How often have you wondered if you chose the right career? What is that alternative vocation that might have suited you better, made you happier, richer or whatever matters to you? Why not treat yourself to 30 seconds of idle thought now to wonder what that more satisfying and rewarding job might have been - or still could be?

Taking the first steps towards choosing the work you do is, for most, perplexing. Your choices are profoundly affected by the experience of the people around you, your parents, and their friends. Our high school teachers can play a pivotal role in encouraging and enlightening us. Ideally at the heart of your choices should be an understanding of what you enjoy, your strengths and what motivates you to get up in the morning.

The frustrating thing is that most of us make these choices about our future study and careers with too little information.

At Edinburgh Science we help pupils better understand the opportunities that are open to them, and we do it in a new and engaging way. Careers Hive, which runs from Monday (November 6) to next Saturday at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, is our own take on helping young people see what the modern world of work looks like now and might in the future. We are perhaps best known for running the Edinburgh Science Festival and we bring all the immersive festival feel to Careers Hive.

We find the best way to engage young people involves a few stages. First, we ask them to think about what they like doing, care about and feel they have a talent for : what are their strengths and loves. Second, we help them understand that most work is done by teams made up of people with different skills and they should see where they might fit in. Third, we get the young people, all 3,000 of them over the week, to talk to working people just a few years older than them, and through these conversations they grasp more about the world of work. We have people who make and launch satellites, who work on the land, are AI innovators, health professionals and the pioneers of the green revolution to mention just a few. We show that there are many pathways into a job and a career including apprenticeships and training.

It will come as no surprise that we also make the case for continuing to study science, technology, engineering, and maths subjects. Keeping these in a Nat 5 mix and beyond, keeps the door open to many well-paid, interesting, rewarding careers that can take you around the globe. There are thousands of unfilled good jobs for people with skills in these areas in Scotland alone.

If you have a young person that is wondering what to do or you need inspiration to jump careers, come to Careers Hive’s Open Day next Saturday, November 11. It’s entirely free. Who knows where it might lead to?

Dr Simon Gage is director and CEO of Edinburgh Science