The picture above is that of 20 years old Kalengo kamwendo from Zambia. He is the youngest commercial pilot in Zambia as of the year 2013. He took up an interest in the aviation industry whilst in grade 10 at school. He got his career right at an early age and today, he is the best for it but it is unfortunate the same cannot be said of many youths in our society today. You can read more about him on the internet.

Our world is filled with many disoriented and unfulfilled individuals who are daily struggling to make ends meet. Even for some who had riches and wealth at their disposal, there seems to be a vacuum or this feeling of lack of fulfillment within their heart. Out of the billions of humans that exist on planet earth, research has shown that only a small percentage enjoys their daily work or career across the globe. The majority don’t seem to find fulfillment in what they do for a living. Though several factors account for this, the major one, however, is centered on the choice of their career made many years earlier. Making a fulfilling career choice either as a youth or adult goes a long way in affecting everything within and around your life, and that is why utmost attention must be given to how you are making your career choice.

Briefly explained below are germane reasons why you must get your choice of career right at a young age.

  1. You can easily switch your career with ease and practice it for long. I know a woman who started her first job during her early 20s. She worked with a pharmaceutical company for about 20 years, then resigned and took up a job in another organization, she has spent almost 10 years again in this current organization, and yet she is still in her early 50s. You can call it luck, but the truth is when you get your career right at an early age and make effort to pursue it with utmost focus, you would reap the benefits of practicing such a career for long or switching to another if you so desire. For those who are doing trial and error, the story may not be the same as they may discover too late at an old age that they have been wasting their time in a frustrating profession. I am yet to see a professional footballer or athlete who enrolls at a football academy at the age of 45 or 50. Even if the talent is there, no one will take him seriously. Find out where you belong on time and start working at it.

 

  1. Your career choice affects your overall well-being. When you get your choice of career right especially at a young age, it will reflect in your health and you tend to live long. There are millions across our country who wake up every Monday morning with thoughts of disdain just because they don’t find fulfillment in their work. They can’t wait for Friday to arrive. They cannot easily quit too because, at an old age, they already have several responsibilities to take care of. This no doubt, will not give them the much-needed peace of mind they deserve. And when there is no peace of mind, sooner or later the body will succumb to all manner of disease as the immune system will ultimately break down. This, however, shortens their life spans. There are, however, few people who enjoy their work despite the fact that the salary involved is very small. Even when the job functions are enormous, they keep doing their duty with smiles and utmost dedication. I remember the two times I have taught in a secondary and primary school in time past, I always looked forward to a great time with my students every day despite their annoying tendencies sometimes. In fact, some of them are still my friends today on social media after almost a decade we have known and parted with each other physically. Even in my local assembly where I volunteer to teach teenagers and youths, the experience is the same. I naturally derive joy when teaching young people or whenever am in their midst. Being in their midst stimulates my creativity and gives me a sense of fulfillment. The same may not be said of some teachers who probably were not designed for teaching or coaching young people. However, I have since discovered am more of a trainer or coach as I detest marking scripts or writing lesson notes a lot. My only concern is just to impart knowledge to my students through presentations and this I do with every energy and dedication I have got. Sometimes, I forget I have not eaten when I am in their midst…

 

  1. Your career choice determines your level of fulfillment in life. Related to the point above is your level of fulfillment. Fulfillment for everyone is defined in terms of different values. Some people choose their careers based on certain values which may include the status of those practicing the profession, e.g. how lawyers and medical doctors are respected within the society. For some, it is the lucrativeness of the profession, for others, it is the level of impact they think they can make through such a career like the case of a medical doctor who daily saves lives. Others might pick a profession because of the availability of time such career affords. Whatever might be your values when choosing a particular career, you must know that if you get it right at a young age, it goes a long way to give you that much-needed ‘sense of fulfillment that will always radiate in your entire being. Finding yourself in a wrong career will not only kill your self-esteem and give you frustrations but will also affect your general conduct and outlook towards life.

 

  1. It affects your wealth status in life and within society. Think of some celebrities in our society within the entertainment, sport, and religious circles, you would agree with me that their choice of career or profession gave them access to massive wealth and opportunities. Though I strongly believe that every field of study has the capacity or potential of generating wealth if you know how to innovate or bring up quality ideas, develop a product or service and reach enough people who need it but certain professions have the capability to make you a wealthy individual in no time especially if the environment is in need of your product or services. Besides, you cannot practice every career, you need to discover where you belong. Think of footballers trading their talents in the United Kingdom and how much their wages are on a weekly basis. That is not to say that every footballer is wealthy. Their counterparts in Nigeria cannot be said to be enjoying the same status, no wonder many of them want to do everything within their power to travel out to go look for greener pastures. The politicians in Nigeria are one of the best-paid politicians in the world. No wonder, most of our political figures who have no business being in politics or governance want to make a career out of politics simply because of the wealth it affords and not the service it entails. Some careers also have the potential of opening doors for those who engage in them in the corridors of power with ease.

 

  1. It could determine your level and nature of positive impacts within the society. In reality, certain careers or professions have the potentials of making more positive impacts than others. Though, in a way, every legitimate profession is making an impact one way or the other in our society. Think of a nursery or primary school teacher who is molding characters in our young pupils every day or a farmer who is feeding the nation through agricultural products or a lawyer defending an accused or a convict from a perceived wrong judgment in the court of law, fire-brigade men who specialized in rescuing lives and property from an inferno or is it a medical doctor who daily treats a diseased or sick individual from giving up the ghost­­­­­­? How about the clergymen in our religious circles who make an effort to build a nation of godly men and women? Like I said earlier, every career or profession plays one crucial role or the other within the society but the truth is, some are more critical to the survival of any nation than the others.

 

  1. It could determine the location where you will find yourself in the future. Your choice of career can relocate you from one place to the other thereby having either a positive or negative impact on your immediate family. Some individuals have relocated to foreign lands in the course of engaging in a particular profession and have had to leave family and friends behind due to the nature of the career. Some families have disintegrated because of this. Think of a pilot who flies a plane from one country to the other or a soldier posted to the battlefield in times of war or internal crisis without seeing his family for weeks or months respectively, such would definitely be missed by friends and loves ones. Interestingly, some relatives of these professionals seem to understand the sacrifices the husband or father is paying and have learned to adjust while for some, the story is not a palatable one.

 

Discovering one’s future career as a teenager or youth is something you must take seriously as time really is not on your side my friend. Besides, you tend to enjoy those benefits above at the right time and for a long time, unlike someone who discovers his or her career at an old age like 40 or 50 years. Instead of pretending or deceiving yourself that there is still plenty of time, I advise you to take a look at many people within the society who refused to make hay while the sun was shining. Find where you belong in the “market square of life” on time and start trading with your talents and skills before it is too late. God did not create you for a life of regret and frustrations. No matter your age, I challenge you to rise up today and pursue your dreams with determination.

 

If you would love to discover your future career, I present to you my bestselling book – “Me and My Future Career” which was written primarily for students in secondary schools, Pre-university candidates (JAMB-UTME, IJMB, JUPEB students, etc.), undergraduate students in tertiary institutions to help them discover their career paths early in life, and secondarily for parents, career counselors, and anyone with a passion for knowledge with pictures to buttress the explanations and many more.

I am currently running a promo for this week. If you buy a copy today, I would give you a copy of the “University Admission Capsule” book for FREE! 

Click here to gain access today

A Book written to aid University Admission Seekers in Gaining Admission with Faster and Easier

HOW TO GAIN UNIVERSITY ADMISSION FASTER AND EASIER

 

 

About the author

Olusegun Akinade

Olusegun Akinade is an author, entrepreneur, blogger, career coach, HSE advocate, public speaker and youth coach per excellence. His first book; "Me and My Future Career" is a bestseller amongst Pre-University students and in secondary schools at large.

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