How to choose the right career for you

Most career problems come from the fact that people choose the wrong job.

Economist Neil Howe says that only 5% of people pick the right job on the first try.

He calls those people "fast starters" and in general, they are less creative, less adventurous, and less innovative, which makes a conventional, common path work well for them.

So it's questionable whether you should even aspire to be one of those people who picks right the first try.

However, it is important to be able to find the right job and here are some guidelines from lifehacker.com.

Don't believe the hype

Penelope Trunk suggests that being a lawyer is hyped up but behind the scenes, each year the American Bar Association conducts a survey to ask if lawyers would recommend their profession to other people, and the vast majority of lawyers say no.

Pick a Lifestyle, Not a Job Title

Look at the lives you see people having, and ask yourself whose life you would want. However, you can't just have the life they have now. You have to have the life they lead to get there so you need to think carefully about the what is involved.  

Marylou Kelly Streznewski, author of Gifted Grownups, finds that most people who are exceptionally creative have to give up almost everything else in order to pursue "creativity with a big C." For most people, that path is not appealing.

Penelope Trunk believes that the same is true for startup founders. Most people would want to run their own, well-funded company and control their own hours. Very few people would want the life you have to live to get to that point.

Don't Overcommit - lifehacker.com