Professional life can be confusing for students. It might seem glamorous when you are a student, but I can tell from personal experience that it’s not. If you are career-oriented and want to work hard, you will enjoy the professional life. However, it’s no longer the party like student life. 

You might think student life was difficult, but there are some surprises waiting for you. You should also know that it doesn’t remain that way. As you progress in your professional life, you will get used to it. Just make sure you have good friends always in contact with you, and you keep meeting them. 

If you are having trouble starting your professional career, here are a few tips you should know. These will help you avoid many problems and get ahead of your competitors. 

Find Your Passion

People will tell you to choose a field that is high in demand. They are right in their place, but it’s the worst advice. Remember, the field you choose becomes your life. You will spend nine hours every day doing that thing. 

That’s why it’s important that you do something you love; otherwise, it’ll get really tough for you. Besides, you can’t excel in a field that you don’t like. You must have love for the work you do to actually become a leader in it. 

Some fields may not offer a high salary in the beginning, but you will earn more once you get really at it. You can either be mediocre at some field you don’t like or expert at a field you do like. The latter earn more money and have more fun. 

Don’t Be Scared to Switch Careers

You might be worried that you will make the wrong choice of choosing a career. You should try to get it right the first time, but it doesn’t mean the end of the world. You can switch your career later. 

It will mean that you have to start a new career from scratch, so your class-fellows will get ahead of you, and you might have to change your lifestyle a little bit for some time. But, if it’s important, it must be done. 

Many professionals realize that they are not in the field after spending years in their professional life. If you are doing what you love, you won’t have to switch fields. Even if you do, try to keep asking yourself if you need to try some other professions as soon as you start a job. 

Build Practical Skills

So many people say that they are highly educated and they can’t find a job. They blame the industry and economy for it. Let me tell you something; they can’t find a job because they have no value to offer. 

A degree will help you get into the field of academia. If you want to become a researcher or a teacher, you should go for it. They are great fields. 

However, you need to have the skills to help people make money if you want to make your place in the corporate world. 

They don’t care about your degree. The institute and the degree tell them about the quality of education you got. After that, it’s all about your skills and expertise. 

If you are really good at what you do, you won’t ever go jobless unless there is a recession. You should try to field a skill that you will enjoy as a career. 

Take courses and extra classes if you have to. Most professionals learn those things after they get a job. It will give a head start if you master your skills before you start looking for a job. 

Be Creative with the Resume

After you have chosen a field and learned all the necessary skills, it’s time to build a resume. 

Remember, you should not create a generic CV that can be used for all types of job positions. Just choose one field and only apply for relevant jobs. 

It should say “Python Developer” right under your name in the resume if you are a python developer. This shows the employer that you are not just exploring and you know what you want. They will take you as a person that has accepted his profession and will make a career in it. 

Another important thing you should remember is to tailor the resume according to the job description for which you are applying. 

Get Used to Pulling All-Nighters

You probably had some practice with pulling all-nighters if you got a college education. Don’t let that power end with school. 

Even in professional life, you have to pull many all-nighters to master a new skill. There are many things to learn within one profession. To master those skills, you should always be ready and willing. 

If you see a good job opportunity that requires a few skills you don’t yet have, apply for that job and learn that skill. 

Learn Professional Ethics

It’s crucial that you learn professional ethics and the corporate culture even with your technical skills. This includes good communication skills and an understanding of hierarchy and responsibilities. Furthermore, you should have leadership skills even if you are just getting started as an internee. 

The leader of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has shared some powerful advice on the subject. You should definitely read and follow his amazon leadership principles; they will come really handy in every job interview. 

There are also other courses about professional practices that could be really useful for you. Follow magazines such as Harvard Business Review, Inc, and Business Insider. They have great insights to offer to all professionals. 

These ethics will help you secure your place in the workplace, earn the respect of your colleagues, and get faster promotions. Many people ignore them and only focus on their technical skills. They believe that they will get a job as long as they are good at what they do. 

They are not wrong, but it limits their growth. If you go as a programmer, you wouldn’t always want to be a programmer. You should get promoted to senior programmer, then team lead, manager, head of the department, chief technical officer, and maybe CEO one day. 

Remember that your earning potential significantly increases with each promotion. 

Find a Mentor

Most of your professionals will be automatically solved if you can manage to find a good mentor. The mentor won’t be a wise old mouse. It can be anyone in your field who is more experienced than you. 

You want someone who has explored the field you are starting and won’t mind sharing advice with you. Any time you have a problem, you can go meet him/her for consultation. 

You can directly follow your ideas and learn from failure or you can get advice so that you are already prepared for all possible hurdles. 

This is not all. He will also help you find the right path you need to follow. You won’t wander around with different things before you can find the right answer. It will save you a lot of time and energy. One simple example is learning the right things. 

He could tell you what other skills you should master in addition to your current set of skills that could give you a career boost.