Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2012. The phrase “under current legislation” refers to the Spanish secondary-school system of 2012, with a choice between science and humanities. Later education laws changed how these choices are structured.
To borrow the slogan from the very first ad for Telepizza (the Spanish pizza delivery chain): the secret is in the dough. Well, a candidate’s secret is in their education. That education begins in childhood, and the choices that shape it start to be made in adolescence, during secondary school.
Once the foundations are in place, candidates can add their personal abilities and whatever further training they want to round out their career choice. That will be what sets them apart from other candidates, and it will complement their technical skills. That’s why, from the very beginning, you need to be very clear about your answer to that popular question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
How do I decide what to study?
Under current legislation, the first step comes in secondary school, when you have to choose between science and humanities, the most popular options and the first point at which the curriculum branches.
To decide, weigh up the subjects you’ve studied, rate them by how much you enjoyed them, and balance your intellectual aptitudes against your career interests. Be realistic: don’t try to become a mathematician if you fail every math assessment.
Research the profession you’ve chosen and find out all you can about it. Search online, talk to people who work in that field, and compare what you imagine about “that idyllic job” with the information they give you, so you can check that it lives up to your expectations.
Look into the job prospects for that occupation. Knowing the career paths it offers and the demand for graduates in your chosen profession will help you commit to it. Remember that some professions make it hard to find work, and others require you to be willing to relocate. Weigh up these points; you can find information at youth councils, trade union offices and other organizations.
Perseverance pays off. Whatever difficulties you face at first, only those who get the best results and stick at what they do succeed, and that is the key to landing the job you’ve worked towards for years.
These are some guidelines, but don’t forget that your aptitudes matter as much as the job prospects. If you’re an introvert, however many openings there are for people who studied marketing, sales and the like, you’ll never get there, because dealing with people is vital and your personal traits are not the best fit. That said, there is no fixed rule about this kind of aptitude.
Your education isn’t everything either. Many occupations are taught at university, but many also have a parallel route in vocational training (Formación Profesional in Spain). If university studies are beyond your abilities, you can always take a vocational training course.
Stressing out never gets you anywhere. So be patient, it will all come in time: keep studying, and your career leanings will gradually become clearer. You hear the phrase “you’re not born to it, you become it” more and more every day.
Be yourself when choosing a career. Other people can only advise you, not decide for you. It’s your future, one you’ll devote a great many years and hours to; you can be happy or unhappy in it, and you’re the one who has to decide.
Information is power, and positive thinking is vital. These are ingredients of success, and with them you can succeed.
Featured image: Archives New Zealand, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
