Researching New Career Opportunities

Considering a big career change can be a daunting prospect no matter how long you’ve been in your current position. Checking out new career opportunities, however, doesn’t have to be a scary thing! As long as you’re prepared to invest time into researching your options and choosing the path that you think is best for you, taking steps towards a new career can be an exciting process! Here are some exciting career paths that you may not have considered before, and tips on how to take the first step toward getting more information about them!

Where should you start?

If you’re considering a career change, then you’ve already taken the first step! What happens, though, if you haven’t gotten as far as choosing what you’d like to do next? Most often, people’s choices for new career paths fall into one of these categories:

It’s something you’ve always wanted to do, but you’ve never had the chance. Maybe now is the time to finally try it?

It’s something that you already know you’re good at or very passionate about, but you’ve never devoted your whole attention to it or tried doing it full time.

It’s something that you used to do and enjoyed, but circumstances prevented you from continuing.

It’s something you’d never thought of doing until very recently. You just know that you need a change, and you’re open to new ideas.

What are the first steps?

Once you’ve figured out what you’d like your new career path to be, you can take the next step in seeking more information about that industry. Even if you’re not entirely sure which direction you’d like to go in, researching a few different careers can still help you narrow down your decision. Gathering details and informing yourself about your options is never a bad thing. Here are some ways that you can help yourself come closer to a decision:

Check out online forums:

This is one of the most accessible ways to learn about a potential new career path. Reading what other people have to say about their experiences working in an industry can be especially useful if your mind isn’t fully made up yet. You shouldn’t base your choice entirely on the words of others, but you’ll know it might not be the right career for you if you’re unsure after reading a few people’s accounts of their professional experiences. You might, however, find testimonials from working professionals very inspiring. If you’re visiting a discussion forum, you can usually interact with the professionals you’re reading about in order to have your questions answered.

Talk to professionals in your local area:

If they have time, speaking with local professionals working in the industry that you’re curious about can be extremely helpful. Not only will you be getting details from someone actually doing the job you might pursue, but you’ll also be getting information that is specific to your area. If you’re interested in staying there for your career transition, information about the local industry is especially valuable!

Attend conferences or information fairs:

Unfortunately, conferences and information fairs aren’t always an option, particularly if you live in a small place or somewhere with a very small industry. If you have the opportunity, however, attending information sessions or open conferences can be extremely helpful. The whole point of information fairs, after all, is for you to learn about the industry! These events also present you with a unique networking opportunity, which can be beneficial if you do pursue that career path.

Take part in online seminars:

While online seminars and information sessions aren’t quite as useful for networking opportunities as those you can physically attend, they’re still extremely helpful and are much more accessible. The seminars are often interactive, with a live chat forum for asking questions and speaking with others who are curious about the industry.

Look up schools like ours:

Even if you’re not sure that additional training is what you need, looking at the information provided by professional training programs for the career you’re interested in can be very informative. Most schools provide detailed breakdowns of exactly what the career involves, what qualifications those professionals need, and what you can expect to gain from working in that industry.

What are some interesting career options to start with?

Did you know there are many different types of careers within the industry that caught your eye? If you’re having trouble narrowing down exactly what it is you’d like to do, learning about the industry more thoroughly might help you! Perhaps there’s a specialized career option that’s best for you? Here are some examples of why you should always seek more information:

Event Planning: If you think you might be interested in the world of event planning, have you considered which aspect of the industry might suit you best? Are you interested in general event planning, where you might organize a birthday party one day and a business meeting the next? Would corporate event planning, specifically, interest you more? Perhaps you’d prefer wedding planning. Maybe you thought you were interested in even planning but, now that you’ve got more detail, you’ve realized that your interests really lie in event décor. The world of event planning is diverse!

Design: There is more than one type of design professional, and knowing how you’d like to specialize is the key! Are you more interested in the architectural structure of the room, like an interior designer might be? Would you rather concentrate on the style and flow of the room as an interior decorator? Perhaps home staging would be your strength. Seeking more information about becoming a design professional is important and can help you determine which type of career you’re most interested in and which steps you’ll need to take to get there.

Makeup artistry: The makeup industry is among the most diverse! You may have decided that you’d like to be a makeup artist, but have you thought about what type of makeup you’d like to specialize in? Wedding makeup, glamour and fashion makeup, theatrical and fantasy makeup, and special effects makeup are just some of the options open to you! Keep learning!

Deciding that you’d like to make a career change is the first step to succeeding at something new. By researching the opportunities available to you, you’re taking the steps to reach a new goal in the working world and helping yourself make the most informed career shift that you can.

Don’t forget to take a look at the variety of courses QC has to offer to see if we can help you take advantage of new career opportunities!