Choosing a Career

Choosing a Career If you’re a recent high school graduate, or even a sophomore or junior in high school, now is the time to take a look at your career path. While picking a career this early in life is tricky, and many people change degrees during college or even after, it’s a good idea to get a sense now of where you’d like to end up. Career fairs and pamphlets have likely been a recent addition to your life, and the pressure is on to make a decision. For now, sit back, relax, and try to think without that sense of pressure. For you, knowing what career to take may be a gut sense. Or, it may be a very carefully calculated decision. No matter how you decide, you can’t make a choice when stressed, so take a minute to focus on something relaxing. What do you love to do? Take a minute to think of it. Do you get excited about the human mind, human relationships? Do you get excited about engines? While you might still think “do what you love” means starving in a creative career, you can do what you love while still working a practical job. No job ends up being the way it looks on the surface. A job that looks fun from here could be stressful and mundane in its day-in, day-out execution. A job you haven’t considered before may, in its daily tasks, be exactly what you love. Think about what kind of things you could do all day long. Work with your hands? Talk to people? Work with numbers? Fill your mind with the things you enjoy. Once you’ve spotted a few, write them down and think about them over the following week. What careers do they suggest? If you love working with your hands, an ASE Automotive Certification might be right for you. If you love talking to people, consider a career in sales, or as a physical therapist. If you love the human mind, consider psychology or education. Something as simple as puzzles might be pointing you towards a career in engineering or surgery. No matter what career you choose, know that you can always switch paths later. If, after all your thinking, you’re still unsure, you can focus on gen eds your first year at college, giving yourself more time to figure it out. Whatever path you end up on, your career is your future adventure, and you’ll be able to find something you love. Who knows? Five years from now you may be on a flight crew, with your own flight crew bag tags proudly displayed on your luggage. Choose wisely, and choose loosely. We can’t always prepare for what life brings us, and your ultimate career might surprise you.