Where to obtain career advice from?

[8potdave]

I remember back in the day at school we had career advisers who went through a series of questions with everyone and at the end said "Plumber" or "Politician", etc. Not the best advice in the world but having looked around I can't find anywhere that offers good solid career advice nowadays.

I am 31, stuck in a sales rut and desperately want out. I am however determined not to float around from job to job in the next ten years going nowhere fast so I need to think long and hard about it. There must be career paths and jobs out there that I didn't even realise existed and no doubt I will have the skills, qualifications and experience to do something completely different.

Is there such a service and how would I find it?

[STW2010]

It may or may not be helpful or even relevant, but check out www.prospects.ac.uk.

Under 'jobs and work experience' you can select 'types of jobs'. This brings up summaries of different jobs, entry requirements, salary etc.

[rog007]

This is something I and others do to support people who need an objective assessment of their current competencies versus their ambitions. Where a delta is identified then advice on how to close that gap is also offered, as is a realistic opinion on the art of the possible. It's rare that viable options are not identified. A quick self assessment can be achieved by writing down your top 5 competencies, list your top 3 ideal roles and then do some work mapping those competencies to see where you get the closest fit and then identify what needs to be done to close any gap. Good luck!