The choice of the right industry is, of course, largely based on your own education. If you have studied a technical subject, you will rarely end up in sales later on. In the same way, it is unlikely that a trained retail saleswoman will end up working in a workshop. Many industries often remain off-limits to career changers for a long time. So take a close look at your educational background. What have you already learned? Where can you still learn new skills in practice? It is essential to know in advance where your path can take you. After an initial analysis of your knowledge and skills, you should draw up a list of five to ten occupational fields or sectors for the purpose of further narrowing down your options. Only in this way will you be able to make the right choice in the end. Nach einer ersten Analyse deiner Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten solltest du zum Zwecke der weiteren Eingrenzung eine Liste aus fünf bis zehn Berufsbildern beziehungsweise Branchen aufstellen. Nur so wird es dir gelingen, am Ende die richtige Wahl zu treffen.
For most employees, the most important criterion is still: How much can you earn in which industry? And, of course, the earning potential is rightly given such high priority. After all, you want to be paid as much as possible for your work. To get an overview of the various salaries, you should take a look at salary reports from industry associations and consulting institutes. These often list in detail how much employees earn and with how much work experience. There is often also information on the range of incomes. You should pay particular attention to the average salary in the fifth and tenth year of a career. While starting salaries are sometimes surprisingly low, in many industries there is a steep upward trend in the first few years. If this trend continues into the tenth year of your career, you can expect regular promotions and salary increases even after a long time. In the respective industries, therefore, all doors are open for a particularly steep career path.
But of course it's not always just about the money. What is it worth to earn 100,000 euros a year if you have to work day and night for it? For this reason, the criterion of "work-life balance" is becoming increasingly important to many employees. Here, it all depends on your personal ideas. Maybe you want to really take off in the first few years and then shift down a gear. In that case, it will be worthwhile to largely disregard the relationship between working hours and free time for the time being. But if you're already deep into family planning, it's advisable to pay particular attention to flexible working hours and a comparatively low number of hours per week. Otherwise, the steep career path will quickly turn into an agonizing burn-out.
