Whatever career (or backup career) you decide is right for you, there's likely a course at TAFE NSW that can help you achieve your goals

Unsure of what's the right job for you? Pondering the following should help clarify what kind of career you should pursue.

1. What do you want out of your work?

Do you want to make lots of money? Become famous? Help others? Create something? Be honest with yourself about what your desires are then realistically appraise the likelihood of satisfying them in the career you're thinking about pursuing.

2. Are you willing to pay the price of entry?

Trade careers are relatively high-paying jobs, but it involves three or four years of living on a modest wage and not having a lot of time free for anything other than work or study. Likewise, all worthwhile jobs require you to make sacrifices in terms of committing to training and possibly earning very little while establishing yourself. Make sure you have an accurate idea of the challenges you'll face breaking into an occupation and, once again, be honest with yourself about whether you're up for doing what's necessary.

3. How hard do you want to fight?

The harsh reality of the labour market is that the more desirable a job is, the harder it's going to be for you to get it. So, for example, even if you've decided that being an actor would satisfy your desire to be creative and that you're willing to be a penniless drama student for several years, you also need to ponder whether you're willing to spend the rest of your working life furiously competing in a flooded labour market for scarce, insecure and often poorly paid acting jobs.

If you're willing to take your chances trying to make it into a glamour profession, it's often a good idea to also put some effort into training for a good ‘day job'. (Did you know Harrison Ford worked as a carpenter while waiting for his big break in Hollywood?)

Whatever career (or backup career) you decide is right for you, there's likely a course at TAFE NSW that can help you achieve your goals.