- Sep 21, 2001
- 18,447
- 133
- 106
1. Salary
This was the first thing on your mind anyway, so let's get it over with. Yes, consider the potential salary range of the field you want to go into. Monster and JobVent both have decent salary estimators, and there are a million more out on the web. Understand that the salaries you see will be your target salaries, not necessarily your starting salaries.
Monster
JobVent
2. Demand
Let me say this again. DEMAND DEMAND DEMAND DEMAND.
Take into consideration how easy it will be to break into your chosen field. You want to be an SAP module configurer? Great, you have it made. You want to be a marketing manager? You've got serious competition. If you want to go into a highly saturated field, spend some time thinking about how long you're willing to be on the job search, what you'd do in the meantime, and what your backup plan would be in case you need one.
3. Love of the work
No matter how great the salary and benefits are, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, the perks won't be worth it in the long run. Choose work you like, or can at least tolerate. If you absolutely intend to do something you don't enjoy just so you can make bank for a while, decide how long you can and will do it, and what you would do afterwards. It's too easy to get sucked into staying somewhere you abhor once you get used to the $$, and life's too short to really be worth it.
4. Location
Is your dream job available (keeping in mind demand) in the area you want to live? If not, are you willing to relocate? Is the work available in an area you would relocate to?
5. Career path
So you've picked your ideal job. How do you get there? Where do you go from there? When you've got a job in mind, it's only a stop on the way to retirement. You're most likely going to hold other jobs as you work your way up, and you may move into new jobs afterwards. Figured out the career path yet? Then apply the salary, demand, etc. to those other stops and see if they fit the life you want to live.
6. Education
Are you able to learn what you need to know, and can you stay interested while you're learning it? Education is very different from the work itself a lot of the time, so this isn't a primary consideration but it is something to think about. Bear in mind, a degree in a particular field usually doesn't guarantee you work in that field. Also, what post-graduate education might you want to get to get further in your field? That might be a few certifications or that might be a PhD. How does that sound to you?
Anybody want to add other things to think about?
This was the first thing on your mind anyway, so let's get it over with. Yes, consider the potential salary range of the field you want to go into. Monster and JobVent both have decent salary estimators, and there are a million more out on the web. Understand that the salaries you see will be your target salaries, not necessarily your starting salaries.
Monster
JobVent
2. Demand
Let me say this again. DEMAND DEMAND DEMAND DEMAND.
Take into consideration how easy it will be to break into your chosen field. You want to be an SAP module configurer? Great, you have it made. You want to be a marketing manager? You've got serious competition. If you want to go into a highly saturated field, spend some time thinking about how long you're willing to be on the job search, what you'd do in the meantime, and what your backup plan would be in case you need one.
3. Love of the work
No matter how great the salary and benefits are, if you don't enjoy what you're doing, the perks won't be worth it in the long run. Choose work you like, or can at least tolerate. If you absolutely intend to do something you don't enjoy just so you can make bank for a while, decide how long you can and will do it, and what you would do afterwards. It's too easy to get sucked into staying somewhere you abhor once you get used to the $$, and life's too short to really be worth it.
4. Location
Is your dream job available (keeping in mind demand) in the area you want to live? If not, are you willing to relocate? Is the work available in an area you would relocate to?
5. Career path
So you've picked your ideal job. How do you get there? Where do you go from there? When you've got a job in mind, it's only a stop on the way to retirement. You're most likely going to hold other jobs as you work your way up, and you may move into new jobs afterwards. Figured out the career path yet? Then apply the salary, demand, etc. to those other stops and see if they fit the life you want to live.
6. Education
Are you able to learn what you need to know, and can you stay interested while you're learning it? Education is very different from the work itself a lot of the time, so this isn't a primary consideration but it is something to think about. Bear in mind, a degree in a particular field usually doesn't guarantee you work in that field. Also, what post-graduate education might you want to get to get further in your field? That might be a few certifications or that might be a PhD. How does that sound to you?
Anybody want to add other things to think about?
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