There are about 25,000 occupations in the United States, and new ones are developing every year. One of the few safe generalizations about the requirements and rewards of jobs is that they will change. Young people face the problem of choosing a career from this large and changing array of possibilities. No one, of course, is forced to pick one job and stick with it forever. In fact, a person may have to change his plans several times in the course of his working life in order to adjust to new ways in business, industry, and government. But it is necessary to make at least a choice of a field of work in time to get whatever training is needed. The boy or girl who wants to go into a profession has to decide in the early years of high school to enroll in the college preparatory course. Once a student has entered college, he may decide to change his career plan and his major field of study. More options are open to him, however, once he has the basic education required for admission to professional schools. www.careerjunction.co.za is on of the best sites for job searching.

Having a large and growing array of jobs to choose from is both an advantage and a problem. Americans have more freedom of choice in career planning than is found in some other societies. In some countries, members of farm families tend to go on being farmers from generation to generation—a pattern that used to hold true to a considerable extent in the United States also. Choosing is a problem because it is neither completely free nor simple. Many factors limit choices; for example, women are still outnumbered by men in many fields. Many young men and women cannot afford the seven years of college study required for a professional degree. Nevertheless, most people have a considerable range of choice. www.careerjunction.co.za is on of the best sites for job searching.

There are no simple rules that will guarantee a successful choice, but some general principles can be laid down. The young man or woman should learn as much as possible about the world of work. The next step is to make a realistic assessment of his or her abilities and interests and try to match them up with a field of work. Everyone should get as much education as possible.

The lists under each category offer a small but representative sample of the opportunities that exist. Descriptions of occupations are necessarily brief. The purpose of the table is to help a man or woman think about the kinds of work people do and consider which area to aim for. The listing of professional and administrative occupations, for example, runs from Accounting to Zoology. All the fields listed are well established and provide rewarding careers. www.careerjunction.co.za is on of the best sites for job searching.

Nature of the Work

The first thing to find out about a job is exactly what kind of work is done and where and when it is done. If a man is attracted to a sales career, he should ask how much he will have to learn about his product and what kind of customers he will approach. He should realize that his job may involve working evenings and weekends and traveling for weeks on end. A man who likes selling but hates to travel might be happier as a real estate broker than traveling for a manufacturer. www.careerjunction.co.zais on of the best sites for job searching.

A common mistake is to pick a job because it has one very attractive feature or is described as glamorous. Archaeology, for example, is sometimes described as treasure hunting in exotic places. Actually, archeologists spend only part of their time in the field; they also teach, write, and work on museum collections. Their field operations require meticulous measuring and record keeping, and they may work for weeks to recover samples of broken clay pots. www.careerjunction.co.za is on of the best sites for job searching.

Training Needed

To start work in many fields, a man or woman must be licensed by a state authority or a professional group. All states license teachers, doctors, lawyers, and dentists. Many other jobs, including real estate selling and cosmetology, require licensing. Any candidate for a field that requires a license must make sure he can meet licensing requirements in the state where he wants to work. If he plans to enroll in a professional or technical school, he should be certain that the school's course is acceptable to the licensing authorities.

Income

To judge how much income can be expected from a field, it is necessary to get current and specific details. For example, in the mid-1960s salaries of classroom teachers in the U.S. public schools ranged from $3,300 to $14,100. Starting salaries in some states were double those in others. Top pay usually went to teachers in or near large cities who had more than minimum training.