How Do Your Barriers Affect Your Career Decisions?
Social
These are external pressures from relationships and social expectations that can influence your career choices. According to UW ACES, examples include family expectations, pressures from partners, or social fears.
-
Family expectations: Your family may want you to pursue a specific career (e.g., medicine, law). While well-intentioned, this pressure can conflict with your own interests.
-
Relationship influence: Partners, friends, or mentors may shape your decisions, sometimes limiting your autonomy—for instance, discouraging relocation for opportunities.
-
Social fears: Fear of networking, public speaking, or being judged can hold you back from internships, career fairs, or interviews.
These connections can sometimes hold you back and they can…move you forward. Career counselors help you reflect on which relationships support or hinder your goals .
Personal
These stem from your internal mindset and emotional state—such as low self-esteem, confidence issues, or anxiety about the future.
-
Low self-esteem/confidence: Believing you’re not “good enough” may make you avoid applying for selective programs or jobs.
-
Fear of the future: Worrying about making the wrong choice can cause analysis paralysis or delay taking action.
-
Lack of motivation: Burnout or apathy can prevent you from researching careers, updating your resume, or setting goals.
Personal barriers directly reduce your ability to explore, take initiative, and build momentum. Counselors can introduce coping strategies, goal-setting techniques, and mindset exercises.
Informational
These involve a lack of clarity or practical knowledge—about yourself, potential careers, or educational financing.
-
Lacking self-awareness: Not knowing your own strengths, values, or personality traits may make decisions feel vague or misguided.
-
Lacking career/academic info: You might not know what certain jobs entail, what majors prepare you for them, or what qualifications are required.
-
Struggling to pay for school: Uncertainty about tuition, scholarships, debt, or work-study options can stop you from pursuing further education.
Without accurate information, choices feel risky or overwhelming. Counselors can guide you toward assessments (like Focus2Career), labor market research (via O*NET or BLS), and financial aid resources.
How Can Career Counselors Help?
Career counselors help you work through these barriers. Talking through barriers can free you to better understand yourself, your life/career path, and how to build relationships to support your life/career direction. Sometimes career counselors refer you to mental health counseling if your concerns become more personal rather than related to your life/career direction.
questions to consider when meeting with career counselors
- Do you trust in yourself? Why or why not?
- How do you talk about yourself? Is your self-talk positive or does it weigh you down?
- What is holding you back from following your preferred life/career path?
