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How do I narrow down my choices on what I want my career to be?

I'm a sophomore in high school. I like movies a lot. I acted in a few plays but, I am also interested in business, law, and art. I am very #undecided. #college #business #law #art #acting

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Lindsey’s Answer

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Hi Wileshka!
While I agree with the advice others have given you, I also don't necessarily think it's a bad idea to start narrowing down your career interests earlier on. It's great that you're starting to think about this now. I'll tell you this - getting into college is competitive, so the more you know about what you want to do with your life after getting your degree the better off you'll be getting in.


Here's what I recommend: Do your research about that careers that interest you. Coming to CareerVillage is a great first step! Ask lawyers what it's like doing their job, and what it took to get where they are. Narrow down your business interests (there are lots of jobs to choose from!) - what is it about business you love? Art can translate into so many careers - you could design websites for example! Figure out what job you'd want to pursue as an artist and then ask professionals who do that for a living for their insight! You're already trying out acting for yourself, that's awesome. Keep doing that. There's no better time than now! With acting, you should start young if you're committed to doing that for a living. Get feedback from your acting teacher, audition for other roles, try to get advice from aspiring actors. The reason I say all this is because applying for college as an aspiring lawyer would be much different than if you wanted to be an actor (there are performing arts colleges for this!), and the same is true for other careers. Many colleges specialize in certain career training (e.g. they'll have a business school that's well regarded and others won't even have a business school). Keep this in mind as you explore your options. Rest assured, you have time to figure this all out! But, if I've learned one thing in my experience going from school to career it's: there is no harm in figuring it out early. :) I hope this helps! If you have any follow up questions please feel free to post a comment to my answer to ask! Good luck with everything - you're going to do great, whatever you choose to do.

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Peter’s Answer

Here's some simple advice that worked great for me. I didn't really have a clue as to what major I wanted to study when I entered College. During my Freshman and Sophomore years in college, I took a wide variety of lower division courses. I had a really interesting course in biology and biochemistry during my Sophomore year. So at the start of my Junior year, I declared a major in Biology. After College, I ended up with a great career as an Engineer in Water Resources. This all demonstrates that there is no reason to think that you must have your Life all sorted out early in your college years!

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Sydney’s Answer

You should first focus on going to college. Once you get into college, take entry classes in all of the fields you are interested in. This will help you decide what you really can see yourself doing.

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Shawn’s Answer

Hello Wileshka! I agree with previous answers that college is important and will open doors for you. So study hard and focus on strengthening your English and Math skills... proficiency in these areas will help you more than you realize, no matter which direction you go. As you are deciding on your future, I recommend taking a slightly different approach, though. Rather than thinking about which profession interests you the most, think about what you want you life to look like. Think about the types of relationships you want to have (spouse, kids, friends). Think about where you want to live (city, suburbs, warm climate, cold climate, etc.). Think about your tolerance for uncertainty (especially with regard to income). Really take time to consider these items and many others in order to paint a picture of what you want your life to look like... the life that you believe will be the most satisfying and bring you joy and happiness. Once you have this picture, find a profession that will make it happen.

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Caroline’s Answer

Hi Wileshka, I would start by thinking about what your interest/passions are and writing them down. Try to think about what is important to you in a career (stability/upward mobility/team collaboration vs. independent work/research etc) and what type of work environment you would prefer. Some things you could ask yourself are do you want to work at a desk job, or be on your feet all day, do you want to interact with people on a daily basis or do you want to perform research behind the scenes. I think it is important to start a career in an area that you are interested/passionate in.Think about what causes you care about and who inspires you and hopefully that can help lead you in the right direction. Next I would take classes in that field to confirm that the subject matter interests you. I would also recommend reaching out to professionals with that career path to see if they can tell you more about their job description.
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Ken’s Answer

Hi!
Sounds like you could have a very interesting future. You have a variety of interests. Some might end up being a career. Some might end up being a hobby or avocation. Perhaps you could get a career in business and volunteer in the local community theater productions and even volunteer with your local school acting programs. Try this and let me know the results, then I could help you further. Looking forward to hearing from you. Best of luck!

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