You need to answer four basic questions
By Chaz Kyser
For the St. Louis American
As a beginning freshman you may have worked with a counselor on what is commonly known as a degree plan. This plan stated the degree you were trying to achieve, outlined the classes needed to receive that degree, and then gave you a time line indicating how long it would take before you could don a cap and gown.
Now, you may have followed your plan to the letter. Or, if you were very indecisive and changed your plan frequently, you may have ended up adding a couple of more semesters to your college experience. But what matters now is that you are about to graduate. You would still be adding up the hours of wasted classes, however, if you had never had that degree plan mapping your way in and out of college.
With the start of a new phase of your life a new plan is needed. This plan will map out what will hopefully be an exciting and rewarding career, thus we’ll call it your Career Plan.
Besides mapping out your future, your Career Plan will also help keep you focused. Sometimes we forget exactly what our goals are and the reasons why we made these goals. Having something written down can reassure us that we’re heading in the right direction, and remind us why we’re working so hard.
The Career Plan you make for yourself should answer four basic questions,
What are my career goals?
This can be as simple as stating what title you want to hold, such as an African-American history professor or an accountant.
If you have two very different career goals, then you would need to make a Career Plan for both goals. It’s okay if you are unsure about exactly what position you hope to hold, but know what field you want to work in. The more specific you are the more helpful your Career Plan will be.
Why have I set these goals?
The explanation should be straightforward. For example: I am going to be an African-American history professor because (1) I love sharing knowledge about African-American history, (2) college professors get paid fairly well, are respected, have a high level of autonomy, and a flexible work schedule. (3) I know I’ll be a great professor.
How will I achieve these goals?
Research on your desired profession may be needed to fill this section out. If you wanted to be a college professor, for example, then talking to your former professors and researching various graduate programs would be desirable. For example, you might write: In order to be an African-American history professor, I have to:
1.Attend school full-time to receive my Master’s in history, while assisting in teaching undergrad classes.
2.Attend school part-time to receive my Ph.D. in African-American Studies, while teaching undergrad classes and working part-time to support myself.
3. Become noted for my own research and work in African-American history.
4. Network with other professors, especially at schools with an African-American Studies Department.
5. Work on my dissertation.
6. Apply for a full-time teaching position with a university with a respected African-American Studies Department.
When should I reasonably be able to achieve these goals?
The time line you make will be based off of what you wrote down in “How will I achieve these goals?” Research will definitely be needed to determine how long each step should take. The following is a sample time line.
Career Time Line
Get my master’s in African-American History while assisting in teaching undergrad courses. — 2 Years
Get my Ph.D. in African-American Studies while teaching undergrad courses. — 4 Years
Work on my dissertation and complete my. Ph.D.— 1 Year
Estimated time to working as an African-American History Professor: 7 Years.
Your time line may have to be adjusted due to unforeseeable circumstances that happen down the road. You might find shortcuts to reaching your career goal(s) or have to take additional steps. What’s important is that you have a plan to follow.
Chaz Kyser is a journalism instructor and newspaper advisor at Langston University. Her Careers columns are taken from her book, Embracing the Real World: The Black Woman’s Guide to Life After College. Questions/comments can be emailed to chazkyser@hotmail.com.