Engage in Some Cool Calculation Before Chasing a Hot Job

· How much time are you willing to spend in school? The fastest-growing fields often require a significant investment in education and training. You can't just show up at a local hospital and offer to start doling out meds. Nor is the local elementary school going to hire you just on the merits of your English degree and your uncanny knack for getting 6-year-olds to wash their hands after going to the bathroom.

· Is the pay range really something you can live with? This is where number-crunching can pay off. I beseech you to sit down and figure out if you can actually live on the amount you will make starting out in the potential new field -- including any student loan payment you will have to make. The BLS's handbook is a good source for the information you'll need. Also, ask the schools you're considering attending.

· Does this job play to my character strengths? Skills you can pick up; character isn't likely to budge much. If you're not naturally a nurturing person now, what makes you think that trait is going to appear when you finish nursing school and you're dropped into the geriatric ward? For the right person, nursing is an immensely satisfying job. For the wrong person, it's misery.

Join Mary Ellen Slayter for Career Track Live, an online discussion of issues affecting young workers at 2 p.m. Feb. 6 athttp://www.washingtonpost.com.