When you are selecting a career there's a lot riding on your decision. You want to pick an occupation in which you can be successful for many years to come. While you can change careers, doing so can be effortful. It is easier if you don't have to do it too often. That means you should pick something that is not only suitable for you, but also can support you financially far into the future. Increase your chances of making a good decision by avoiding these very common mistakes.

当你选择职业时，你的决定可能会影响很多事情。你当然希望选择一个可以在未来的若干年内飞黄腾达的职业。虽说你可以改行，但是这通常会耗费很多的精力。如果不需要经常跳槽，生活就会变得容易一些。这就意味着你应该选择一个既适合你的，又可以一直保证你的经济来源的工作。避免以下这些常见错误可以帮助你作出适合你的决定。

Mistakes to Avoid When Selecting a Career:

选择职业时绝不要犯的错误：

1. Listening to People Who Tell You That You Should, or Should Not, Do Something: Many people think they should have a say in what career you choose—your parents, your friends, your significant other. They don't. In most cases, your decision will have little impact on the other people in your life. You, however, will have to deal with your choice for years to come. Make sure the career you choose is something you want to spend your day doing.

盲目听从那些告诉你应该或不应该做什么的人：包含你的父母，朋友和配偶在内的许多人都会认为他们有权对你的职业选择发表意见，事实上他们并没有权力干涉。在大多数情况下，你的选择对你人生中的其他人几乎不会产生任何影响。然而，你自己却需要在未来的很长一段时间内对你的选择负责。做决定之前确保你选择的职业是你真正想做的。

2. Following in Someone Else's Footsteps: You may be haunted by your parents' expectations to go into the same occupation they are in. You may know it as the one that helped put food in your mouth, kept a roof over your head and even paid your way through school. As hard is it is to do, ignore the pressure you may feel to please your mom and dad. Remember, and if necessary, remind your parents, that they made their own choices and now it's your turn.

跟随他人的脚步：你的父母可能会希望你以后从事与他们相同的职业，你可能会因他们的这种期待而感到困扰。你对这份工作的了解可能仅仅停留在它可以供我吃，供我住甚至可以供我上学。但是请不要强迫自己去取悦你的父母，尽管这并不容易做到。请记住，必要时也要提醒你的父母，他们已经做出了自己的选择，而现在你的人生你要自己做主。

What was right for them may not be for you. In the long run, there's a good chance they'd rather see you happy in a career of your own choosing than unhappy in one you picked to please them.

对他们来说合适的工作可能对你来说并非如此。从长远看来，你的父母还是希望你从事自己选择的工作，快乐地生活而非看你因取悦他们所选择的职业整天闷闷不乐。

3. Not Doing Your Homework: Don't choose a career without taking the time to learn about it. In addition to a job description, you should make sure to gather information about typical job duties, educational requirements, earnings and job outlook.

事前不做功课：在你选择某个职业之前一定要花时间去了解它。除了工作描述之外，你还应该搜集一些关于日常工作职责，教育背景要求，收入和前景之类的信息。

4. Not Talking to Those in the Know: Your homework isn't complete if you skip talking to someone who currently works in the career field you are considering. Those who are engaged in an occupation can provide you with a truthful account of what it's really like to work in it. If possible talk to a few people to avoid individual biases.

事前不和业内人士交流：事前的准备工作必须包括与正在你希望从事的领域内工作的人的交流沟通。那些业内人士会告诉你这个领域内的真实状况。如果可能的话，多找几个人谈谈，以免掺杂个人偏见。

5. Going for the Money, Honey: Bringing home a paycheck is important, but the size of it isn't actually a great predictor of job satisfaction. In other words, you can make six figures but if you hate what you're doing you'll find it hard to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Look for a balance between making enough money to support yourself and work that fulfills you.

眼里只有钱：收入固然重要，但是收入的多少与你的工作满意度并没有太大的关系。换句话说，你可以月入十万，但如果你讨厌你的工作，你就会很难去享受你劳动的果实。试着在维持生计和实现自己的抱负之间寻找一个平衡。

6. Ignoring Who You Are: Your personality type, interests, values and aptitudes make you better suited for some occupations than others. These traits are intrinsic, which means you can't change them. If you don't take them into account when selecting a career, there is an excellent chance you will wind up in an occupation that is unsuitable for you.

没能认清自己：你的性格，兴趣，价值观和天赋会使你比其他人更适合某些职业。这些特点是天生的，也就是说你无法改变。如果你在选择职业的时候不考虑这些因素，那么你很有可能最后会从事一个并不适合你的职业。

7. Not Considering Location, Location, Location: Jobs in certain occupations are concentrated in specific cities—New York or Los Angeles for example—or in certain types of locations—such as cities versus rural areas.

没有考虑工作地点，工作地点，工作地点，重要的事情说三遍：有些工作会集中在一些特定的城市，比如说纽约或洛杉矶，或者集中在某些特定区域，比如城市或乡村地区。

If you live somewhere that doesn't offer many opportunities in your field and you aren't willing to relocate, you will have trouble getting a job.

如果你的家乡并没有很多你希望从事领域的工作机会，而你又不想去别的城市，那么你找工作将会变得异常困难。

8. Not Looking Beyond a "Best Careers" List: Lists that tell you what careers have the best opportunities of the year, decade or whatever, can be a helpful guide when it comes to selecting a career. However, making a decision based solely on one of those lists is a terrible idea. Even an occupation with a great outlook can be a bad fit, so you have to scratch below the surface to find out whether you and a career are a good match.

把目光局限在那些光鲜职业上：那些列出了年度，或过去十年内发展前景最好的职业的榜单在你选择职业的时候会给你一些有用的指导。然而，仅仅依靠这些榜单来选择职业就是大错特错了。一个前程似锦的职业可能完全不适合你。所以你要去深度挖掘你到底适不适合这份工作。

9. Ignoring the Future: While you shouldn't make your choice solely on an occupation's appearance on a "best careers list," to ignore employment outlook is careless.

完全忽视前景：虽说你不应该完全依靠那些榜单上的职业发展表现来做出选择，完全忽视发展前景也是不可取的。

There's a good chance you don't have a crystal ball that can tell you with certainty whether an occupation will grow, or at least be stable, during the course of your career. However, you can do more than hope for the best. You should consider whether a career has a promising future before you begin to prepare for it. You can at least eliminate something if its future looks bleak.

你并没有预言球可以确定地告诉你在你的职业生涯中，这份工作是否会越来越好，或至少会不会稳定。然而，除了往好处想之外，你还可以做很多事情。你在着手准备就业之前，应该对职业前景进行仔细衡量。如果看起来前途渺茫，你至少可以把它排除。