key advantages of career planning:
- Targeting educational qualification – Apparently, it helps to achieve one’s educational goal. It creates a secure path towards future and assists in becoming a better individual because good and relevant education enhances personality and lead towards desired future.
- Set an aim in life – Pre-planning gives a clear picture of the prospects in the mind of the students. It helps them discover the answer for a few questions like their field of interest and if it is fit to be taken as a career goal. In short words, it aids in determining the priorities in life.
- A road to your dreams – Needless to mention, planning is a basis of achieving one dream.
- Skill analysis – It is a means to analyze individual’s strengths and weaknesses and the areas that need augmentation. As it helps a person to reflect on his/her skills, it offers a clearer picture about their proficiency.
- Ascertaining your inclination – Based on the field of your choice, expertise, and skills, you can get an idea of the kind of industry and role that appeals to you and should be your preferred territory to settle and move ahead.
- Setting a time frame – It is a way to identify a committed time period to reach a milestone.
- Fair income – Your chances to earn a decent income gets high because your career research offers you an idea of how much you should be earning.
- Higher satisfaction – As you will be moving ahead with your choice of career, you tend to be more satisfied in life compared to your peers.
The importance of career planning cannot be overlooked in a life of a novice as a spirit without any goal is meaningless. It initiates an individual to gain additional experience in the desired career and allows him to expand his network. Career planning is a road to self-evaluation that also offers room for adjustment according to changing phases in the personal circumstances.
Apart from all the advantages associated with career planning, one of the problems that may disrupt the plans of students is their inability to speak English fluently. Being a career counselor as well as an instructor of the English language, I recommend students to be a part of the online English learning platforms like Speak Today that help them overcome their speech issues and also help them to turn out as more confident individuals.