Good career choices can make an enormous difference to the level of happiness and fulfillment we experience in our lives.

The very best careers are the ones that are formed as a result of a commitment to a highly personal blueprint, rather than following a textbook formula, and are as many and varied as we are.

One of the most important career choices that we need to make is to figure out the essence of the type of work we want to do. This can help us to get on, or stay on, a path that is leading us in the general direction we want to go.

It is never too late to make new choices, whether these choices are major ones that lead to a whole new career path, or smaller ones that bring your current career into closer alignment with your dreams and goals.

Choosing your career path involves identifying the gifts and talents you want to utilize in your career, and the tasks you most enjoy doing.

A list of strengths and weaknesses can be helpful in assessing what type of career you are best suited to and considering whether a certain direction will allow you to truly express your talents and abilities.

Once you have figured out the qualities of the career you want, there are other, more practical choices to be made.

One of the simplest and easiest changes you can make that will increase your happiness, is to decide to love your work- whatever your job is. Healthy work motivation can make the difference between happy productivity and resentful clock-watching.

One big career choice relates to how much time you want to spend working. This does not have to relate to how much money you want to make. There are ways to create more income in less time, but first just think about how much work you want to do. What is the ideal work life balance for you?

If you are doing work you love, that allows you to express your creativity and to be challenged and fulfilled, you may want to work every day. I love writing, and I am happiest when I write every day. Forgetting about money, (let’s say you are already financially secure), how many hours a day or a week would you like to spend doing your ideal work?

One of the first steps to creating what you want in your life is to become very clear about what exactly you do want. Perhaps you would like to work three or four days a week, or just work every morning, while devoting your afternoons to other activities.

Whatever your ideal schedule is, write it down. Putting something in writing has a way of taking it out of the realm of fantasy, and making it a solid goal.

Other career choices involve deciding where you would like to work, and with whom. Do you dream of working from home? I did, and I am making it a reality. Do you want to work in a big downtown office amidst hustle and bustle, or would you prefer to have a small office in a log cabin in the mountains (maybe not a good idea if your work needs the Internet!)?

Do you like to work alone, or enjoy being part of a team? Do you prefer to be a leader, or rather that someone else takes the big decisions and leaves you to the creative tasks? All of these questions can help you define your ideal career.

You also need to consider whether you want to work for somebody, do freelance or contract work, or become self employed.

There are various factors to consider in these career choices, and there are also some misconceptions that many people have regarding which type of employment is best.

A couple of generations ago, career choices were almost unheard of. Almost everybody got a ‘secure’ job at a company straight out of school, and expected to work in that same job until retirement.

Things have changed dramatically since then. Not only are people realizing that they don’t need to restrict themselves to a single job, or even a single career, but ‘job security’ has become a thing of the past. Career changes are something that most of us will experience in the course of our working lives.

Career change advice can be vital in successfully making the transition into a new phase of your career and gaining clarity on what direction you really want your career to head in.

Career life coaching can help you find what you are really good at, zero in on what you love doing, and figure out how to get started, or take the next step in building the career of your dreams.

The best security you can have these days, is to have a solid set of skills, a wealth of experience, and a belief that security is something you create yourself.

Even the most secure job you can find as an employee has limited security. Companies are constantly laying off staff, down-sizing, outsourcing work, and going bankrupt. There are many highly educated former executives who find themselves driving taxis at what should have been the high point of their careers as company employees.

Freelance work, or contracting can be at the same time both less and more secure. By not being tied to one company, you become more self reliant and better at creating and finding your own opportunities. You don’t have the stability of a regular paycheck, but more importantly, you develop trust in yourself that you are able to create and sustain an income. You also have much more freedom over your working hours, location, and who you want to work for.

Becoming self employed is perhaps the scariest, but potentially most rewarding and liberating of all career choices. There are many ways to be self employed, and I know from my own experience that some ways provide more freedom and flexibility than others.

If you create a physical business such as a restaurant, shop, or school, you become very committed to being in a certain place at a certain time. Of course, there are people who enjoy and thrive in this style of self employment, but others, like me, find it too restrictive. You might enjoy the structure and routine of this kind of business, or you may succeed in establishing your business in a way that you can employ others to do most of the work for you, giving you greater freedom.

The ideal business for me though, is a business that can be conducted from anywhere, on my own flexible schedule, and doesn’t rely on employees.

There are various ways to create this type of self employment. One way is to do creative work, such as writing or painting, and find a way to sell your work. Another way is by investing, and making your money do the work. A third, and one that I believe is the most wide-ranging and can suit a great variety of people is to create an online business.

Another great advantage that technology brings us in our quest for career success is the ability to attain professional accreditation without the need to attend classes or lectures in a specific location. A Gannon University Online MBA Program is one great option for furthering your education in an effective and convenient way.

If you are feeling limited and trapped in a job or career that is not right for you, start opening your mind to the unlimited career choices that exist. You can create a career that is perfect for you!

A hostile work environment feels more like a battlefield than a place of personal and professional thriving. If you are in this kind of position there are a few ways you can approach the situation.

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