How to Decide the Industry to Choose for Your Career

Choosing the right career is the first step towards building a long-fulfilling career. Steve Jobs said that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life, and this statement holds true for many professionals. Other than doing what you love, choosing the right career gives you room to grow professionally and financially to contribute to your industry and gain financial stability.

The right career choice gives you the will to start and the stamina to keep going when things get tough. So, how do you decide the best industry for your career?

1. Stability Of Industry

Stability of the industry or maturity of the industry is a significant consideration when choosing a career. Emerging or new industries offer room for growth and experimentation. However, such industries are prone to shocks which most companies might not withstand, thus leaving you vulnerable to unemployment.

Stable or mature industries offer job security since most companies in a stable industry are large established companies. For instance, the consumer non-durables industry is one of the most stable industries globally. To learn more about career in non-durable goods, click here.

Besides providing a long-lasting product whose demand is high, the industry is characterized by heavy investment in finances, technology, and government legislation, thus providing the security of tenure you need to build a stable career.

Large stable firms characterize stable industries. Since the industry has existed for a long time, the smallest companies have been wiped out by competition or an unfavorable business environment. Thus, the existing employers are large stable companies.

With the security of tenure provided by such companies, jobs tend to be very competitive. Further, there is a small room for growth as people employed in such companies tend to stay long, unlike emerging industries. Thus, while choosing the ideal industry comes down to a choice between growth and stability. If you want to grow fast, choose an emerging industry. If you prefer stability, choose a mature or stable industry.

2. Interest And Hobbies

What drives you? What fascinates you? What do you research when you have some free time? Your passion should be the first consideration in career choice, as it is the one thing that can push you to do more than what you are paid to do. Every great person in history who made a significant contribution in their field, like Thomas Edison, was driven by passion.

When you are passionate about an area, you will constantly seek ways of improving operations or doing something new, which drives innovations in many industries. Thus, choose an industry that you are passionate about.

If you were fascinated by cars as a child, then the automotive industry is the best option for you.

If you love helping people, then the healthcare industry might be the ideal option for you. If you love working with numbers, the banking and finance industry is your perfect option.

Thus, your career choice should be guided by what you love and what you are drawn to.

3. Job Availability In The Industry

The labor market is the most dynamic industry globally. Some jobs which were in high demand 20 years ago are non-existent today. Similarly, most jobs in high demand today will be redundant 20 years to come, thus choosing an industry with stable job availability.

Technology, government policies, globalization, and environmental changes are the most common triggers of job losses in some sectors.

For instance, in the banking industry, tellers have been replaced by automated systems. Twenty years ago, it was common to witness a banking hall busking people making deposits, withdrawals, inquiries, opening accounts, and filling loan application forms.

These functions have been replaced by ATMs, internet banking, mobile banking, and other technologies, which have reduced the need for human touch. Thus, while choosing a career, pick an industry whose operations are less likely to replace machines and robots. Technology and medicine might be hard to replace by machines since these industries are driven by innovation that requires human input.

4. Industry Requirements

Industry requirements dictate the entry requirements for a professional. While some industries have low barriers to entry, like two years of training, others require intensive training, certification, licensing, and other obstacles. Training is expensive both in terms of time and money, thus choosing an industry that requires ten years of college training might not be a good idea. Further, some industries are subject to strict regulation, implying that you might be required to undertake a refresher course every two or three years.

In most cases, the government does not fund such refresher courses, thus adding to your already bloated student debts. Therefore, while choosing the ideal industry for your career, choose an industry with reasonable barriers to entry.

For instance, if you require a bachelor’s degree to get your first job, that might be an excellent industry to choose. Every career requires constant training to learn and develop; thus, a requirement for further refresher training should not be a barrier to entry entirely. If you can get your first job and continue training as you work, that is an excellent industry to choose.

5. Salary Outlook

Salary should not motivate to do or fail to do a job, but the salary outlook should be a key consideration when choosing an industry. Salary outlook refers to both the current salary prevailing in the industry and the future salary outlook in the industry. In terms of salary, consider several factors like|:

• The amount of investment used to acquire your bachelor’s or master’s degree.
• Your family and personal obligations.
• Your Outstanding student debts.
• Attitude towards money, savings, investment, and wealth.
• Government policy on taxation of wages.

Ultimately, your chosen career path should enable you to fulfill your financial obligations and some life dreams. Remember, most careers are demanding, and you might not get an opportunity to earn income on the side, thus choose a job that pays you a decent wage.

Further, remember that as you grow older, your financial obligations increase. Thus, choose an industry with regular salary increments to comfortably meet your financial obligations.