Why You Should Experience a Career Before You Commit to It

On a recent tour of Israel the group with which I was traveling had the opportunity to participate in an archaeological dig. We spent about an hour or so sifting through trays of dirt looking for ancient pottery, bone, coins and pieces of mosaic. There were 71 of us, of all different ages, and our opinions of this task varied as you might well imagine. On the whole we found the project interesting, but some of us found it more (or less) interesting than others did. Personally, I couldn't imagine doing this for more than the hour we spent there. I admit that my interest varied depending on whether or not I found something of value in my tray. I sifted through two trays — one contained several pieces of pottery, two pieces of mosaic and some bone, but the other contained only dirt. I tried to imagine myself doing this day in and day out, sometimes discovering valuable artifacts but sometimes spending hours, days or even months finding nothing at all. I was happy to leave when we did, but several of my travel companions were reluctant to go.

Given my background in career planning, I couldn't help but look at this from that angle. I asked myself the question, "Would I want to be an archaeologist?" My answer was "no" but I know many of my fellow travelers felt differently. While I know it would be foolish to make a career choice based on one one-hour experience, I know that many people move forward with their career plans with even less to go on than that.

If you are currently in the process of making a career choice I urge you to get out there and spend some time working in that field, either through an internship or some other type of work/study opportunity. Researching an occupation by reading about it or even talking to people working in that field is a good start, but it isn't enough. Just because something looks good on paper doesn't mean it's right for you.

More About Internships:
Should You Do An Internship?
Internships for Career Changers