How to Decide Your Career – Practical Steps to Find the Right Path

Figuring out a career is tough because the market in India does not stay still. Every year you hear about new jobs in analytics, digital marketing, or product. Most people feel pushed to lock in a choice too early. The good news is your career is not one irreversible bet. You can shape it gradually if you treat it like a series of experiments.

Now, what matters more than hunting for the one perfect fit is building proof that you are moving in the right direction. Recruiters notice portfolios, projects that solve real problems, and the confidence you carry in interviews. That means you do not need all the answers today. You just need a process that gives you evidence along the way.

Here is how to decide your career:

• Look at real data like median salaries, recruiter mix, and role distribution in placement reports
• Test skills through short projects, internships, or freelancing before committing long-term
• Talk to alumni or working professionals to understand what daily work feels like
• Use frameworks and mentorship to structure your decisions instead of relying on random advice

Kraftshala takes this same approach by giving learners frameworks, mentors from the industry, and projects that simulate real work. 

Factors to Consider Before Choosing Your Career

Here are a few factors to know how to choose the right career for yourself.

Your Interests and Strengths

Start with what you enjoy, but check it outside the classroom. If you like writing, put up a few posts on Medium and see who reads and comments. If you enjoy numbers, try free challenges on Kaggle. Write down three activities that make you lose track of time, then run at least one small trial for each. 

What can you do?

• Take aptitude tests on IndiaBix or Mettl and see if the results match what you experienced in your trials
• Ask two teachers and one senior what they think you naturally do better than most people around you

Your Current Skills and Potential to Learn

Think of your skills in two sets. The first is what you can already prove, like coding projects, event leadership, or a design portfolio. The second is skills you could learn quickly. Test yourself before committing years. For example, attend a free Excel workshop and see if you can make a pivot table in one hour. If yes, then data roles may suit you.

What can you do?

• Open LinkedIn Jobs and see how often skills like SQL, Canva, or SEO appear in postings
• Use Naukri.com skill trends to spot keywords that show up more often month by month
• Try a short challenge like building a landing page on Wix or running a small Instagram ad to check how fast you adapt

Job Market Demand

Passion is useful, but you need numbers too. Open placement reports from IIM Bangalore or DU SRCC and write down the top three sectors hiring. Compare those with the skills you have. For example, there are currently over 23,000 active digital marketing job openings listed on LinkedIn in India and around 14,000+ on Glassdoor and Indeed as of September 2025, with many more available on job portals like Naukri.com (18,000+) and foundit.in.

What can you do?

• Read AmbitionBox reviews to see if people stay in that sector long enough or leave within a year
• Compare two roles side by side on LinkedIn Career Explorer and check what transitions people make after three years
• Scan ET Jobs or Mint Careers for hiring updates in India to see which sectors are actually expanding

Your Lifestyle and Values

Shadow a senior or relative for a day to see what the role feels like. If you care about location freedom, check if jobs in your field appear on remote-friendly platforms like FlexC or Upwork. Make a list of three non-negotiables, such as weekends free, staying in your home city, or aiming for global exposure. Use this list to filter job searches. A career in digital marketing often ensures a good work-life balance along with decent pay.

Growth Potential

A first salary is only a snapshot. For example, a banking role may start high, but within five years a digital marketing manager or product lead often earns more. To check growth, look at senior LinkedIn profiles and trace how fast they moved up. Did they get promoted every two years or stay stuck?

What to see?

• AmbitionBox salary trends show how pay changes with experience across industries
• TeamBlind gives global insights into what mid-career professionals enjoy learning to stay relevant
• Alumni groups can tell you how their salaries and responsibilities changed in the first five years

If you say you are good at design, show a Behance portfolio. If you claim interest in marketing, run a small campaign for a local business and show the results. Kraftshala helps learners create this kind of proof through frameworks, mentors already working in the field, and projects that look like client assignments. When recruiters see this, they feel confident to invest time and training in your candidature.

Frameworks to Decide on a Career Path

Here are some frameworks to help you determine how to choose a career path that suits your needs.

The Ikigai List

Ikigai is a Japanese word that roughly translates to “a reason for being.” It is the feeling that your life has meaning because what you do gives you joy, uses your strengths, pays you enough to sustain, and contributes to something larger than yourself. People usually explain it with four circles. It is simply about finding the overlap between four areas:

• What you love doing
• What are you good at
• What pays well in the job market
• What the world currently needs

How to use it in practice

• Write down three activities you genuinely enjoy, like coding, debating, or designing.
• Note three skills people already recognize in you. Example: writing essays, building Excel models, or explaining concepts.
• Check salaries for those skills on AmbitionBox or Glassdoor to confirm earning potential. 
• Check demand on job portals like Naukri or LinkedIn. Example: Python-related roles show over 50,000 postings in India this year.
• See where the four lists overlap. That intersection answers the question “how to decide your career” and then tests it.

Think about what makes you genuinely happy and break it down to its core/bare essence. For someone, that core could be helping others. For others, it might be creating with their hands or spending time outdoors. Once you know that essence, explore careers that let you meet that need every day.

Personal SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Businesses use it to make decisions, but you can apply it to your own career too.

• Strengths → Proof-backed skills you can show. Example – “Built a dashboard during my internship.”
• Weaknesses → Areas holding you back. Example – “Struggle with public speaking.”
• Opportunities → What the Indian job market is opening up. Example – demand for content and digital roles in Tier 2 cities.
• Threats → External risks beyond your control. Example – “Automation replacing entry-level BPO roles.”

How to turn SWOT into action

• If weakness is public speaking, join Toastmasters or practice with mock GD groups.
• If digital marketing is the opportunity, consider a project such as running ads for a local shop.
• If the threat is automation, shift towards roles that require creativity or analysis where machines lag behind.

Instead of leaving it as a list, convert every weakness or opportunity into a task on your to-do sheet.

The Future Backward Approach

This is less known but very practical. Instead of asking “What job should I take now?” you picture the life you want ten years later and then trace backward.

How to apply it

• Imagine yourself at 30. Do you see yourself running a startup, working abroad, or having steady hours in your hometown?
• Break down what needs to happen in your twenties to get there. For example, if you want a startup, you may need early exposure to growth-stage companies or programs that connect you to founders.
• Use that vision as a filter when choosing between options. Example – if stability in a Tier 2 city matters, IT services or EdTech might serve you better than consulting.

This method prevents you from choosing in isolation. If you are interested in marketing, check the digital marketing career path. And do the same for other fields you are interested in. Instead of comparing an MBA versus a job now, you ask which option takes you closer to the life you actually want.

Trial and Feedback Loop

No framework can predict how you will feel about a career until you test it.

Ways to test fit

• Do a short internship through Internshala or LinkedIn projects, even if unpaid (not preferred), to check if you like the work rhythm.
• Take a short Udemy or Coursera course and end it with an output. Example – spend 500 rupees on Facebook ads for a college fest to see if you enjoy campaign work.
• Share your project with alumni or seniors and ask directly, “Would this stand out in placements?” Their feedback is worth more than a certificate.

If you’re into marketing, you should consider enrolling in Kraftshala’s Marketing Launchpad, as per 2500+ students. They say that Kraftshala helped them realise their interest and potential, and also helped them build a strong portfolio through live projects and eventually land fulfilling jobs.

How to Plan Your Career Path Effectively

Planning works only when paired with doing. Here are some tips on how to decide your career effectively. 

Step 1. Set Short, Medium, and Long-Term Goals

The short term is 6 to 12 months. See what you can actually show within this time. For example, build a digital marketing portfolio with two campaigns and one case study, or clear a Microsoft Excel certification and publish your work on LinkedIn.

Medium term is 2 to 3 years. Place yourself in roles that stretch you. For instance, aim to become an assistant manager in analytics or a content lead in a startup. Look at job postings for those roles now and note what skills appear again and again. That becomes your skill checklist.

The long term is 5 to 7 years. This is not about exact job titles but about your lifestyle and impact. Leading a product team in a consumer tech company or running a boutique design agency are a few examples. Write it down in one line so it is simple to remember.

Practical tip – Use a wall calendar or your phone notes app. Write one goal for each stage and review it monthly. The act of revisiting keeps you honest.

Step 2. Map Your Skill Development

Hard skills are technical tools or methods. Example – SQL, Python, Canva, or SEO. You can track demand for these on Naukri.com by checking how many postings list them.

Soft skills are people-driven. Example – persuasion, teamwork, or leadership. You can build these by joining group projects in college fests, volunteering for NGOs, or leading small teams during hackathons.

Moreover, for every skill you add, create one piece of evidence. Example – design a full resume kit on Canva for your friend, publish a Python notebook on GitHub, or run a Rs 1,000 Instagram ad for a college club and track engagement. 

Step 3. Test and Adjust

Nothing works on paper until you try it. Short trials save years of regret when figuring out how to decide your career.

• Do internships on Internshala or LetsIntern, even for two weeks, to taste the daily routine of a role.
• Take a single project gig on Fiverr or Upwork. Even earning Rs 1,000 gives you clarity on client work.
• Volunteer to run social media for your neighborhood store or design a website for a tuition teacher. Small projects (even if unpaid) often teach you more than big-name internships.
• Talk to three alumni who already do what you are considering. Ask them what they like, what drains them, and which skills they use daily. Compare their answers with your own comfort zone.

Step 4. Keep Your Plan Flexible

The Indian job market shifts every year. AI is reshaping marketing, fintech is creating new finance roles, and renewable energy is rising, while some IT services are slowing down.

Review your goals every 6 months. Ask yourself two questions. Am I still excited by this work? Is the market still hiring for it? If either answer is no, you must adjust. 

Focus on transferable skills like writing clear emails, building Excel dashboards, or leading small teams. These skills travel across industries, so even if you switch fields, you will not start from zero.

Step 5. Use a Career Roadmap Grid

Sometimes three timelines are not enough. Use a grid with four columns.

• Column one is the time frame. Short, medium, long, and optional backup.
• Column two is the role or skill target. Example: short-term learn SEO, medium-term become digital marketing associate, long-term become marketing head.
• Column three is actions. Courses, internships, projects, or mentors you will use.
• Column four is proof. The exact output you will create, like a case study, a certificate, or a project link.

This grid forces you to keep your plan concrete. You can make it on paper or in Google Sheets. Review it with a mentor or senior once every six months.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Deciding Your Career

Many students ask how to select your career without ending up in the wrong lane. The honest answer is that careers rarely collapse because you picked the wrong industry. They collapse when you overlook the basics that keep you engaged and growing. Here is a checklist that saves you from the most common mistakes in how to choose a career.

• Choosing based only on pay

High salaries feel attractive at the start, but money cannot replace interest when deadlines pile up. In India, IT jobs often lure students with placement packages, yet many switch out within two years because they never enjoyed coding in the first place. Before chasing pay, check if you can see yourself learning that skill for the next five years.

• Following peers blindly

It is natural to feel pressure when friends choose engineering or finance. But your network, learning style, and motivation are not the same as theirs. Before copying them, list three skills you are excited to build, and ask if their path develops those skills for you, too. If the answer is no, it is not your lane.

• Ignoring your personal interests and skills

Careers feel sustainable when what you like overlaps with what you can do well. Test this overlap early. If you are curious about marketing, design a small social media calendar for a college fest. If you lean toward research, pick a current policy debate and write a two-page analysis. These experiments give clarity faster than any personality test.

• Underestimating continuous learning

Industries evolve every year. Today’s digital marketing needs AI tools, today’s finance needs fintech knowledge, and today’s design needs UX research. Block a weekly slot of three to five hours for learning. Treat it like gym time. Without it, you risk becoming outdated even in stable jobs.

A Simple Framework to Double-Check Your Choice

When you feel confused, run your career idea through three questions.

1. Can I see myself practicing this skill every week without feeling drained
2. Will this skill still be relevant in five years in India’s market?
3. Do I already have or can I build one proof of this skill in the next six months?

If the answer is yes for all three, you are on a strong track. If one answer is no, pause and rethink before committing.

How to Choose Your Career with Kraftshala

Deciding on a career is easier when you have mentors, projects, and clear outcomes guiding you. Students often get stuck between interest and market demand, and this is where Kraftshala bridges the gap.

With Kraftshala, you test your fit for careers through real work.

• Learn directly from brand experts who mentor you live and help you avoid common career mistakes
• Work on campaigns and projects that become proof of your skills in your portfolio
• Join a network where over 2000 students have already moved into marketing and digital roles
• Step into interviews with confidence by targeting jobs that start at 4.5 LPA and grow faster with evidence-backed experience

The answer to the question of how to choose a career starts with preparation. Kraftshala makes that preparation practical. If you want to see how this works in detail, explore the Kraftshala Marketing Launchpad.