Choosing a career path may lead us to find our interest or passion in an area other than that which we initially  choose. The early career pathway can lead us to a more viable choice that is more aligned with our passion that becomes clear through our increased maturity and experience.

Career Preparation

The preparation for careers may be attained by following different pathways. Many professions require college degrees in order to qualify for entry into professional life. Examples include becoming a medical doctor, an attorney, an engineer, a teacher, and others. Other professions may require specific training regimens such as trade apprenticeships. Commercial pilot professionals are required to attain specific licensing requirements predicated on types of aircraft that are flown, as well as attaining flight experience by building flight hours.

I began a flying career by attending college, receiving my private pilot license through the Air Force ROTC program and entering the Air Force as a pilot training student. After almost a decade of flying experience, I left the world of aviation due to a hearing loss and inability to carry the Class 1 physical required for airline pilots. I entered the electronics industry and became a national sales manager for an electronics manufacturing company. All of my training in electronics was OJT (on the job training).

In order to progress in a career, training never ceases. Accepting that fact can be viewed as a necessity for professional survival or it can be viewed as an ongoing adventure. In either case, lifelong education not only supports our career pathway, but enriches us with the satisfaction of a lifetime of personal growth.

Build a career plan

When we make a career pathway choice, we have chosen our pathway because we envision a purpose that fulfills our vision for how we choose to proceed through our work life. In order to pursue that purpose, we must create a career plan. What do we need to develop in terms of skills and knowledge to be successful? What are the steps required to gain those skills? What credentials are needed for us to enter our chosen career pathway? By creating clarity with regard to what is required for us to pursue our chosen career, we can develop expected time frames for reaching each step in our career development preparation. As our career plan develops, we can assess what specific parameters are needed in order to measure our progress. Throughout our career development, we will have created clarity with regard to purpose, planning and progress.

Bumps in the career pathway

Our career pathway is filled with decision points that we will encounter that will challenge us. Flexibility is a very important characteristic in the pursuit of career pathways. It is a fundamental truth that career pathways possess twists and turns that we cannot envision in the early stages of our journey. Our career “field” may present stumps or other obstacles for which we must create alternative routes. In some cases, we must “plow around the stumps” or move to another field. Our flexibility with regard to our career path is strengthened when we realize and accept that, when one pathway is blocked, we can find another pathway that will allow us to move forward in our career life.

Our career in retrospect

Having experienced career pathway highs and lows, I find that, in retirement, my career was an adventure from its start to its finish. In fact, in retirement, I am finding that the availability of time creates a pathway for providing assistance to my family, friends and community due, in part, to my career high and low points. I have learned to “plow around the stumps”, change fields and continue to experience personal growth.  The career pathway has become a pathway to satisfaction with life and continued excitement for the future.