Remember when you were six years old and you told your class teacher, “When I grow up, I’d like to be a pilot?” Most people have been led to believe that they should have a perfect answer to the question ‘So, what do you want to be?’, and that this decision should remain constant for the rest of their lives. In this day and age, globalization demands that we be on our toes for the ever increasing changes and there is hardly any room for rigidity. It’s therefore in your best interest to remain flexible and continually explore your options.
Whether you know exactly what you want to do, have some general ideas, or are still figuring things out, it is important to keep in mind the following:

• Your Career might find you before you find it:

Some people just ‘fall’ into careers they may not necessarily have planned for, even after spending much time in planning and research for other careers. That's because as important as planning and research are, chance still plays a role. Keep an open mind and learn to tolerate some degree of uncertainty.

• You encounter new situations that change you:

In the course of your life, you experience situations that change your attitudes, interests, beliefs and values. The six year old that wanted to be a pilot has developed new insights and needs to be able to reorient when necessary. It is o.k. to change your mind.

• The world of work changes over time

In 1992, there were about twenty five websites in the whole wide world! Ten years later, we are talking hundreds of millions of websites. Developments occur so rapidly that the form a career takes now could be very different in a few years. Keep track of your own changing wants while also keeping an eye on the horizon.

• No job will be perfect

There is no such thing as the "perfect" career. Identify the elements of what would be the ideal path for you, and then make conscious choices about where you're willing to compromise. Be open to the fact that you will make more compromises along the way.

• Satisfaction, not status, is key

Many people feel pulled to a field that's familiar, popular, or high status. You'll be much happier and far more successful if you find something that relates to your own interests and strengths. Qualities that you take for granted can be valuable assets in many career fields.

Remember, it is o.k. to change your mind to fit in with current events surrounding you. That pilot who has been certain since he was six that he was going to be a pilot rarely exists. In reality, very few people know at a young age what they want to do or be. You have time to get to know yourself and find careers that fit.