How to find a job you like: tips and experience

How to find a job to your liking?

2/3 of a day or 11 hours is the average amount of time that, according to researchers, a person devotes to work. It takes into account the main working time, overtime, the road to the office and back. 55 hours a week, 220 hours a month – only half of your life is spent making money. This means that activity should not be a burden, but ideally, it should bring pleasure.

Finding your calling is hard. The work routine absorbs, and there is not enough strength or motivation for this. But if you wondered: ” How to find a job you like ?", Then this article is for you.

Is it too late to change careers?

There is no time frame on this issue. It all depends on motivation, the desire for learning and change. It is better to think about the desired activity before the first employment, while interest, the ability to quickly learn has not yet disappeared.

The importance of a competent approach to choosing the first job:

1. The initial stage is low-paid, but busy. It takes time that could be spent on training and gaining experience in your favorite specialty. The income often doesn't match the effort put in.
2. The first work "absorbs". The thought of a temporary part-time job for 1-2 years ends with 20 years of experience in the chosen field. Then there are reasons (for example, a career prospect or a rethinking of plans) that do not allow you to change your usual activities.
3. Low wages without prospects for career growth deprives the incentive for development, entails a breakdown, moods ̶ an unfavorable atmosphere for finding your favorite business. But in some cases, the situation, on the contrary, motivates to change.

How do you know what kind of work you like?

An important step in choosing a job is introspection: to understand your own desires, prospects and abilities.

Start with your own hobbies. Analyze if they can be monetized. For example, a love of writing texts can be realized in copywriting, an interest in cars in blogging, an ability in confectionery art in a personal business.

Consider the factors that prevented you from doing the activity before. For example, condemnation of others, lack of appropriate education or skills. If risk is hindered by fear, indecision, it is advisable to read the books: Dan Gardner "Fear", Nathan Gebhart "Road Map", Daniella Laporte "Light the Fire!", Michael Ray "The Highest Goal", Rhonda Byrne "The Secret".

And the main question: “Will people pay for your work?” If the income is lower than expected, are you ready to go for it? You need to prioritize: more important is the level of earnings or pleasure from the work.

How do you decide to change your profession?

A new stage of life needs to be planned. Be prepared that you will have to start a business from scratch, build new business connections, gain experience and master skills. If you decide to start a business, then be prepared to take responsibility for your own success (or failure). You will have to solve problems on your own, make organizational and financial decisions.

Important! At the beginning of a new career path, income is not stable. When working for yourself, you should not count on social guarantees or vacations until you achieve certain results.

How to find a job to your liking? Answer the following questions to determine your desired field of activity:

1. What do I want to do?
2. Where do I want to do it?
3. Why do I want to do this?

To find a profitable niche, rely not on a hobby, but on a problem that you would like to solve. For example, to teach a person what you are well versed in; promote others (small business); bring existing material to perfection.

More about questions

There is no perfect job without stress and problems, but if you like it, then such a routine will be a pleasure. When looking for a niche, a person chooses for himself a “problem to his liking”, something that he is ready to face and what he can solve.

The second question implies the field of activity (cosmetology, construction, design, IT-sphere). Rely on your own interests, knowledge, skills. For example, you can only promote online stores, beauty salons or services.

The third question is values ​​and goals. For a profession to bring pleasure, the benefits must be positive, aimed at the person himself. Bad examples of goals: pay off a loan (mortgage); not be left without food, at home; save your job.

Positive benefit: gain experience, new knowledge; be useful; secure a worthy future; change people's lives. It is necessary to understand in the name of what efforts are made, time is wasted.

Fear that hinders success

Fear is a burden imposed by the mind under the influence of the outside world. It greatly affects life, leaving dreams unfulfilled and goals unattainable. Under fear of condemnation, failure and change, life becomes monotonous, and a person ceases to feel alive.

What you need to know about fears:

1. Fear of change. Why be afraid of change if it is a natural part of life. It is an engine, a source of opportunities and inspiration.
2. Fear of failure. Mistakes, like change, are an integral part of being. It's okay to err. Any success is built on them.
3. Fear of condemnation. It is important to understand that at any stage of life there will be people who criticize your views, goals and activities. They are driven by envy or overprotection. It is better to focus on your destiny so as not to regret missed opportunities.
4. Fear of poverty. As long as a person is capable, it is impossible to be left with nothing. The labor market provides a large selection of vacancies without experience and special skills.

Thinking into the future

Forgetting about fears, childhood dreams and advice from loved ones, close your eyes. Mentally dive into a life where you enjoy what you do. What surrounds you?

First, imagine a comfortable environment for you. It can be a house, office or any other room (depending on the activity). Who are you with? Do you want to work in a team or alone? Imagine the situation in more detail: do you need employees, assistants; managerial position or work with a labor manager.

Decide what tools you work with. It can be a computer, confectionery accessories, a manicure machine, a milling machine, garden tools. Does it evoke positive emotions?

Now imagine a situation where the profit is less than expected. Will you get upset? Or is the pleasure of the process being performed more important than income?

This method will give a definite picture of what area you like, and whether you want to connect your life with it. Perform the technique in a quiet, distraction-free environment.

Profession test drive

To understand whether you like an activity or not, you need to try it out. Take master classes (floristry, massage, make-up, cosmetology, cooking), agree on a free internship or part-time job. Meet professionals, learn about the pros and cons of the profession. Find out how much you need to study, the average salary and career prospects. This is a great way to feel the atmosphere for yourself, try on a role and decide on a specialty.

Several vacancies without work experience in Moscow:

• moderator of the catalog of mobile applications (30-35 thousand 🪙);
• recruitment manager (55 thousand 🪙);
• driver (100 thousand 🪙);
• customer service manager (50 thousand 🪙);
• realtor (60 thousand 🪙);
• personal assistant to the head (40 thousand 🪙);
• florist assistant (40 thousand 🪙).

The full list can be found at: hh.ru; Avito; super job; Jooble; Trud.com; VKontakte (in specialized communities).

Other methods of determining the scope of activity

A career guidance test is a set of psychological methods that reveal a person's talents and abilities for a specific professional activity. Designed not only for school graduates, but also for people who want to change jobs.

Test results reflect strengths and weaknesses, an adequate assessment of mental abilities and the ability to quickly learn new material. They also allow you to get acquainted with existing professions and their specifics.

Career guidance tests can be taken online on the websites: testometrika, Profguide, Netology, Career Guidance. The process takes 25-30 minutes, free of charge, the results are issued upon completion of testing.

Attention! You can get a full analysis only in career guidance centers. It includes computer testing and communication with a psychologist. The results obtained are more accurate, more informative than on web portals. During a consultation with a specialist, you can get their transcript.

Changing activities in adulthood

At the beginning of a career, a person has enough time to learn new skills and get a higher education. However, with a 20-year experience, spending 3-4 years on retraining is pointless. A good option would be the passage of professional retraining. Education up to 1 year (depending on the specialty), it is enough to have a diploma of secondary vocational or higher education.

Benefits of changing activities in adulthood:

• experience of working with people;
• experience in dealing with emergency situations;
• stress tolerance;
• business communication skills;
• professional knowledge, skills;
• awareness of one's own advantages;
• the ability to conduct a business dialogue;
• confidence;
• a clear look into the future.

Professions such as copywriter, web designer, targetologist do not require a certificate or diploma. You can learn for free in 2-3 months using courses on YouTube, Stepik, Coursera, EdX, Facebook for Business.

What is faster and easier to master in adulthood?

Copywriting ̶ for those who like to write texts. Advertising, informational, catchy scenarios, poems. You can work in a company, remotely for a customer or on freelance platforms. The work schedule is free, the main thing is to comply with the deadlines for the delivery of the material. Payment on exchanges depending on the number of characters. Websites: eTXT, Text.ru, Writeraccess, WorkHard, Kwork. Average price per 1000 characters ̶ 30-60 🪙 (rewriting); 50-100 🪙 (copywriting).

Web designer ̶ for those who like to create illustrations, logos or just draw. The work takes place in the programs Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Webflow, InVision Studio. The main task is to create websites, advertising layouts, logos. You can work on freelance services, in IT companies (Yandex, Google), web studios and agencies. Platforms for finding customers: Fiverr, hh.ru, SuperJob, Jooble. The average salary in recent times is 40 thousand 🪙.

Free education: HTML, Academy, Showskills, Hexlet, Geekbrains, Udemy.

Specialties through vocational retraining

How to find a job you like at 40? Get retraining at universities, colleges or specialized training centers. Offline and online training is available. Upon graduation, a state diploma is issued, which makes it possible to work in a new specialty.

If you like working with children, retrain as an educator, primary school teacher, early development teacher. Training lasts no more than a year, the cost is up to 20 thousand 🪙.

For those who like to play sports, there are "Sports and Fitness" programs. The training lasts 250 hours, the cost is up to 30 thousand 🪙. "Fitness nutritionist", "Children's fitness trainer", "Physical education teacher": training time ̶ 360-400 hours.

For those who want to connect their lives with psychology, training centers offer courses in "Psychological Counseling and Psychodiagnostics"; "Extreme psychology"; "Perinatal Psychologist". Training lasts 300-600 hours, the cost is 10-20 thousand 🪙.

Where to retrain remotely

Distance learning allows you to take the program in any city recently. Documents on admission are sent electronically or by mail. The student chooses a convenient study schedule. To quickly resolve issues, a curator is assigned to each student.

After passing the final exam, the centers send the original diploma and certificate to the specified address of residence.

Where to study remotely:

• Pedobuchenie.RF;
• International Academy of Expertise and Evaluation;
• SNTA (Modern Science and Technology Academy);
• Ural Institute for Advanced Studies and Retraining;
• DPO.ONLINE;
• MASPK (Interregional Academy of Construction and Industrial Complex).

Attention! Before submitting an application for training, check whether the programs of retraining centers comply with the requirements of professional standards and Federal State Educational Standards. Also, educational institutions must have a license for educational activities.

Self-employed status

How to find a job to your liking? Turn your hobby into a profitable business. If you plan to work for yourself without hiring employees, then this status is for you.

Self-employed ̶ a person who is a payer of tax on professional income. The tax rate is lower than that of an individual entrepreneur: 4% in cooperation with an individual, 6% ̶ with a legal entity. Submission of a declaration to the tax authority is not required, the payment amount is generated by the My Tax application.

All that is required of the self-employed is to generate checks and close payments. If there is no income, taxes are not charged. Insurance and pension contributions are made on a voluntary basis.

Important! A person whose activities are related to the sale of goods of their own production, the rental of residential real estate or the provision of services can register in this status. For example: photographers, confectioners, hairdressers, manicurists, stylists, designers, seamstresses, tutors.

Who to work as a self-employed?

Finding an interesting job to your liking, where there is no leader and a tough schedule is possible: work for yourself. Specialties that do not require long-term training:

1. Beauty sphere: manicure master; hairdresser; master browist, lashmaker. Requires a certificate of completion of courses (3-6 months), the purchase of consumables, a medical book.
2. Scope of construction: sanitary works; interior decorators; installer; multidisciplinary specialist. Education is not required, only skills.
3. Sphere of education: tutor; methodologist, developer of online courses. You need to know, understand educational or scientific disciplines. Lessons on creating courses are available on the Stepik and YouTube platforms.
4. Scope of logistics: driver (personal, taxi, trucker); courier. Only a driver's license is required.

Important! The responsibility for paying taxes, controlling income and finding clients falls on the self-employed.

IT professions that do not require long-term training

The field of information technology seems inaccessible, but to work in it, it is enough to understand the basics of programming and practice. For example, the specialty of a web developer can be mastered in 6-8 months. Sometimes educational platforms, after passing the final exam, provide the student with an internship to form practical experience and a portfolio. The average salary is 85 thousand 🪙.

Mobile developers study for 11 months, after which they create applications in Java, Swift. The average salary is 120 thousand 🪙.

In the age of smartphones and tablets, the need for programmers has grown. Android, Java, iOS programmers study for 7 months, then do remote internships at leading IT companies. The average wage is 110 thousand 🪙.

Paid educational platforms: Geekbrains, HTML, Yandex. Workshop, SkillBox, Hexlet, Easycode, Loftschool.

Free educational platforms: Udemy, Stepik, Coursera, EdX.

Investments

Before you find a job for the soul, you need to provide yourself with a small savings. This will relieve the fear of being left with nothing when changing professional activities.

Investments are a source of passive income. To get started, it is enough to know the basics of investing and have free capital (from 1000 🪙).

Free training courses: "Stocks and Bonds" Khan Academy; VTB School of Investors; "ABC of Finance" Stepik; "Portfolio Investment: Active and Passive Strategies" Coursera.

If you invest correctly, then activity will soon become the main source of income. To avoid risks, you should take training responsibly. Having a knowledge base, it is enough to devote 20-30 minutes a day to analyze situations in the economic market, view analytical news and track the dynamics of paper prices.

Attention! A novice investor is not recommended to invest a lot of money. Invest as much as you are willing to lose.

Useful materials

Books that make it easier to find a job to your liking: Maria Rogacheva “Reboot. How to change a boring profession “; Alexander Krimkov "Follow your dream"; Richard Sheridan "Dream Job"; Tristram Hawley "You are accepted!"; Michael Ellsberg Millionaire Without a Degree.

Books for Entrepreneurs: Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich; Jim Collins Good to Great Maxim Kotov "And botanists do business"; Robert Kiyosaki "Rich Dad Poor Dad" Ray Dalio Principles. Life and work.

Reading for New Investors: Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor; John Bogle, The Smart Investor's Guide; William Bernstein "The Investor Manifesto"; Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street.

Motivating Literature: Jay Meg, Important Years. Why you should not put off life for later”; Olga Solomatina "How to overcome fear"; Libby Weaver "Squirrel in the Wheel Syndrome"; Barbara Sher Better late than never. How to start a new life at any age.

Getting a decent income from your favorite activity is the dream of every person. If you want your work to be enjoyable, do some introspection first. Get rid of fears, imagine the desired future. Self-knowledge will make it easier to find a job you like, and you will definitely find the job you want.