As the old saying goes, “The Choices makes the man” life is full of choices. In our academic life for instance, a person is given the choice about which career to take up, normally during their college years. With so many options to choose from, a person might become confused and overwhelmed.

Education influences Career Choices

Education, in general, is important in equipping a person to fulfill the dreams that they have. It is the thing which will mold a person to become successful one day. Choosing the right career will determine the future that a person might have. Basically, the journey of making a choice about a professional career starts with career development.

What is Career Development?

Career development is generally a long and engaging process in choosing the right option amongst the many employment opportunities available to a person. People who undertake career development are actually influenced by a lot of factors. It is the combination of educational, economic, physical, social as well as psychological factors that can influence the nature of work during the life of an individual. Each person will experience some, or even all, of these influential factors as they go through the process of deciding which career option to choose.

What are the Factors which Influences Career Choice?

Generally, the factors which influence career choice can be intrinsic or extrinsic in nature. There are a lot of influencing factors that may decide the career that you choose. Some may choose a career path favored by parents. Others might follow their passion, while others opt for educational choices that leave many doors open to them in the future.

The following are the factors which commonly influence career choice:

• Family history

When a person is born into a family of doctors, it is more likely that the person will also follow in their parents’ footsteps and decide to become a doctor. The family members will have given a factual view of their career and this reliable information can help the person in deciding if such a career is the one for them.

• Personality and interest

There is actually a test available that matches your personality and interests with possible careers based on those. This test can be taken by anybody who wishes to and it follows a theory of a classification system which matches the personality preference and characteristics to the characteristic of a job which may be suitable for you.

• Gender

Gender is also a factor which can be an influence, as either a barrier or an opportunity. Some career options that provide better opportunities for men or women, and some are good for both.

• Culture

Another factor is culture, which shapes the expectations and values of a person in relation to the career and job that a person might choose. One might not generally attribute the entire culture that a person has to the choice of career that a person makes. However, sometimes only through culture can it be understood why a person makes a particular career choice.

Other factors include:

• Previous experience

• Childhood fantasies

• Abilities and skills

• Life roles

About the Author: Amanda is a freelancer writer who has experience writing on the topics of career, finance, and business. Amanda loves reading about business including books like Wild West 2.0 by Michael Fertik . You can always find Amanda writing on something business related.