This can be quite obvious to some, but it is imperative that we actually know what a job involves before launching into it. If the research done doesn’t have a whole lot of depth, it may cause you ramifications down the track. You might have to do some backtracking and retrain into something else some years later, hopefully not making the same mistake.

So how do we start this research? How long should I take in doing it and what should I do?  It does make sense to talk to people already in established careers.

Let’s say you have short listed your career list to 3 careers that you may be looking at:

1. Police Officer
2. Fire Fighter
3. Computer Programmer

The smart thing would be to firstly go to your local police station and discuss with the officers there what their career is like day in day out. Make sure you ask appropriate questions for your interests. You may be concerned about a particular area or you may be skeptical about some areas of the job. You may even want to know what the pay is.

The questions should centre on your needs. What is important to you? What are your concerns?

Selections of questions you may wish to ask the officer are:

1. How dangerous is the job?
2. What kind of training/courses is initially involved?
3. What is a typical day like?
4. What is the environment like around other officers?
5. Is it team based job or an individual job?
6. What are my career advancement options for long term?
7. What are the working hours?
8. Where will I get stationed after my course/training?
9. What is the pay rates?
10. How fit do I have to be?

Obviously these questions can cater to your own requirements and concerns.

You may think that the above questions are silly given the fact that most people have an indication of what police officers do. However, looking at the obvious isn’t very intelligent. This is because there is a lot more to any career than people realise off first hand. It is beneficial to you to dig a little deeper not to just look at the surface.

Things you may not know about a career as a police officer: 

A Police career may lead you to forensics (having more of a science slant), Investigations (using more thought processes to work out puzzles) or dog handler (for those who like to work with animals). Thus, as you can see there can be different avenues to pursue and this is something you have to ask a person who is experienced within the field. As you can see, It pays to look at the big picture.
My tip here is to get as many questions as you can and write them down, so when you ask the person involved, that you can cross check between careers that you think may be right for you.  This way you can compare the pros and cons between your three shortlisted careers in police officer, firefighter and computer programmer.

For more information, Click Here to visit Youth Into Action and check out their Career E-Book!