The great Greek philosopher Socrates is known for his famous statement “The unexamined life is not worth living”. By that he meant, if you do not question yourself, challenge yourself and think deeply about whom you are and where you are going, your life is not worth much.  He said this 2500 years ago and it remains true to this day.
In order to begin thinking about the best career direction for you, the process must start with asking yourself some difficult questions. “Just what does make you tick?” What are the things you really enjoy doing and what do you tend to avoid.  Don't be ashamed by these – or too boastful – everyone is born with natural strengths and every one of us has our weaknesses. The trick in life is to identify these early on and play to ones strengths.  Finding a career that fits with our natural abilities and interests life is a pleasure and almost always successful. When we end up in careers that do not suit our natural abilities and interests, life becomes a real bore. Of course, when asking these questions of yourself you cannot accept answers such as “I like eating chocolate and playing video games – and I don't like getting out of bed in the morning”! No, you have to be much more discerning: What issues do you find interesting? What kind of books do you like to read? What kinds of hobbies or sports do you like and why? What kinds of news events catch your attention?  Who do you really admire – and why?
Education plays a vital role in the decision making. The education system is designed to assist this process. Ideally, student is shown a wide range of subjects ranging from math and sciences through to the humanities and on to the fine arts. From there, the student should go on to specific a university degree which launches them in a career direction. So, one way to look at your current education is that it is a process of your learning to identify what you are naturally good at – and what you are not!
One of the biggest challenges students have in selecting career directions is that they are totally unaware of all the thousands of different careers that currently exist. Even more so, there will be thousands more careers created in the coming years that don't even exist now – so how can someone plan for a career that does not even exist?  The answer is to go in the right direction.  If you are very weak or do not enjoy mathematics and the sciences, do not go in the direction of biosciences or engineering.  If you love fashion and design or literature and films or helping people in general then keep working towards those directions.
I can share one example from my experience. Many years ago there was one student who struggled to find a career direction.  He enjoyed Commerce subjects most of all, but was weak in maths and the sciences and was indifferent about most of the other arts and humanities subject.  What did this student really like to do?  Well, he always rather enjoyed the current affairs; he would happily watch the evening news, or read magazines.
The interest of current affairs, travel and economic trade led him to become a commodities trader. This was a career direction he had never heard of when he was back in school but by the time he was in his early 20's, the industry was beginning to really develop and his natural interest and abilities made him a perfect candidate for a commodities trading company. He researched the industry, identified some good employers, applied to them all and was eventually hired by one.
So, perhaps your natural interest and abilities lie in, say, biology. That does not mean you have to be a doctor, but the bio-sciences offer a huge array of career opportunities. If you like maths and computing then the whole telecom and communication industry offers infinite career possibilities.  Interested in fashion and design? There is an enormous retail and wholes industry set to explode in Bangladesh. How about writing and literature? The publishing industry (both print and online) is rapidly expanding. Computers? Web design, code writing, creating apps or video games has infinite demand for talented young people. Maths? Everything from Finance to Engineering will offer fulfilling and rewarding careers. The provision of infrastructure and energy in Bangladesh will be enormous in the coming years. Do you enjoy travel? Aviation and shipping is a massive growth industry right now. How about celebrities and entertainment? Millions of jobs are set to be created in the cable TV and online video industry in the coming years. Maybe you just like people. Well there is the biggest opportunity of all. Bangladesh needs man-managers and people who are capable of proper customer service! From hotels and tourism through to the HR department in almost any industry, the world needs “people persons” who can motivate and leads others.
While the professions such as Accounting, Engineering, Medicine and the Law are all noble careers, Bangladesh needs to start developing and encouraging its youth to careers of the future. Design, customer service, retail, tourism, the biosciences, the internet, infrastructure and energy; the list is endless.  One thing the future demands though is people who have the skill sets to accomplish challenging tasks and the ability to manage and collaborate with others.

William Westgate is the Principal of Regent College, Dhaka. Prior to his career in education, William worked for 20 years in London as Senior Vice President at HSBC.