It’s a common practice to set your sights on a career and feel your way along until you reach your goals, but that can result in more obstacles blocking your path. You can develop a more direct road to success by working out a strategy for obtaining your goals in advance. This guide will help you build a stronger plan for realizing your career goals.

Establish a Goal

To get started, you should have some idea of what you want to do in your life. Even a general idea, such as knowing you want to do something in healthcare or real estate, can help give your plans direction. You should choose a field that you think will interest you for many years to come. It can also be helpful if you possess talents that can be utilized in that career field.

Identify a Means of Entry

Your next step should be to research the needs for professionals in that career field. You can conduct online searches, talk to employment agencies, or seek out the advice of friends already working in that field. This can also help you discover what educational requirements you’ll need to meet, and how you can get your first position in that field of work.

Research Opportunities in That Field

Even after you break into your chosen career field, you’ll want to continue a path of upward mobility. You should reach a promotion or increase in salary every two to three years as a rule of thumb, so it’s important to choose a career that has a good potential for future growth. You’ll also want to ensure your chosen career will provide you with enough income for you to comfortably support yourself.

Once you have reached this point, it will be time to use all of this research to develop an actionable strategy for pursuing your new career. Start by setting a series of obtainable goals for yourself, and set deadlines for each goal as a means of measuring your progress. In working towards one goal at a time, you can ensure you’re getting closer to meeting your ultimate objective, which is to get yourself established in your new career field. This strategy will help you focus only on relevant and essential steps to pursuing your career.