You’ll spend around 80,000 hours of your life working.
You might spend four years earning a degree and spend $40K, $80K, or even over $100K on tuition. You might invest in tutors, consultants, or coaches to help you get into school, get better at a sport, or land your first internship.
We put a lot of money and effort into education, performance, and getting our foot in the door. But when it comes to figuring out what kind of work to do, we’re mostly left to figure it out alone.
School doesn’t offer much guidance, and most people don’t invest in finding it elsewhere. So we guess. We go with whatever sounds practical or familiar, or we wait until something falls into our lap.
Be honest. How much have you actually invested to get clarity on your career path?
Probably not much. At least not compared to what you’ve spent on tuition, test prep, or application fees. And yet, this is the decision that shapes the next 40 years of your life.
That’s the disconnect, and it’s a big reason why so many people stay stuck. If you’re ready to change that, here are 5 ways to help:
Table of Contents
1. Use career assessments
The right assessment isn’t just a personality quiz with job labels attached. Good ones help you identify patterns in how you think, what you value, and what motivates you.
They act like a mirror and reflect your strengths, blind spots, and ideal work environments. The goal is to narrow your focus and rule out what doesn’t fit.
Assessments can also bring structure to your self-reflection. They translate vague feelings like “I enjoy working with people” into actionable categories and career clusters.
And the good news is, some of the best ones are either free or low-cost.
Try:
- CareerExplorer – Interest and personality-based results with detailed role matches and job satisfaction data.
- PathwayU – Values-driven results, often free through schools or university career centers.
- YouScience – Paid assessment that accounts for aptitude, personality, and workforce data.
- CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) – Paid tool that shows how you naturally operate and how you work best.
2. Watch real job stories and day-in-the-life content
Job descriptions are almost useless. They don’t show the energy of the work, the pace, the culture, or how the role differs widely from company to company. What you need is actual human input.
Real stories give you behind-the-scenes content that no job board ever will. You see what the job looks like, what tradeoffs are involved, and what paths are out there.
This stuff is more available than ever. Platforms are full of regular people documenting their work and sharing how they got there.
Try:
- YouTube – Search “day in the life of a [job title]” and look for micro creators who aren’t trying to be influencers. Focus on content that shows the mundane, not just the highlights.
- TikTok – Quick hits showing the realities of different jobs.
- GradSimple interviews – Grads talking honestly about their roles, how they got them, what surprised them, and what they wish they knew earlier.
3. What’s career coaching (and who is it for)?
Most people don’t even know career coaching exists, or they assume it’s only for execs. It’s not.
Career coaching is structured, one-on-one support for people who feel stuck, want to pivot, or need help making a major decision. Yes, it costs money, but compared to what you’ve already spent on school, test prep, or training, it’s often a small investment for a decision that shapes your next decade.
Try:
- University career centers – Free or low-cost for students and recent grads.
- Private coaches – $100–300 per session. Look for ones who focus on early-career clients.
- Decision coaching – Best for high-stakes moments like job switches, major changes, or career pivots.
4. Try a structured decision-making framework
Most people choose their career based on vibes. Which is fine… until the vibes shift.
A framework gives your decision some structure. It forces you to define what matters, weigh tradeoffs, and think long-term. No more circling the same options without getting anywhere. Even a basic framework can reduce decision fatigue and help you feel more confident moving forward.
Try:
- Career decision matrix – List your top options, define the factors that matter (pay, growth, values, etc), and score each one.
- 5 Whys – Drill into the root of your motivations or fears by asking yourself “why” five times in a row.
- Career Decision Formula – A tool GradSimple built to score career options across viability and values. Helps you make a clear, grounded call without overthinking.
5. Do a real-world test
You can’t think your way into the perfect career. At some point, you need to test things in the real world. And no, this doesn’t mean quitting your job or going back to school. Real-world testing means low-stakes actions that give you better feedback than endless research ever could.
A test might confirm your interest, or it might rule something out. Either way, that’s progress. The point is to move from guessing to observing.
Try:
- Forage job simulations – Free online simulations from real companies that let you “try” marketing, consulting, law, and more.
- Career chats – DM someone in a role you’re curious about. 20 minutes can save you 2 years.
- Courses with hands-on projects – Whether it’s edX or Coursera, pick something that gets you doing the work, not just learning about it.
- Volunteer or freelance – Offer a few hours of your time. What you learn will be 10x more valuable than another blog post.
TL;DR
Most people spend more on test prep than on figuring out what kind of work actually fits them. That mismatch is why so many stay stuck. The way forward isn’t waiting for clarity to magically appear, it’s building it. Use smarter assessments, watch real stories, learn what coaching actually is, apply decision frameworks, and run real-world tests. You just need better inputs and a way to act on them.
P.S. If you want help making sense of your career and the job market, join the waitlist for Job Market Like I’m 5. You’ll get plain-English reports twice a month on what’s really happening. 👉 [Save your spot]
