Career pathways is a valuable program that is designed to help students get ready for a certain career that they are interested in. Through the use of brochures, planners, and presentations, children are made to choose a specific career from different career fields or clusters. They also go through different levels to help them determine which career path they should pursue.
As a working individual, there are benefits that you may also gain from using a career pathway. As a matter of fact, you need to have or design your own pathway if you want to promote your own career growth by making yourself qualified for several jobs within your pathway. Don’t get too overwhelmed by this because through adequate planning, a lot of initiative and some luck, you will surely be able to control your career and the direction it may be heading to.
Here is what you should do:
- Compare your own accomplishments, skills and education with those people with jobs similar to yours. Take down all your educational credentials, work achievements, and set of job skills. Through this information, your may create a baseline for tracking your career development.
- Rate your skills, credentials and achievements by again comparing yourself to others in the same field. If it is clear to you that your performance is way better than those around you, this could mean you are ready to apply for higher positions.
- Once you have figured out what job you will pursue, widen your options by identifying other available positions based on your qualifications. This will give you a better chance to see what other opportunities are out there that you may consider or try out.
- Never stop exploring and discovering other jobs that can be linked to your accomplishments, skills and background. You should always look at these jobs as a possible stepping stone for your own career.
- As you take note of all the other positions in your career pathway, you should also note down the additional education and experience that you will have to acquire in order to be qualified for the position. As you identify all the necessary developments or improvements that you have to make, you will also have made a sort of checklist of all the additional skills or competencies you have acquired.
- If you think your career will only end in the company you are currently employed in, then there is no reason for you to stick with it. You may start seeking jobs with various employers so that you may have an idea of where your potential can take you. As you decide later on whether to stay or leave, you will realize how important career pathways can really be for any employee like you.