[Part 4] How Are You Going to Get the Experience You Need?

This week I wanted to answer question 3 about how to break down your life plan:

1. What skills do you have to start with?
2. What skills do you need to develop?
3. How are you going to get the experience you need?
4. Do you have any personal challenges to overcome?

The the items one and two on my list should give you some ideas of what career opportunities interest you and what you’d be good at. Now it’s time to try them out and get some experience. How are you going to do that? Here are some of my ideas:

• Work for experience, not money. At this point in life, hopefully you don’t have many expenses. This should give you some financial flexibility. You can work for very little (dare I say free) for a period of time while you try on different professions. If you want to be a lawyer, see if you can find a lawyer’s office that will let you help out. Watch what the lawyer does. See if you can get to know him. See what he does and does not like about what he does. If you realized it’s not for you, go try something else.

This is one of the BIGGEST mistakes I think I made as a young adult. I was always focused on dollar signs. “How much could I make how fast?” was almost always my motivating factor. I do wish I could go back and try on some other professions. By now I’ve learned that money cannot be the motivating factor in your work. There has to be more to your profession/career/life’s work than that. I’m still trying to figure out what that means for me. Please take the time to get to know yourself and your talents, and try-on professions accordingly.

• Freelancing. If you already have some skill in an area you are interested in, you can try freelancing. Test out your skills on the open market. Can you make money to support yourself? How do you like your hobby now that it’s a job?

• Internships. If you need to make decent money while you’re getting some experience in your profession, an internship could be the ticket. I understand that whether internships are paid or not vary from field to field, but they are out there. You’ll get real experience doing what you would be doing as a full time employee. You can rub shoulders with peers and supervisors to see what the career track is like. This can give you a real idea if it’s something you really want to do. Also, most times interning with a company can be a door to a job with them in the future.

• Networking. This is a gateway to the first two items, and it has a couple added bonuses. You never know who will know someone that knows someone that can help you get where you want to go. One of the benefits of building your network is that you get to develop your people skills. Your people skills are invaluable, and will get you farther than almost anything aside from you actual skills. The other bonus is that you will be building a “personal brand” for yourself. People will get to know. They’ll know what you have to offer, and they’ll know what they can do to help you.

• Live on a budget. I know this post is about how to gain work experience in what interests you, but this is important. When I say “live on a budget”, I don’t mean “eat ramen every night.” What I mean to say is control your money. The suggestions I’ve given here will usually mean that you will have reduced, or no income. They won’t support your lifestyle if you have a new car, the newest phone, eat out every day, and have to have the newest clothes. You need to be financially flexible to try these suggestions and avoid massive credit card debt. In fact, I would say DO NOT try any of them until you can master this one. You will be freer to do what you want now, and throughout your life if you learn to control yourself and your money now.

I really hope these ideas help you. Seriously, take the time to try out a bunch of different things before you decide what field to study or work in. Ask a bunch of questions, and think about your long term goals. Trust me, you will be alot happier and a lot more fulfilled in the long run.

Do any of you have experience with any of these? I’d love to hear your experiences. Or are there any that I missed? Please help out everyone else and mention them below.