“Life in the fast lane Surely make you lose your mind” - The Eagles
If you’ve been working for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve had the thought “How did I wind up in this job?”. Not all of us wind up where we had planned at the beginning of our careers. And, if you are reading this article, then you are probably contemplating your next move or hoping to land a job if you are out of work. It is never too late to re-think your career, but if you are going to take the plunge and completely change what you are doing, you really need to be prepared. There are degrees of commitment to changing careers. Maybe you don’t want to switch from being a concert promoter to a Monk, but even if you just want to change slightly you should do your homework. Today’s post focuses on finding the best jobs.
- 10 Steps to a Successful Career Change – The first thing you will want to do if you are making a career change is to make a plan. This article, from About.com, provides (you guessed it) 10 steps that you should consider before you make that change. From “Evaluate your current job satisfaction” to “Consider alternative roles”, the article provides some basic tips on where to start and what to consider. There are related articles on career change at the bottom of the page that are also worth a read.
- High Paying Careers – Now I don’t want to say that you are just in it for the money, but we all have to eat and why not eat well? While money shouldn’t drive your choice of career, it is certainly a consideration for most of us. This article, from money-zine.com, provides a whole bunch of lists with the career choice and average salary. The article shows a few lists like the “top 10″ and “Highest Paying Jobs in IT”. What about your current job? Don’t forget to take a look at Worth Your Weight in Gold? Know Your Bottom Line and “You Want to Pay me What?“.
- The Ten Worst Jobs in America – Your quest for a new career is not complete if you don’t take a look at the worst jobs as well. Now everything is relative (as Paul Simon would say “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor”), so while you may have a different view, you should still take a look at this list (and apologies if your job is on the list). CNBC.com provides this list, which is a series of pictures with brief descriptions of what make these the worst jobs.
- The Ten Best Jobs in America 2010 – I’m sure you knew where this was headed and I couldn’t simply list the worst without listing the best as well. As luck would have it, CNBC.com also has a list of the best jobs (in the same format as the worst jobs). An interesting list, as as you would expect, Health Care and Accountants appear on the list. Now one that really surprised me was Historian. In addition to brief overviews, the article also provides the median salary.
- 10 Tips to Fast Track Your Career – Can’t end the post without the “fast track” part. This list is provided by Careerrocketeer.com and provides some advise on how you can move to the top of the heap by following some time tested advise. From “build and manage your network lovingly” to “Create a powerful brand online”, this article is worth a read. While you are there, don’t forget to view some of the other career related aspects of the site. Featured article links are on the right hand side of the page and related articles are at the bottom of the page. Also take a look at the Rocket List, which provides links to related sites.
Good luck in your search.
