We hear from many people who want to change careers but are having difficulty deciding what they should go into. Usually, they are attracted to several different careers, and feel they can't choose among them.
 
Does that sound like you? Are you hoping to "keep your options open" and make a career decision "later"? In fact, feeling like you are unable to choose among several careers can be a way to procrastinate and avoid pursuing any of them. 

You might think you can wait until you know "for certain" which career is best for you to go after, but the reality is that you might never be absolutely certain. 

So for now, just choose one career that you want to pursue -- any one. Remember, you can change your mind later. The idea is to get in the habit of choosing, so you don't get stuck in procrastination. Then answer the following questions from the Goal-Setting Worksheet in our book Dream Careers.

Target date: This is the date you would like to start working in the new career.

Obstacles: What currently and potentially stands between you and this career? Include both tangible and intangible obstacles such as lack of money, time, support, or education, fear, etc.

Solutions: How will you overcome the obstacles? Include both tangible and intangible resources you can use to help you pursue your goal, such as self-confidence, support from other people, education, time, money, etc.

Action steps to achieve it: Break your goal down into smaller tasks, such as reading a book about the career, talking to someone who works in the career, taking a training program, looking for job ads, etc. Remember to include steps for handling obstacles.

Target date for each step: It may help to work backwards from your target goal date.

Is it worth it to me? Are you really willing to do what it takes to achieve the goal of breaking into this career?

As you start identifying the steps you'll need to take to break into that career, you will have an opportunity to decide whether this is the career you really want to go after right now. 

If you think that you're not the type of person who can achieve a career goal, think again.  You have set and achieved thousands of goals in your life. In fact, every day of your life you are setting and achieving goals. If you doubt this, just think about what you do during a typical day. 

Do you sleep until sometime in the afternoon, then get up and wander around your home until it's time to go back to sleep again? No, you have goals and you have plans. You decide what you'll eat, where you'll go, and what you'll do -- and you do it. 

All day long you make decisions and take actions. You envision a goal and you achieve it. If you change your mind, you are essentially setting a new goal to achieve.

Using the same basic techniques, you have probably also set and achieved some more important life goals as well such as completing a course or being hired for a job.

Where you are right now in your life is a direct result of all the thousands of goals, both large and small, that you have set for yourself and achieved so far. 

Sisters Tag and Catherine Goulet are the Dream Career Experts. In 1999 they founded FabJob.com, a publisher of guides on how to break into a dream career, which has been visited by 50 million people. They have been featured giving career advice in media from ABC to Oprah.com and Woman's Day to the Wall Street Journal online, and their career advice appears frequently on the career pages at MSN.com and AOL.com. They are authors of the book Dream Careers: How to Quickly Break into a Fab Job! Visit www.FabJob.com to discover how to break into a dream career.

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