insights How do I choose a career path if I don't know what to do?

It’s only natural when you’re either in school or university to be thinking ahead about what your future career has in store for you. After all, your educational choices can help shape what’s immediately available to you after finishing secondary school or graduating from university.

You might be thinking “Is it normal to not know what career you want?” and the answer here is absolutely.

According to the Institute of Student Employers, 72% of young people pursue careers in a particular field because they feel like their passions and skills align with it, however, how do you find your passion in the first place?

When there’s a myriad of options out there, it can get overwhelming knowing what will fuel your passions and interests in the long run. We’ve put together a guide on how to choose a career so you can factor our advice into your next step on the career ladder.

How to choose a career

Below, are six areas to consider when either planning out your career or helping choose a career for young people so that they can make informed decisions. 

Conducting a self-assessment

If you’re close to finishing secondary school, you might be in the stages of choosing either university, an apprenticeship, or going straight into the world of work. If you’re considering university, you’ll want to look into college courses or A-Levels that fit in line with your passions and interests.

Likewise, if you’re an undergraduate, you could be weighing up whether to do a Masters degree, search for specific graduate schemes, or begin working in a different role.

One thing you could consider is a self-assessment of your existing skills, passions, and interests.

You can take career and personality tests online to determine the types of areas that would suit you best. Make sure to reflect on your hobbies as well as any subjects you really enjoy studying.

Researching career pathways

Explore different industries, fields, and job roles, to broaden your understanding on the paths available to you. Utilise online resources and career websites to learn more about what early careers are offered. Always look to understand the steps you need to take to get into any industries that appeal to you.

Make sure to check out what we offer at AtkinsRéalis for those who join us either on a graduate scheme, apprenticeship, placement, or for work experience, and don’t forget to browse our blog insights too.

Some of our blog content comes from our own graduates, placement students, and apprentices where they share their experiences of joining us, advice, and tips - so you can get guidance from people already working in our programmes.

Seeking guidance

When it comes to seeking guidance on career choices, we’ve broken down some places to start:

• Talking with teachers or lecturers about your options
• Using career mentors - did you know that we have a fantastically useful portal called Connectr? With this, you can view training modules to help you prepare for the world of work, and life at AtkinsRéalis, and pick your very own mentor to communicate with for advice and guidance.
• Attending careers fairs
• Talking with friends and relatives about career choices
• Reaching out to professionals in the field your interested in

Gaining experience

There are plenty of ways you can gain solid transferable skills either when you’re at school or at university.

You can pursue creative hobbies to understand where your passions lie, take on part-time or volunteer jobs, research companies to reach out to for work experience, or, if you’re at university, consider either a summer or year in industry placement.

Evaluating your options

Once you’ve conducted a self-assessment, spoken with any mentors or guides, and considered how you can gain transferable skills, you can evaluate your options.

Start by narrowing down some career avenues that pique your interest and weigh up the pros and cons of each option.

Making a decision

Finally, it’s time to make your decision.

Set short-term and long-term goals for yourself to get you where you want to go. Review your list of options, the information you gained from your self-assessment and consulting with career mentors and start preparing your CV or applications for work experience or placements.

If you’re keen on pursuing an apprenticeship or graduate scheme, we have some useful FAQs on each of these to point you in the right direction.

Apprenticeship FAQs

Graduate Scheme FAQs

Placement FAQs

Remember, even though this can be an overwhelming decision to make, it doesn’t have to be final - there’s always the opportunity to change your career path.

Changing career paths

At AtkinsRéalis, we’ve had the experience of working with young professionals who have pivoted in their careers.

Take Caleb for example, a tough job market led him to pivot from civil engineering to health, safety, and environment (HSE) as an HSE Consultant here.

With the supportive environment of our colleagues, Caleb has been able to significantly enhance his professional growth.

To reiterate our previous point, don’t worry too much when you start a career, there are always resources and opportunities to pivot like Caleb did. 

Shape your future career with AtkinsRéalis

No matter what stage of your early career you’re in, we’ve got a multitude of resources to help inform your decisions.

Browse our parent & teacher zone if you’re looking to motivate young people to find their perfect career, or look at our open roles today.