Research career fields.

Now that you have identified your influences and your salary and benefits needs, it’s time to research your career choices. While you are still in college, it pays to study trends in growing and declining industries as well as the skill requirements for entry-level jobs.

Visit USA.gov Jobs and Careers Links to an external site. for job growth, median pay and required skills information on many different career fields.

Keep in mind that your first job likely will not be your last. A LinkedIn study Links to an external site. showed more job-hopping in certain industries, such as media/entertainment (which was in the lead), professional services, government/nonprofit and health care. There is no hard data on how many times people change careers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Links to an external site. due to difficulty defining what constitutes a career change, workers who change careers because of layoffs, and people leaving their jobs to start a business.

Given the time and money you are spending for your education, it makes sense to pursue the most efficient and relevant career path possible. Your work life will have twists and turns, but the truer you stay to your values, interests and strengths, the more likely you are to enjoy the journey.

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