If you are reading this, you have probably typed some version of "what career is right for me" into a search bar more than once. Choosing a career as an adult feels heavier than it did at eighteen. You have bills, maybe a family, years already invested in one direction, and a quiet worry that you are too far along to start something new. Here is the good news from someone who coaches people through this every week: being an adult is an advantage, not a handicap. You have real evidence about what you are good at and what drains you, and that evidence is exactly what a good career decision is built on.
This guide walks through how to choose a career as an adult the way I would talk you through it in a session: start with yourself, turn that self-knowledge into a short list of real options, pressure-test them against your actual life, and then move. If you want a fast starting point before you read, our gives you a few directions to react to in about two minutes.
