Look Beyond Money

If you listed 'money' under the things that are most important to you in life, you're not alone. It's only sensible to want enough income to provide the standard of living and security that you desire for yourself and your family. You should, at the right time, consider whether a job choice will provide you with adequate income. But, especially at this early stage of your career analysis, you should put the question of money aside for a few moments and consider other factors, including:

1. Striking a Work-Life Balance – Are you working to live, or living to work? More and more Americans are asking themselves that question as technology makes it possible to stay plugged in to the office 24/7. That lifestyle may not be a problem if you truly love what you do (as is the case with many successful entrepreneurs). But even if you enjoy always being 'on,' this lifestyle easily becomes destructive to your family and personal life and even to your health. Think about the other things in life that are important to you, and whether your chosen work allows you the time to look after them.

2. Doing What Comes Naturally – As we noted earlier on the career interests page, we usually excel at the things we enjoy. Similarly, we tend to do our best in situations where we feel comfortable. What kind of people, settings, and activities do you feel at home with? Do you cherish your spiritual, nurturing side? If so, you would probably be unhappy working in a competitive sales environment. On the other hand, if you're a no-nonsense individualist, you would probably feel frustrated in an organization that emphasizes team efforts and relationship-building. Think about the kind of work environment that complements your natural inclinations. Keep in mind that different jobs in the same field can present very different work situations. A computer user specialist and a database manager both work with computers, but one of them will spend most of their time interacting with people and the other will spend most of their time interacting with machines.

3. Minding the Time of Your Life – What stage of life are you at? Are you young and just starting out, with few family or financial responsibilities? In that case, the chance to gain experience and skills might be more valuable to you than current income is. This may be the time when you want to travel, go overseas, or try a radically different career path. If you're older and have a family, stability and security may be more important to you than career achievements are right now. You may decide it's better to pass up on a job in another city rather than move your children away from a community they love and thrive in. Your comfort level with taking risks and making major life changes (like moving to another state or going back to school) is an important factor in choosing work that's right for you.

Could you use some help articulating what your preferences are? If so, click here [link to Meyers-Briggs and other personality tests] to find links to self-assessment tests.

Step 1: Getting started

Step 2: Identify your career interests

Step 3: Look beyond money

Step 4: Evaluate your career choices