Career Planning- More important now than ever

. 2 min read

By Distinguished Professor Robert M. Donnelly Technology is automating jobs out of existence and in combination with AI-infused advancements and robotics, is disrupting one industry after another, displacing humans at an accelerating pace in the process. It is imperative that everyone needs to evaluate how they are going to survive in the new world of work as the old concept of job security is evaporating before their eyes. People have to begin planning for the balance of their careers if they expect to be able to continue working. Historically, most people were conditioned to expect that someone else would take care of them i.e. Mom and Dad when they were children and while getting educated, and then some companies during their work years, concluding with the government in their lives after work in retirement. It’s become very apparent today that you are going to have to take care of yourself for the future. This is a dilemma for many because they have never developed a career plan. It’s really amazing that so many people have never given thought to first of all what they want to achieve in the 35+ years they will be working, nor how they are going to be able to live for about another 35+ years in their life after work? The most planning that people do is for where they are going on vacation each year. They plan for everyday and how much it is going to cost each day. However, they do not apply the same level of planning for their work life and retirement. It’s a fact that most Americans do very little financial planning and live from paycheck-to-paycheck. Many senior citizens barely survive on social security and as expenses continue to rise the remaining years of their lives become more dismal. The process of career planning begins with determining what you want to be. If you don’t know then you cannot be it. Upon graduating every student wants a job, any job. They get a job and then shortly thereafter they do not like the job, don’t want to go there, and want to leave as fast as they can to get another job where they have the same experience. So many have a life of jobs, are unfulfilled in their careers, and financially insecure. It’s a fact that those who are doing what they do best and enjoy the most are more fulfilled and financially secure, than those who do not. Everyone needs to take an aptitude test to determine their unique skill set. They also need to take a personality profile exam to understand who they are, and more importantly to be able to recognize the personality characteristics of everyone they have to deal with personally, as well as professionally. Success in life is about “getting along” in society. Getting along with your peers, superiors, and subordinates at work, and getting along socially with everyone else in your life. Those that can master these traits are more successful than those who cannot.