However, that doesn’t mean that these people don’t experience stress. There are still deadlines to meet, schedules to keep, customers to contend with and satisfy and bills to pay. But when a person loves what they do for a living at least the work is rewarding and fulfilling. It is this that puts a whole different slant on the day-to-day pressures and makes them more bearable.

So, how do you find this great job that you can love? It is easy, and it is difficult, at the same time. A good career counselor, available through schools, colleges and universities can help tremendously by guiding you through tests aimed at discerning your interests and aptitudes. However, if you don’t have access to such services, or just don’t have the time or inclination for them, there are some things you can do on your own to get started.

Getting started

First, you will need to perform a self-assessment. This is not as difficult or complicated, as it may sound. All you really need to do to start is ask yourself two things - what do I do well and what do I that energizes and excites me? Listen to what other people have told you about what they think you are particularly good at. Also listen to your self, your gut. It is seldom wrong.

Your action plan

Next, you need to translate this information into an action plan. The main question here is how do I get people to pay me to do what I love to do? In order to do this you will need to assess the practical skills you now have. These are not just job related skills, but also skills you learned from all aspects of your life. Ask yourself what skills you learned in school, on the different jobs you have had, in your hobbies and in the various roles you have played, such as parent for example. Write these all down. Underline the skills you particularly enjoy using. You also need to consider your values and character. If you think you would like to be a reporter, but are shy by nature it probably is not a good choice for you. But related careers might be.

Once you have all the skills you can possibly think of written down make another list using only those you underlined. Now the question becomes what kind of job requires the skills I most enjoy using? Dictionaries of occupations, available at employment services offices and school career centers will help you find a list of occupations that require those skills. Some of these are available on line and all you need to do is fill in a form to get a list of occupations you can print out.

After you have your list of possible occupations, you need to do some research on the ones that strike you as most interesting. Again, dictionaries of occupations will give you some basic information on the entrance requirements, working conditions and duties among other things. In order to get more detailed information you will need to access local labor market information on the web. State and Provincial governments make this information available for their local areas. Here you will especially find information on the demand for the occupations that interest you.

After narrowing down your list of possible occupations to a few, talk to those already in the field to learn from their experience. Informational interviews like these not only help you learn from someone else’s experience, they can lead job interviews for you. Those in the working in the field that interests you can best tell you the pros and cons and how to get a foot in the door.

At this point you should have a very good idea of what occupation you think you would love. If necessary, get any training, education or experience that you need to get in the door, and good luck. Remember what Dr. Seuss said: “Your brains in your head. Your feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”