The practical approach of analyzing who you are, what you enjoy doing, and where you want to go in life will often lead to the discovery that a career college can provide the perfect education for you.

Analyze Your Goals and What You Want From Further Education

A candidate for a university education is a strong academic who wants to learn for the sake of increasing his or her general knowledge in preparation for further training or study for a particular job. It is also someone who can afford four more years of expensive education after high school. If this not a description of you, you are probably a candidate for a career college instead.

College is a particularly good choice if you have limited time to further your education and want to take very concentrated training so that you can get out into the world and start working and earning money at a job you enjoy. It is also a good choice if you want the good things in life that a post-secondary education can help you achieve with an affordable investment of money and time.

Carefully assess your personality and skills, and list your education, awards, achievements, and the experiences you’ve had that have shaped you as a person and honed the strengths you now have. This analysis not only helps you choose a career and points you in the direction of the education you need, it can clarify your life goals.

Who I Am

Make an honest appraisal of your personal traits and note how they can be used in a career choice geared to taking advantage of your strengths.

• Assess your personal traits: If you are an extrovert—a social, people-person—you may be best suited to a job where your pleasure in being with people makes you better at your job, such as in nursing or the health care field. If you are an introvert and prefer getting on with the job at hand without interruption, you may be more suited to working in an office.
• Consider your skills: If, in addition to being an introvert, you enjoy working with numbers, are analytical, and pay close attention to detail, you are probably a good candidate for working with computers or in the accounting field. If, in addition to being an extrovert, you are an organizer and a problem solver, you may find your calling to be in the tourism industry or in hospitality management.

Consider how your personality and skill traits can be strengths in particular careers, and keep a list. Consult your list when choosing a career, and be ready to cite these traits and skills when you are interviewed for a job. You will be able to explain how they helped you choose your field of study and will help you progress in your career.

What I Have Learned

Assess the education you have obtained and the academic level you have achieved. As well as your formal schooling, list such items as your knowledge of more than one language, the lessons you took on the piano or guitar, the safety course, the first aid course, the babysitting course, the art lessons, the sports teams, the computer course, and any other education you received and note how it has contributed to your body of knowledge. Keep any documents that support this information.

What I Have Done

Think of at least three achievements—e.g., academic, sports, music awards—community services in which you have been engaged, and any part-time jobs you have had as a child or teenagers. Take note of what you learned about yourself through these experiences and how this knowledge can help you in choosing your career and your life path.

Where I Want To Go and How I Can Get There

A career college may be the best educational choice for you in your circumstances, and your knowledge of yourself can help you make a suitable career choice. When you finish your training, you will be prepared for a job that you will enjoy, and your personality, your skills, your past achievements, and your life experiences will help you succeed at it.

Keep your list of traits, skills, education, and achievements handy, and be ready to add your additional education level, and any part-time work, or any practicum or work term experiences from college. When your college education is over and you are ready to write your resume and apply for a job, this list will be invaluable. It will make writing a great resume a lot easier, and will help you nail that interview!

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to the Universal Learning Institute and a clickable link back to this page.