7 tips for choosing a career

Those who have the choice are often spoilt for choice. We have put together a few tips and addresses to help you decide.

Career choice in 7 steps

1 Get to know your interests and strengths.
2 Get to know professions and training programmes.
3 Compare your interests and strengths with the requirements of the professions and schools.
4. take a closer look at interesting professions, do one or more taster apprenticeships.
5 Decide on a profession or a school.
6. look for an apprenticeship or register with the school (possibly for the entrance exam).
7. prepare for the apprenticeship or school or look for an alternative.
Source: myBerufswahl.ch

Brochure "Facts and figures - Vocational education and training in Switzerland " www.berufsbildung.ch
Bridging programmes and interim solutions www.berufsberatung.ch ' Bridging programmes

Future Day

Once a year, boys and girls look into the future. Every year, they can visit their mum or dad at work and imagine what it would be like to work there themselves. Further information: www.nationalerzukunftstag.ch

Vocational information centres
Links and addresses to vocational information centres in all cantons: www.adressen.sdbb.ch

Vocational training in moving pictures: SRF MySchool

The career choice dossier on the Swiss Radio and Television website offers interesting and informative TV programmes on the topics of career choice, apprenticeship search and apprenticeships: www.srf.ch/sendungen/myschool/themen/berufswelt

Secondary specialised schools

Links and addresses of all specialised secondary schools in Switzerland: www.fms-ecg.ch ' Schools

Search for an apprenticeship online

yousty.ch
The yousty.ch website guides young people to the apprenticeship or school that suits them best. The career choice portal guides them to possible professions based on their interests and strengths, provides information and supports them in their search for taster apprenticeships and an apprenticeship. There is also information and links to various school education programmes. At www.yousty.ch, young people can set up a personalised search subscription and receive information by e-mail or WhatsApp about where apprenticeships are available in their desired profession.
careercounselling.ch
A little less youthful in style, but even more comprehensive in its information is berufsberatung.ch. The portal is operated by the Association of Swiss Career Counsellors. You can also find suitable occupational fields and lists of vacant apprenticeships based on your interests and strengths.

The careers counsellor Ross agreed:

Rejections of applications
Unfortunately, they are unavoidable. You have to learn to cope with this frustration. Talking to friends, comforting your parents, putting your weight on your shoulders or anything else that is good for you - and not harmful to your health - can help.
Stacks of rejections
If you receive ten rejections at the latest, you should talk to a specialist to find out what the problem might be. Companies rarely provide information. The career choice needs to be adjusted. You may need to revise your dossier or application strategy or rethink your choice of profession.
The 10th school year and its bad reputation among teenagers
Students who have to enter the 10th school year because they have not found anything else are usually negative. They are often very unmotivated and do not understand the purpose of this intermediate year. However, those students who make a conscious decision to attend year 10 benefit and often find an apprenticeship early on. Even those who still need to find their bearings during this time usually succeed during the year. Their comments are mostly positive. The public school year in Zurich, for example, with its various specialised classes, some of which are combined with school and practical work, offers a good opportunity to gain an advantage in terms of school and career.
Jobbing teenagers
Without vocational training, it is difficult to become financially independent and secure a livelihood later on. The result: low wages, low-skilled work, no access to further training. If vocational training is within sight and support is available, it is less problematic. But it doesn't get any easier after a year or two of working. Unnecessary internships are unspeakable here. All too often, cheap labour is lured with a «maybe-later apprenticeship» and thus prevented from vocational training.

Read more:

  • Career choice - nothing is forever
  • What influence do school grades have on career choices?
  • Alternatives to apprenticeships and grammar school
  • Ask the careers counsellor!
  • I want to go to grammar school
  • The apprenticeship - a model for success
  • Teaching is just the beginning
  • The career after the apprenticeship
  • Changing professions
  • Questions about career choices that help