Choosing a Field of Study to Match Your Personality
You are faced with making choices for yourself on a daily basis. What clothes do you wear? Which car do you drive? What kinds of hobbies do you have? Which clubs do you join? The decisions you make reflect who you are and how you represent yourself to the world. “The choice is yours and yours alone.” In the case of your education, the choice, literally, is yours.Believe it or not, all of these decisions you make about yourself can affect the choice you make when deciding on a field of study to pursue.
John L. Holland came up with a theory: if individuals’ personality and the work environment of their job are congruent, the more satisfied and successful they will be. This makes a lot of sense. If you are artistically oriented, for example, then you would be more likely to be happy in the arts, theater, journalism, music, or something else within a creative environment. You would probably not find yourself happy in an accounting job crunching numbers. If you are not happy, how can you expect yourself to feel satisfied and therefore successful?
It is important for you to have a sense of self-awareness when making decisions for yourself. This may seem like a very difficult and in-depth journey to take, but don’t be afraid to take the time to really think about you. Are you extroverted or introverted? Are you social and enjoy meeting new people or do you prefer to keep to yourself? If you are shy, then customer service, for example, would be a bad field of study and therefore unsatisfying career choice. Think about your hobbies. They aren’t just an outlet for how you have fun but an echo of your personality.
Your perfect career may be hidden within the very hobbies you enjoy so much! Do you like to solve problems and do crossword puzzles? Perhaps a career in engineering or law would be a match for you. Do you enjoy working with your hands? You could find happiness in becoming an architect or mechanic. If you can’t imagine living anywhere other than the beach, enjoying the ocean on a daily basis, then a career in oceanography or marine biology would be right up your alley! Who says you can’t major in your hobby? Talk about having your cake and eating it, too (maybe a pastry chef is in your future!).
When the time comes to look internally at yourself to decide which path of education is best for you, know that there are external means in assisting you with your decision as well. Brighton College is an example of such support. Each student enrolled in Brighton receives a ProScan and Motivation Review. What does this mean?! It is a behavioral assessment that contributes in helping you to realize your strengths and personal tools that are within you. This behavior assessment will guide you to incorporate the tools within you to be in the right mind set when considering and choosing your field of study. Brighton believes very much in the success of their students. What better way to succeed than to pursue a career that you enjoy and can find personal satisfaction? It all starts with the right field of study. Just as the old adage says, “Choose a job you’ll love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
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