Career Guide

Career Types and Personalities

What is a Career?

This is an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress.

Certain people never fit in certain jobs no matter how qualified or hard they work. For example, some people find it difficult to sit down in offices the whole day. They are at their best and happiest working out-doors with their hands. This is because we all have different traits which determine whom we actually are. There are six broad career types in which different people fit. These are the realistic, investigative, artistic, social careers, enterprising and conventional careers.

1. Realistic careers

These are the skills and technical-orient-ed jobs. Work here involves tangible and practical skills where people work with tools, machines, plants and animals. The people in these jobs are highly practical and physically strong. They often enjoy dealing with things rather than people. They are good in technical subjects such as: Agriculture, Metalwork, Woodwork, Homescience, Technical Drawing, Drawing and Design among others.

They excel in:

• All kinds of engineering such as electrical mechanical and Agricultural engineering
• Wildlife management
• Wood science and technology
• Armed forces and related careers

2. Investigative careers

The professionals here are scientific and laboratory-oriented. They have a high curiosity, intellectual input and empirical approach to issues. Their work involves analyzing facts, solving puzzles, dealing with charts, numbers, formulae, graphs and data processing. These people enjoy observing, studying, analyzing, interpreting and solving complex challenges. They do well in leadership positions, social gatherings and activities.

They are good in:

• Mathematics and the sciences
• Business studies

They excel in:

• Medicine
• Architecture
• Microbiology and related courses
• Criminal investigations
• Accounting, statisticaI analysis money, financial and related fields
• Veterinary, zoology and related fields
• Computer science and information communication technology

3. Artistic careers

Those who excel in these careers are arts-oriented, creative, expressive and aesthetically conscious. Their jobs involve a lot of magination. Consequently, those who excel here are highly original, emotional, non conforming, unconventional, independent, idealist and introspective. They take risks and like producing distinct products.

They are good in:

• Languages
• Literature
• Drawing and design
• Music

They excel in:

• Drama and theatre arts
• Graphic designing
• Literary studies
• Writing, painting and poetry
• Acting
• Home decorating, fabric designing
• Photography, singing, drawing cartoons

4. Social careers

These involve working with people.Those who excel here have an inner urge for helping others. They like training, informing, enlightening, arbitrating and organizing other people. They are sociable, friendly, understanding, empathetic, generous, helpful, cooperative, responsible and hard Working. Often, they are sober, welfare – minded and articulate.

They are good in:

• Languages
• Literature
• Humanities

They can also be good in the sciences if they put more interest and effort in them.

They excel in:

• Administration
• Education
• Law
• Theology
• Journalism and mass communication
• Human and public relations
• Political science and related fields
• Counseling

5. Enterprising careers

These careers involve influencing is a lot of goal and profit orientation in these jobs. Those who excel are enterprising, ambitious, talkative, argumentative and domineering people. They are also energetic, self confident, optimistic, sociable, competitive, impulsive and persuasive. They enjoy chairing meetings and committees. Often they run for elected offices, head important functions and motivate others

They are good in:

• Mathematics
• Business studies
• Science

They excel in:

• Business management
• Sales and marketing
• Hotel management
• Politics
• Industrial consultancy and related fields

6. Conventional careers

The careers here involve highly orderly, routine and practical jobs. Often, there are some inflexible activities. Those who excel have a common denominator of being obedient, practical, calm and orderly. They are also efficient and conforming.

They are good in:

• Business studies
• Computer and office practice
• Home science
• Sciences

They excel in:

• Accounting
• Bookkeeping
• Auditing
• Statistics
• Inventory control
• Store keeping
• Secretarial
• Office management and
• Computer operations

7. Adventuring

This involves being involved in situations and tasks that require physical endurance, competing with others, and some degree of risk-taking. People with this career interest enjoy involvement in athletics, working in the military/law enforcement professions and participating in risky and adventurous events. They usually get satisfaction from competing with others where they have opportunities to win and/or win by working with others in a team. They often seek out excitement and are generally quite confident of their physical abilities and skills.

Subjects and Career Choices

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs

The subjects that you take in school form an important basis for your career choices. Training for particular careers requires specific subject combinations. Below are several categories of careers grouped according to their subject requirements. Some careers appear in more than one category because they require different subjects. See how your career ambitions relate with the subjects you are studying in school.

Mathematics

A vast range of careers need Mathematics and a good grade in the subject will open doors for you.
These include:

• Architecture
• Building and land economics
• Construction management
• Design
• Economics
• High school Mathematics teaching
• Medicine
• Nursing
• Dentistry
• Database administration
• Geology
• Catering
• Horticulture
• Information technology
• Agriculture
• Accounting and auditing
• Biomedical sciences
• Biotechnology
• Insurance
• Business management
• Engineering
• Information sciences
• Statistics
• Actuarial science
• Agribusiness management
• Computer science
• Entrepreneurship Physics

Physics

You need a good grade in physics to pursue the following:

• Electrical & electronics engineering
• Aeronautical engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Civil and structural engineering
• Computer science
• Medical engineering
• Building economics
• High school physics teaching Physics
• Telecommunications
• Surveying
• Geology
• Physiotherapy
• Aviation/pilot
• Radiography
• Systems engineering
• Information technology

English Language

English is a core subject in our education system. It is a prerequisite subject in understanding all the other subjects except for Kiswahili and foreign languages. The following careers need good qualifications in English:

• Drama and theatre arts
• Advertising
• Air hostess/cabin crew
• Banking
• Beauty therapy
• Broadcasting
• Business management
• Computing and information sciences
• Correctional services
• Medicine
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Estate management
• Design
• Hotel and hospitality
• Insurance
• Journalism
• Library and information sciences
• Law
• Management consultancy
• Music
• Human resource management
• Pharmacy
• Aviation/piloting
• Policing and law enforcement
• Psychology
• Public relations
• Publishing
• Sales and marketing
• Secretarial
• Social work
• Teaching
• Tour operations

Business Studies

Though business studies is not strictly specified as a qualification to pursue many courses in college and university, it is an added advantage for those who have studied it. You get a big boost when you have done business studies and are Scaling Career Heights – Step by Step Career Guide for Students pursuing the following:

• Accounting
• Actuarial science
• Advertising
• Banking
• Management
• Database administration
• Building and land economics
• Planning
• Design
• Entrepreneurship
• Hotel and hospitality
• Human resource management
• Information technology
• Computing
• Insurance
• Journalism
• Leisure management
• Logistics
• Library and information science
• Sales and marketing
• Public relations
• Surveying
• Retail management
• Social work
• Teaching
• Economics

Humanities

Humanities include Geography, History and Religious education (Islamic,Hindu and Christian). The following careers require a good grade in humanities:

• Advertising
• Architecture
• Law
• Building economics
• Food science and technology
• Horticulture
• Hotel and hospitality
• Journalism
• Aviation/piloting
• Surveying
• Social work
• Teaching
• Tour guide and operations
• Soil science and conservation
• Planning
• Child welfare
• Business administration and management
• Publishing
• Counseling
• Correctional services
• Sales and marketing
• Administration
• Consultancy
• International relations
• Diplomacy and community affairs.

Biology

There are many careers that require a good grade in Biology.
They include:

• Medicine
• Pharmacy
• Nursing
• Dentistry
• Botany and zoology
• Food science and technology
• Biochemistry
• Biomedical science and Biotechnology
• Environmental and Public health
• Forestry
• Wildlife and range management
• Horticulture
• Veterinary medicine
• Dairy science and technology
• Agriculture
• Environmental sciences
• High school Biology teaching
• Sports science
• Health education
• Physiotherapy
• Beauty therapy
• Chemical engineering
• Dietetics
• Occupational therapy
• Psychology
• Radiography

Chemistry

The following careers need a good grade in chemistry:

• Systems analysis
• Biochemistry
• Biomedical sciences
• Biotechnology
• Chemical engineering
• Chemistry
• Civil engineering
• Dentistry
• Dietetics
• Medicine
• Food science and technology
• Geology
• Health service management
• Mechanical engineering
• Metallurgy
• Pharmacy
• High school chemistry teaching
• Veterinary medicine
• Forensic chemistry
• Agricultural sciences
• Soil science
• Laboratory technology
• Medical technology
• Environmental health

Competitive career fields to choose from

“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.” – Chris Grosser

There are numerous career opportunities in the various social-economic fields. Students are advised to choose a career from the field they are interested in. They should also ensure they are good in the subjects relevant to the field. To cover a wide range of careers, we have classified them into broad categories as follows;

1. Agriculture and Related Careers

These include careers related to plant and animal science. It also includes careers in crop and animal production, pest and disease control and animal science. Careers in horticulture and floriculture are also included. Examples are agribusiness management, agricultural and bio-systems engineering, agricultural business management, agricultural economics, agricultural economics and resource management and agricultural education and extension.

2. Architecture, Building and Related Careers.

These include careers in the field of building and construction. Other areas include land economics, landscaping, urban and regional planning, civil and tructural engineering, construction management, landscape and architecture.

3. Beauty, Fashion and Related Careers

They include careers in fashion, textile, interior and exterior designs. It also includes careers in beauty, hairdressing and modeling. Other jobs are fashion design and marketing, clothing, textile and interior design and apparel and fashion technology. Interior designers need a combination of both science and art related skills, which include the ability to work with technical details as well as keenness on fashion, style and trends.

4. Business Related Careers

These include careers in commerce and industry such as marketing, insurance, finance, investment, banking and entrepreneurship. Other related jobs include accounting, actuarial science, banking and finance, business management, business administration, cooperative management, micro-finance and marketing.

5. Community Development Related Careers

These include careers in sociology, social work and community development, cutting across a variety of settings that include schools, hospitals and the general community. The jobs here include social studies, gender studies,social work, population studies, justice and peace, participatory project planning, disaster management and community development.

6. Creative Arts and Entertainment Related Careers

These include careers in fine art and related areas, cartoon industry, photography, music and theatre. Other jobs include sports technology, recreation and management, physical education, fine art, creative arts, theatre arts, cultural studies, drama and theatre studies. The work environment includes advertising, publishing (books, newspapers, magazines) and electronic media (television, radio) industries.

7. Diplomacy and Public Relations Related Careers

These include careers in public relations as well as in diplomatic assignment, international relations, justice and peace and political sciences. One needs to have the ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds, good communication skills and patience.

8. Education Related Careers

These include careers in teaching at all levels. The careers also include education administrators such as education officers and teachers in special education programmes.

9. Engineering Related Careers

These include careers in the different areas of engineering cutting across diverse fields such as electrical, mechanical, civil, agricultural, chemical and environmental and computer engineering.

10. Environmental management and conservation related careers

These include careers in air, water, land management and conservation, forestry, wildlife and fisheries. Other jobs are land economics, urban and regional planning, science and technology, wildlife management, environmental health, environmental science and wetlands management and conservation.

11. Entrepreneurship and Related Careers

Entrepreneurship cuts across all fields where there is need to look at organizations and institutions as business enterprises. They also include careers in entrepreneurial de-velopment, commerce and business administration.

12. Geography and Related Careers

These include careers in geology, survey and mapping, cartography, meteorology, oceanography, remote sensing and astronomy. Others are natural resources, ecotourism, mining, geography, and environmental science.

13. Guidance, Counseling and Related careers

These include careers in guidance, counseling, psychology in religious, industrial and community related fields. The work includes guidance and counseling, counseling psychology, education and counseling, pastoral counseling and social work.

14. Health Related Careers

These include medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, medical technology, radiography and physiotherapy. Careers in this field require students with good mental ability and aptitude to think logically, keen, alert and quick in interpretation, warm personality, patient and commitment to serve mankind.

15. Home Science, Food Technology and Related Careers

These include careers in nutrition, dietetics technology and fashion design and textile technology.

16. Hospitality and Related Careers

These include careers in the various departments in the hotel industry, travel and tourism related areas. The jobs include hotel and restaurant management tourism management, home economics and food science and nutrition. Others are foreign languages, hotel and institutional management, hotel and hospitality management and travel and tours operation management.

17. History and Related Careers

These include careers related to archaeology, anthropology and political science, among others. Those with interest in this area need to have interest in getting information, are curious and have deep interest in the past.

18. Information, Communication Technology (ICT) and Related Careers

These include careers in computer industry including computer hardware and software. The category also includes careers in library and information science, computer technology and computer science. Others are information sciences, information systems technology, computer applications, web design, networking and communication systems.

19. Journalism Related Careers

These include careers in print journalism and electronic journalism such as information sciences, communications media technology, journalism and media studies and communication technology.

20. Law Related Careers

Careers in these area deal with governance and justice which ensure people’s stability and confidence in their country. This category includes careers relating to matters of law in the mainstream as well as those in the para-legal field such as court clerks.

21. Management and Administration Related Careers

These include careers in different specializations of management in such areas as sales and marketing, finance, human resource management, production among others. The jobs here include business administration and management, international operations management, purchasing and supplies management, human resource management, tourism management and marketing management.

22. Manufacturing and Processing Related Careers

These include careers in manufacturing and processing industries in both food and non-food related areas. The jobs here include industrial and production planning and management, manufacturing engineering technology, industrial chemistry, food science and technology, chemical processing engineering, production engineering and analytical chemistry.

23. Research and Statistics Related Careers

These include careers in research and statistics related areas which cut across different and dynamic fields such as education, health, business, marketing, information communication technology (ICT) among others.

24. Security Related Careers

These include careers in defence, (army, navy, air force) paramilitary, police and intelligence services. It also includes jobs in private security firms as well as careers related administration.

25. Sports and Physical Education Related Careers

Career in sports is still in its early stages of development in Kenya. There is a lot of potential and opportunities sports can offer. Currently, there are many Kenyans earning a living from athletics, football and other sports. All you require is energy, drive, passion, enthusiasm, agility and perseverance.

26. Transport and Communication Services Related Careers

These include careers in the shipping, aviation, railway and road transport sec-tors. One requires alertness, courage, determination and physical fitness. The person should be self-confident, reliable, calm and able to take charge in an emergency.