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Introduction to Career Choice
Onabanjo Lateef Adeniyi
E-mail: onabanjolateef@yahoo.com
+2348186795540, +2348073082898
Preamble
Career Choice is the most important event in an individual’s life. Person’s success and
consequently; satisfaction and happiness depend on how accurately he chooses his
career. Improper selection of the career or frequently changing the career is very
harmful for psychological health. Once we invest time, money and effort in moving
along a particular career path it may not be easy to change the path.
It is well known that individuals who make career choices based on personal interests
and abilities, show significantly higher levels of job satisfaction and are more
productive workers. Students who have gone through comprehensive career
counselling are disserting in their career choices, while students who make career
choices without adequate and accurate counselling and guidance are at risk of being
impelled to choose careers that are not suitable for them.
Choice of career is not only central to one’s lifestyle, but is also a vital aspect of the
physical and emotional well-being of the individuals and their families. The choice of
career is a crucial problem for a student. Most students face following questions at
some or the other time.
 What am I really going to do?
 Can I really get there? How?
 Am I sure of the path?
 What are the risks?
 If I don’t make it, do I have any other option?
Few factors generally influences students in making their career include:
(a) Mark obtained at the annual examination
(b) The choice done by parents
(c) The advice of teachers, friends and others
Closer observation in most cases would reveal that these determinants of choice are
not at all objectives in nature. Some ambitious parents dictate their own, unfulfilled
career decisions on their children and compel them to choose the courses which
perhaps they did not like or they are not able to complete. On the other hand, a few
percentages of students have parents who are aware about psychometric testing and
career counselling sessions. Such parents help their children to select a proper career
for themselves. In order to eliminate any chances of regret, students should begin the
process of career decision making in a rational manner. If help of trained career
counsellor is taken at the proper time, much disappointment, wastage of time and
energy could be avoided.

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Career counsellors will look into socioeconomic status, family background; parental
attitude; peer group pressure; self-efficacy; personality; interests; aptitude;
educational attainments; role models; vocational decision making styles; social class;
family environment, cultural identity; globalization and gender as the important
determinants of career choice.
Choice is an important concept in the theory of existentialism. Every individual has
choice to make in life because there are choices in life available to all. Whatsoever
therefore happens to one whether positive or negative is a choice made by any
individual among the multiple of choices life throws up. Even when one refuses to
make a choice among all choices in life; that act of not making a choice is in itself a
choice. Consequently the ideal of choice less is not possible in existential theory. It is
however very vital to note that the process of choice making, its availability and its
importance may be a significant factor in the difference between one individual and
another. (Alliyu, 2002).
Career choice and development are the experiences of the total personality, and that
the satisfaction thus derived from a career depends on the compatibility of a person’s
work situation and personality type. To be ‘ready’ to choose means more than simply
arriving at a point when a choice is necessary. Just as emoting in an advanced
programme require prior mastery of basic elementary concepts, making a decision
involves pre-requisites. The concept of “readiness” emerged from the basic motion
that vocational choices should not be seen as single, point-in-line events but rather, as
the result of previous processes (Dominic and Jones, 2007).
The process of making a choice is complex and unique for each individual depending
on Cognitive factors and the social structure of the individual’s miller. In other words,
individuals evaluate their choices internally by seeking acceptance and approval
within the working environment. Moreover, career choice is a process in which one
not only chooses, but also eliminates and consequently stifles some interests and
talents. (Durosaro, 2010).
Parent as determinant of career choice
Looking at career choice from sociological point of view, we can deduce the fact that
good parenting is the most vital determinants of a good career choice, as it is likely
said “Charity begins from home”. Hence, it is the responsibility of a good parent to
know the capability of his/her child in line with the saying “Children raise and nurture
with love shuns vices” (Bola & Deborah Osikoya 2014). It is the duty of a parent to
examine his/her child in every area of life, by watching them closely and knowing the
things that they are good at. A good parent will always sit her children down and
counsel them about career choice and life as a whole. It is important and advice-able
that parents should share their past experiences with their children. Telling them about
how they spent their youth age, these will make the parent to point out the mistakes
they made in their youth and how the mistakes have affected them negatively.
Having done these, the parent are to expose the children to know more about what life
might bring to them and it is also good to use that medium to ask likely questions
from the children like:
a. What do you want to become in the nearest future?

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b. What makes you choose what you chose to be? Is it because Mr. X and Mr. Y
are doing it and they are rich in the field or what?
c. What can you say about the field of your choice?
d. Do you really have a passion for it or you have heard it from your friends that
choose the same field?
e. Have you really prepared for it/Are you preparing for it?
f. How are you preparing?
These are the likely questions that are expected from parents to ask children while
counselling them. The parents are also expected to buttress further on the field each
children choose, they are to open there reality to the risk and consequences in the field
they chose. A child with a good vision that is not been influence by anybody will not
change whatever field he/she choose earlier having heard about the risk in the field.
However, it is the duty and responsibility of parents to take the child to anybody in
whatsoever field they might likely choose. For example, a child that chose to become
a lawyer should be taken to a law court and observe experts in the field. This will
prepare the child to be fully motivated about the field he/she chose. After these, the
parents are to take the child for proper counselling about the profession he/she may
chose. The following are the necessary responsibility that parents need to provide for
children every time.
1. Parents are to make themselves available for the child, providing both
financial and moral support.
2. Parents are to evaluate the child regularly, monitor the process and
performances towards the field.
3. Parents are to mentor the child by providing regular advice and enlightening
the child about peer influences and other barriers that may disrupt his/her
attention towards a profession.
4. Parents are also expected to avoid any form of gender discrimination and bias
among the children. They are to treat each and everyone of them with ‘equity’.
5. It is the duty of the parent to know what type of friends their child keeps.
Parents should visit their children in school within a period of time
undisclosed to the child.
Although, the aforementioned responsibilities may be useable and applicable among
parents that are educated and enlightened, parents who are not in this category may
not see it useful and practicable. However, it is the responsibility of parents to
influence the child’s perception about life. Building in them the ability to believe in
themselves and their abilities. This goes in line with ensuring self-reliance or a sense
of independence.
In conclusion, parents who are able to seat their children for counselling and guidance
are said to have peace and rest of mind.

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Definition of Terms
Career: Although, career as it is; has been defined by so many scholars. Seligman
(1980) defined career as a sequence of roles or positions including work, leisure and
educational pursuit which may encompass a number of occupations, vocations or jobs
a person engages in during his work life.
Career choice: This is a decision making process. It is a development process which
spans one’s life. It transcends just choosing a job for an immediate satisfaction and
entails a serious consideration of a job and its implication for later satisfaction and
personal adjustments (Alliyu, 1995).
Career Choice also means the broad opportunities that exist for lifelong vocations.
These vocations are set out in a framework of strategies moving toward personal goals.
Fields of vocational and academic endeavours are explored for the purpose of
satisfying personal, economic, and intellectual goals.
Self-Efficacy: Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s conviction about his or her
abilities to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources and courses of action needed
to successfully execute a specific task within a given context.
Personality: Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those
psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought.”
Interest: It is a learned affective response to an object or activity; things in which we
are interested elicit positive feelings, things in which we have little interest, elicit little
affect, and things in which we are totally disinterested elicit apathy or even feelings of
aversion.
Parenting: Parenting means implementing a series of decisions about the
socialization of our children.
Parenting Styles: Parenting styles can be defined as the differing styles of discipline,
nurturance, reinforcement and acceptance used by the parents during child-rearing.
Questions to Ask Before Picking a Career
Choosing a career path can be a confusing, complicated and at worst depressing
experience. But finding a career you actually like does not have to be rocket science.
Ask yourself these questions to figure out if a career is truly or really right for you:
a. Am I choosing this career to please somebody else?
Choosing a career to please somebody else could be a bad decision or even
regretful at the end. If the answer to the above question is “YES” or even
“MAYBE”, it is time to re-examine your priorities. Friends and family can offer
great advice, but it is hard to find happiness when your life is dictated by
somebody else’s expectations. You deserve to find a career that fits who you are,
and remember the Golden Rule that says “Don’t Censor Yourself”.
b. What is my style?
A career that is a good match will suite your work style inside and out. Take your
talents seriously and nurturing them can mean the difference between an
accelerated career patch and installed one. Do what you are good at and avoid

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squeezing yourself into the wrong box. And remember, talents are not just
academic – they can also be practical, interpersonal or creative. Be honest with
yourself and choose a career that corresponds with your work style and strengths.
c. Can I be successful in this career?
Finding a career that plays to your natural talents can make life much more
pleasant. If you are a creative type, you will have better chances in a job that
utilizes your outside-the-box thinking than a gig that is all “cut-and-dry numbers”.
Also, think about your own definition of success. What really motivates you?
Money? Helping others? Work-life balance? Figure out what drives you and then
pick a career that will help you reach success on your own terms.
d. What do I want from my career?
Write down Six (6) things that you really want from your working life. For
instance, do you want to travel? Lead a team? Interact with the public? Work with
figures? Make a difference to communities? Think about what you want from
your career but remember to limit your list to six (6). This will help you to focus
on what really matters to you.
e. What difference do I want to make to the World?
This may seem like a big question but it is worth thinking about. What sort of
impact do you want to make? You do not have to be Albert Einstein or Mark
Zuckerberg before you can do impact the world; but you can do these in small
ways as well big. But thinking about how your dreams can make a difference is a
huge motivator. It can help you to see the bigger picture that following the right
path for you can positively impact others too.
f. Am I ready to fight for it?
In today’s job climate, you will not find many (or any) fields that are not
competitive. Even entry-level gigs can be tough to land. So you have to be willing
to go to bat for your career. If you are not ready to fight for it, you probably do not
want the job.
After finding answers to the foregoing, the next step to take is by changing your
perception about reality. How do you do these?
Changing your Perception about Reality.
One of the most dangerous factors militating against any individuals who desire to do
well in life are the ‘words’ one hear on a daily basis. All these words in turn shape the
life of such individual. According to Kiyosoki (1997) “words are powerful tools -----
tools for brain just as you can use debt to make rich or poor” in life.
It is also important to know that “You are what you choose to be”. In order for you to
change your perception about reality, you need to first get out of your potentials by
taking some steps like:
 Having a right mind: Believe in yourself and what said about you that you
are good and there are potentials within you waiting to be revealed.
 Using right words: Feed your mind with right words that can water your
potentials to grow and develop from the inside of you. What flows out of
you is a product of what you fed your belly. Both poverty and riches are

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issues of life. Writing on the leverage of the mind Kiyosaki says that “One
big difference between the rich and the poor is that poor people say I
cannot afford it more often that rich people” He said further that “poor
people use poor words and poor words create poor people
 Having the right plan: The success of a right plan is predicated on right
mind and right words. Plans can be short or long term in nature and it
requires a lot of discipline on any individual that want to succeed in life.
Having a plan in what ever form requires that you set goals that change
your situation. One might say well I have a goal yet I have not been able to
attain the goals set. Yes! There is still a missing link. The link is that you
must “know yourself” which Socrates call “Knotis Sutan”. Everyone has a
reality as a result of upbringing or socialization process. You will recollect
that Robert Kiyosoki reported how he grew up under two different
Daddies- Rich Dad and poor Dad. Those were two different realities in life
that exposed him to two realities and their importance in shaping what
becomes of him as a person. So what is your own reality? Understanding
your reality is vital to your success in life. You must also know that there
are other realities apart from your own reality. This will enable you have
an open mind to accept other realities so as to move on and up in all areas
of life. Not accepting other realities makes one stay the same and it is easy
not to change especially when you stick to your reality as the only reality.
What you need to ask is why do I want to be rich? If you are able to
answer the question why it will be easy for you to prepare for your change
by first accepting that there are other realities apart from yours. Once you
begin to see this, your perspective about life will also begin to change
because your horizon will be widened to accommodate several
opportunities you never saw in your earlier enclosed reality.
Changing your perception about realities involves the followings:
1. Changing the words you use daily from negative (passive) words to positive
(active) words.
2. Accepting other realities apart from your reality. In other words, develop an
open mind to other people realities.
3. Be ready to learn; acquire information and education that can add value to you
and change your life.
4. Be ready to go to places that can change your mind for good e.g seminars on
financial and investment opportunities, self development trainings and
places/events that can stimulate your thinking and aspiration.
5. Be ready to link up with friends who can add value to your life through their
positive (active) words
6. Be ready to serve other people- there is reward in service beyond any
immediate financial gain.
7. Listen to yourself- you can only become what you say to yourself.
Finally, Kiyosaki said, your future begins today and it begins with your words, your
thoughts and your actions each and everyday. It begins by taking stock of where you
spend your time and whom you spend your time with.

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Changing Ones Context and Content
It is not the unfriendly socio-political and economic environment that makes a man
poor, it is his choice that makes him poor. The reason also includes the inability to see
that within those unfriendly environments are locked up all kinds of opportunities and
other realities that could change one’s life, but unable to see.
Kiyosoki contends that:
If a person has an ever increasing context and content, the person will become richer
and richer, regardless of what the project (environment or situation) is. Most people
try to solve their financial problem with what they know. They do not expand their
context so as to increase their content. They are most unwilling to take bigger risk or
financial challenges; which is the real process of financial breakthrough. It is only a
wider context that can accommodate a bigger content. Ones context and content must
be constantly expanded to move with the trend of things so as to grow up in doing
things differently as we grow older. Growing up also means “being willing to be more
and more responsible for self, in actions, in continuing education and maturity” it
equally means that:
You become less and less dependent upon others, and more and more
able to take care of yourself, your needs, and the needs of others -----
it is a life long process, a process that many people are avoiding by
still seeking job security and financial security provided by someone
else ----- someone other than themselves
Consequently, for any individual to be successful and rich in life. It all depends on
him/her be it from spiritual or saver points of view. What one needs to do is to
identify one’s leverages and work on them to get out of the box and or the rat race of
life that keeps most people below the poverty line.
Changing ones context may require the following steps:
* That you use your extra time wisely. In fact, you can make more
money in your spare time.
* That you must be ready to take risk and the risk does not have to be
riskly. For instance you may need to use other people’s money (OPM).
This may mean getting into good debt by raising loans for good
investment in assets and not liabilities.
Kiyosoki expatiated so much on the difference between good debt and bad debt, asset
and liabilities. If one does not know the true meaning of these words one may run into
more financial problems in life.
 Good debts are debts that bring more money into one’s pocket and bad
debt are debts that take away money from one’s pocket regularly. An asset
is any property that brings in money regularly. One therefore needs to
identify within your social economic environment which property falls into
asset and liability.
 Identify various types of income and go for all of them especially the high
yielding ones. They include:
(a) Earned income
(b) Passive income
(c) Portfolio income

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For Kiyosoki one makes more money from the last two and work less because of
leverage at that level. Income based on these first two levels increases exponentially
while earned income increases incrementally.
 Invest in what would bring in money daily, weekly and/or monthly
etc. Because money is spent daily, to have a balanced financial
sheet/record, asset column should be greater than liability column.
When investment is made, other people’s time (OPT) is put to
work and an investor works less but makes more money. Many
people do not want to invest in Nigeria because they still operate
within their only reality that doing business is very risky in Nigeria.
To them someone out there might swindle them and take them back
to poverty. Change your reality!
 Ready to make mistakes or fail in business. There is no problem in
failing. In fact, more is learnt when one fails. It humbles and
removes arrogance so that one can learn more from others.
 Keep the money moving. Some people prefer to keep their money
in savings account because they do not want to loose their money.
To them that is not risky; they are playing safe. You will agree with
me that many Nigerians lost their savings to the failed banks! They
turned out to be poorer for their safety strategy of saving money in
banks. It is not that savings is bad in all, it is only better to keep
money moving so as to multiply the money.
 Get information by attending not only regular schools but business
seminars to acquire more up-to-date information about any subject
matter. It is at such seminars that the real meaning of some words
such as income, investment, asset, liability, loans, debts etc are
learned. Financial vocabulary will not only be increased, it will
also become more meaningful. The more these words are
understands, the more real they become, and less mistake make is
made in financial pursuits in life.
Suggestion
Based on the previous discussions, the following suggestions are offered:
a. Counsellor and School authorities should continue to encourage students to go
in for the option which they wish and are capable of excelling in. Under no
circumstances or conditions, should a programme be imposed on any gender,
for they may run counter-productive to their career choice.
b. Gender is a significant factor in the career choice of Senior Secondary School
students. It is therefore suggested that all stakeholders in education should
continue to encourage both male and female students to offer subjects of their
choice, which invariably influences their career choice readiness.
c. It is also suggested that series of programmes that will encourage both gender
to go in for career of their choice should be put in place. Although, the
responsibility of tailoring the mind of students towards a particular career
option also lies on the school counsellor. Other school personnel should co-
operate with the school counsellor in finding effective career choice readiness.

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Conclusion
The future leaders of this great country must be provided with quality education that
would prepare them to adequately face challenges as they grow and take the mantle of
leadership in the future.
No matter how many close people you have in your network, if you want to be truly
great, you must have three essential people in your life at all times:
 A person who is older and successful than you to learn
 A person who is equal to you to exchange ideas with
 A person below you to coach and to keep you energized
A great figure of history that embodied this principle was Aristotle. Aristotle was one
of the greatest minds to ever grace this beautiful Earth, but this was only so because
he was constantly challenging himself and working to refine his talents. If you want to
be remarkable, you must constantly challenge yourself and surround yourself with
remarkable people. So think about what your goals are, and take a look around you.
Do you need to write a “make or break” list? Do you have the kind of people who are
going to lead you to live the life of your dreams?
“Don’t join easy crowd. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform and
achieve are high”. -------Jim Rohn
“Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by
applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear”. --------Dan Millman
Strive to be better!
Strive to be more!
Strive to be amazing!

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References
Alliyu N. 1995: “Gender and Career Development” Champion Newspapers 2nd of
March 1995. First Published in 2007 by Triumph Publisher, Lagos
Alliyu N. 2002: “You are what you chose to be”. A write up on career choice.
Bola & Deborah Osikoya: Parents’ Day Celebration 2014, a paper presented by
Parenthood Foundation International on the theme “What Do You Know About
Your Child” held at Conference Hotel Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
Brenton Weyi. April 25, 2013: “Why successful people leave their loser friends
behind” http://addicted2success.com
Dominico, D.M. & Jones, K.H. 2007: Career Aspiration of Pregnant and Parent
Adolescents, Family and Counselling Science Education, 25, No. 1, 24-35.
Irene Durosaro 2010: Gender as a factor in the Career Choice Readiness of Senior
Secondary School Students in Ilorin Metropolis of Kwara State, Nigeria. A
publication of the Centre for Development and Policy Issues in Africa (CEDPIA)
Vol. 3, No. 1, April 2010.
Kiyosoki R.T. 1997: Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the rich teach their kids about money-
that the poor and middle class do not! Warner Books, New York
Kiyosoki R.T. 2002: Retire Young Retire Rich. How to get rich quickly and stay rich
forever. Warner Books, New York
Seligman 1989: Career Choice and Theories: cited in Nweke et al. (eds) Guidance and
Counselling: Principles and Practice. Paico Publisher, Lagos.