It’s Okay to Go Gray- Making Career Decisions in a Black and White World
While coaching a young man this week that had returned home from college with a degree but with no promising job prospects, I realized that is it much easier to point people towards traditional career paths through traditional educational channels than to take them into a “gray” zone.
Becoming a teacher (although this is not what he had completed a degree in college for) was one of the career routes, among others, that was a possibility after talking with him and reviewing his career assessment results.
I found myself, whether best or not for this young man, wanting to point him down this path because I could concretely tell him how to get there. Get a teaching certificate, student teach, apply with school systems. I could tell him what educational avenues to pursue to get a teaching certificate and what would make him marketable to school systems.
The other few potential avenues for him, not so black and white. In fact, they would require much more exploration, planning and effort on his part. But would these routes make him happier and more “successful”?
In a guest post on UnCollege’s blog this week, I highlight how to define successful career. Defining success is very personal and oftentimes takes people down very gray pathways.
UnCollege has realized that traditional avenues of education beyond high school may not be the best for everyone inhelping to achieve success. Their unique approach focuses on what the founder Dale Stephens says are, “the real requirements” for success: “curiosity, confidence, and grit.” They have created a “gap year” to help people hone these requirements for success via an untraditional or gray channel.
Don’t choose a career just because its easy to map a course to get there
In making wise career decisions, you need know your talents, passions and values, and then create a game plan to chart your own course to get there.This may be through black and white channels or it may take you down the gray road. Regardless of the path it takes you to get there, we’ll be offering up success tools for the next several weeks to help you create your own plan and chart your own course to success.
Did you choose or are you tempted to choose a career because the path to get there is or was clearly defined? If so, do you wish you’d thought in gray instead of black and white or do you need help creating a game plan for your gray zone?
