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For someone who doesn’t know what they want or expect from their future, what advice can you give?

I’ve never really had a professional interest in subjects. Yes, I enjoy leaning about the unknown so astronomy and marine biology would seem too of my list but, is that what is meant for me? Though I enjoy the subject, I’m not sure if that’s the path I should be taking.

#undecided #astronomy #marine #biology #unknown #advice

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Subject: Career question for you

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Mario’s Answer

What do you like to do in your free time? What are things that interest you? I would start at trying to figure out what you like to do. Once you know that, then you can start to think about, "How do I make money doing this?


For me, I always liked taking apart computers and hacking. I did not realize that I could turn that into a career into much later.

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J’s Answer

I would challenge you to take a few different courses. I was pre-vet when I started college. I loved sciences in high school, but college sucked the life out of me in those subjects. I took a sociology class as one of my electives and fell in love with the subject. I ended up changing over to soc. However, I will tell you as someone in their mid30s and in corporate America, I still don’t know what I want to do! My biggest advice is find yourself outside of work!
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Matt’s Answer

First, I would not worry or stress about it too much. The last I had read was that people change careers or jobs seven times over their lifetime. As you enter and exit college in your 20s you're still in a mode of creating identity and finding that footing. That identity includes your career to an extent. You'll likely find that during college your interests may change and then change again after. There are many things that influence your career decisions such as compensation, location, hours, family, friends, faith, rules, regulations and so on. Keep this in mind, but don't let it deter you from finding your passion though it may guide your decisions. I've found it very helpful to meet and shadow someone in a field that you have interest in. By seeing a day in the life of "xyz career" you can first hand judge if you gained more interest from that exposure or if it's not what you had in mind. If shadowing isn't possible then just meeting someone in that industry and interiewing them on what it's like and what it takes could be a good start. If you think you have found a possible career path then you can start networking. Get to know the people, places, and work that is done in that field. Insert yourself in that community and become a valuble part.
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Jocelyne’s Answer

Hi! It seems like you have a general direction - that being the sciences - which is a good start. If you're headed to college, you could have a generally undecided major and take a few different types of science courses to narrow your interests.

That said, I agree with Mario's answer above. Once you have a few career path ideas that incorporate things you like, try reaching out to people in those fields and shadowing them, asking them to coffee, or sending an email to ask "What do you do on a daily basis? Do you like your job and why? Do you have any advice for someone considering this field". People love to talk about their careers and would probably be open to explaining what they do so you can make a better decision.

Additionally, I found the 16-personalities quiz (Myers Briggs personality test) very helpful. They had us take it in law school, but the free test online is pretty good. It's obviously not 100% right, but it can give you career choices that may match your personality. You can use those options as a starting point for the rest of your research.
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Pro’s Answer

Try an Interdisciplinary, Liberal Studies, or General Studies major, that will let you combine multiple interests. Or an Individually Designed major that you can even name yourself.
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Simeon’s Answer

I would talk to upper level students in the majors you're considering to see what they can tell you about the coursework and maybe a thing or two about the careers you're considering. Look at some of the assignments and textbooks to see the kind of skills you'll need to be developing. Also, see if you can talk to people in the field and find out what they like and don't like about their field. See if that's the kind of field that would appeal to you.
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