Christi must choose a career path that will meet her family’s present and future economic needs. 

Identify Alternatives

• Architecture.  I am good at math and science.  I enjoy drawing (although I am not great at it).  I seem to be able to visualize objects in three dimensions.  I did well in my high school drafting class.
• Social Work.  I enjoy helping others.  I have assisted the minister of my church, visiting church members with her.  People tell me that I listen well.  Many of my friends tell me their problems.
• Physical Therapy.  My science ability applies here as well.  Within science, I like biology particularly.  The way the human body works fascinates me.  Physical therapy would give me a chance to help injured people achieve a normal live again after illness or injury.

Collect Information

Information about what it is like to work in each of these fields is helpful or even essential.  While reading and watching videos will give me an idea of how I geel, actually observing and talking with a profession in the field will give me the most realistic picture.  I’d like to try the field for myself, but that doesn’t seem practical in three different fields.  I could volunteer to help a physical therapist, social worker, or architect.  If I did each long enough to get a good idea about what it’s like, I would have to extend my time in college by at least a year, so observation of and interaction with a professional seems the next best thing.

Whatever my sources of information, I want to compare some basic facts among my three choices; job availability, salary, length, and cost of school (including some key required courses in each field.)  and (because they’re important in my value system) degree of independence permitted and opportunity to contribute to other’s well being.

Finally, I’d like to sharpen my picture of how my skills and interest fit each option.  For instance, would science and math ability be used better in architecture or physical therapy?  Would it be used at all in social work and if so, to what extent?

To summarize, then, I can determine the needed information and obtain it.   It is important to note that what I am looking for determines to some extent the best sources to consult.  For example, a magazine or news article may be a better source of information about salaries in a field than asking a person who works in that job.  Many professionals have little idea of the range or the average for salaries in their fields.

Evaluate the Data

I can do this in many ways.  Here I have identified advantages and disadvantages on each important point from step three. 

• For me, social work has two advantages; I can contribute to people’s lives and I have an ability to listen to people.  Disadvantages are the lower salary, few jobs in my town, and I would need several years of school.
• Physical Therapy has several advantages, including salary, plenty of job openings, and a real contribution to the health and well being of people.  The primary disadvantage is that the good physical therapy programs are at 4-year colleges and are hard to get in.  I have the grades to be accepted, but the length of time required to get a degree is several years.  However, the salary would meet my goals and places that hire physical therapists often have good benefits that include retirement plans.
• Architecture has several advantages also.  Architects start at a higher salary and can be more independent in their work.  I am good at draft and math, and good architectural designs can make workspace and living spaces more comfortable for people.  Disadvantages with architecture are that this career takes even more years of education and there are few architect jobs in my town.  I would have to move to find work and moving may not be acceptable to my family.

Evaluate the Obstacles

There are obstacles to my success with any of these choices.  The first obstacle I can think of when it comes to going to school to get better career skills is money.  With a  baby,  the savings I put away before getting married will be needed to pay for child care while I am in school or in training.

The second obstacle is proximity.  I do not want to move away from my family because my baby is learning to be close to them.  I feel moving away will cause an interruption in the relationship between my baby and my family.

The third obstacle is health.  If my husband becomes sick or disabled for any length of time, we will not have the resources for me to be in school.  I may need to find a job right away.   However, I can figure out the money issue by applying for scholarships and grants. I can explore what options are available at the local college.  Personally I would not want to quit school because with a degree I will be in a better position to take care of my family.  With these options, I can work around these obstacles.

Make a Tentative Decision

While I wouldn’t want simply to accept the plusses and minuses as the basis  for my decisions, that sum can be the starting point, an objective standard against which to test my feeling for the outcomes.  Therefore, I’d want to test this result against my subjective feelings.  At this point, I would go with physical therapy because I think the fact that it collected the largest number of plusses represents accurately the greater benefits and the better fit it offers me.  Architecture is a close second.

The reason why this is a tentative decision is that situations may change.  I may not be able to find a physical therapy program close to my home.  I many not be accepted to the program.  There may be a change in my family situation that would require that I get into a career in a hurry, and not spend the next four or six years in school.  For now, I will focus on becoming a physical therapist.

Re-evaluate

After trying out the decision for a while, I will re-evaluate where I think my education is going in comparison to my goals.  I realize that while I have read up on these career choices.  I may get into the field and find that it is not what I expected.  I will try to minimize this by finding a part-time position in a physical therapy clinic so I can learn for myself what being a physical therapist all is about.