According to a 2013 blog post, about 80% of students in the U.S. will end up swapping majors at least once — some will change their major as much as three times over their college experience. Since your education costs time and money, it's a good idea to figure out your major and how it can springboard into your preferred career paths. There are a lot of self-help books, quizzes, and other resources that can help you narrow down your career path, but one resource you may want to start with is a career path motivational podcast. Here are just a few reasons why motivational podcasts can help you on your journey.
You Can Listen for Free
Self-help books, motivational speakers, career testing, and other resources may cost money. So you may be spending a fair amount of time researching resources to make sure your money goes towards a resource that is helpful. However, because podcasts are often supported by advertisers, you can listen to many episodes for free. You can build up a large collection of motivational podcasts without having to worry about dropping a ton of money.
You Have a Wide Selection of Niche Podcasts
The problem with self-help books or career path quizzes is that the language may be unfocused and broad since these tools are meant to appeal to a wide variety of people. For instance, a self-help book may say that you would likely do well in an art-related field, but it may not differentiate between music, graphic arts, performing arts, etc. If you have an idea of a potential career path, you can find niche podcasts about specific jobs and what they entail. These podcasts may include interviews from people with on-the-job experience, from people just starting out, and from people who are in the midst of their job search. Furthermore, some of these niche podcasts may take a didactic approach and provide tips and instructions so that you'll know if you have an aptitude or interest for the kind of work in a chosen career path.
You Can Multi-Task While Listening
One problem with motivational books is that you have to set aside time to read and take notes. If you are currently working or in school, you may not have a lot of time to set aside. Podcasts allow you to multi-task. You could listen to a podcast while you walk your dog, do housework, commute to work/school, run errands, exercise, etc.
Podcasts Provide Conversations and Answer Your Questions
During podcast episodes, there's usually more than one person in the episode. Instead of just reading a motivational book where you only see one perspective, you'll find that podcasts provide the opportunity for round-table discussions, which can help you see all the pros and cons of a given field. Furthermore, some podcast episodes are broadcast live and allow listener call-ins, so you could hear from other people with similar concerns as yourself; or, you could call in to the show to get personalized answers to your questions. Even if a podcast isn't doing call-ins, the creators may allow listeners to submit questions before the episode air date.
As you can see, podcasts can be a valuable resource in your career path search since they are free, convenient to listen to, and narrow in their scope.