YOUR FOCUS ON CAREERS

Dont always look for the easy options as they might not
take you very far

Presented at the 2014 TMTF Seminar

Philipe Ombugu
When choosing a career, choose a career that you have an
interest in:

You can become successful in any career depending on how
committed you are to that career
Study the path that successful people followed and align
your career path to theirs. However, you should not choose
a career based on the financial gains as payments fluctuate
and you might find yourself disfranchised when money is not
good.
The most important aspect is how relevant the career is as
industry needs keep changing, making some careers
obsolete. Changes bring new opportunities.
You should therefore keep abreast of what is happening so
as to remain relevant.
Dont always look for easy options as they might not take
you very far unlike the demanding and intense careers.

Sources of career information

Career counselors
Job placement offices
Teachers, parents and friends
Tertiary institutions
Career magazines, newspaper articles
Career websites
Labour offices
Human resource officers
Job description pullouts



Factors to consider when choosing a tertiary
institution

Location and physical appearance
Academic performance over time
Link with professional bodies
Academic qualifications of tutors
Grapevine talk about the institution
Admission criteria
Accessibility of relevant information by
stakeholders
Quality of marketing materials e.g. brochures



Factors to consider when choosing a career

Career choice is one of the most important decisions
you would want to make in life. Most students, while in
high school, colleges; would want to work in the health
industry, engineering, entertainment, education.
However, they know very little about the industries.

Even though you may have motivating reasons for
wanting to work in a certain industry, perhaps it is
important to remember the following:
Self-employment-if formal job isnt available
Marketability
Academic ability
Realistic
Talent

The keyword is SMART


Virtues and skills to take you places

Employers arent interested in grade A students. They
look beyond academic grades when hiring. Your good
grades could only earn you an opportunity for an
interview but not a job.

Top academic performance alone isnt enough for career
success. You need Emotional intelligence, Moral
intelligence and Body intelligence.

The following are however very critical to remember:

Time management
Good grooming
Problem solving
Creativity
Critical thinking
Decision-making



Making choices

Many students find it hard to make career choices either because
they are not sure what awaits them, or because they have no
exposure at all regarding available careers.

Deciding on a career is a hard choice. It depends on a journey
walked in thought, insight, advice, counsel and hope.

One needs tangible examples of career successes in order to easily
make a choice, but first; he/she must have interest and the
ability to pursue that career. This is because many people today
are merely after jobs and not careers because a career is a life-
long commitment to your dreams and aspirations. Many rarely
arrive at this..

In hard choices, really one alternative is better than the other.
Some people have ended up in careers because of fear of
joblessness in their actual choices of a career. It is in hard choices
that we create power to reason for ourselves.
You must not be a drifter: drifters let circumstances determine
their future



Your guide in career choice

What do you want to make happen?

Learners are often attracted to what brings pleasure. What
are you moving towards?

What are you avoiding in life?

As you make a career choice, remember:

there are those who make things happen
Those who watch and criticize what happens
Those for whom life just passes

Tertiary institutions to propel your career

Kisumu polytechnic
Ramogi Institute of Advanced Technology (RIAT)
Siaya Institute of Technology
Rift Valley Institute of Science & Technology
Kiambu Institute of Science & Technology
Mawego technical institute
Gusii institute of technology
Nairobi technical institute
Thika technical institute



Isaiah 25:1,4