6 answers
Devan
Student
Gallup, New Mexico
1
Question
Asked
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I am in the 10th grade and I am wondering how can I chose the right career for me?
In school I am most interested in history and business. My hobbies include cooking and playing video games. I have been thinking about my future career for a while now but I can’t decide how to pick a career I would enjoy. #career
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6 answers
Rugila Jones
Talent Researcher @ Twilio!
5
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Rugila’s Answer
Hello!
Start with identifying your passion to determine what you love doing! This will ensure that you are doing something that makes you happy every day and will help your job feel less like work.
Start with identifying your passion to determine what you love doing! This will ensure that you are doing something that makes you happy every day and will help your job feel less like work.
Julie Guan
Consultant
1
Answer
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Julie’s Answer
Hi Devan,
You should make a list of the different interests you have. Then, do a self-assessment of yourself and see what skills you have. Try to find a match between your skills and your interests and see what options there might be in those fields. Then, see if you can talk to, shadow, or gain some type of experience in those careers to see if you would enjoy the work.
Also, since you are still in 10th grade, you still have a lot of time to decide! Don't get too stressed out yet. I would say to just do what you love, work hard, and things will eventually fall into place.
You should make a list of the different interests you have. Then, do a self-assessment of yourself and see what skills you have. Try to find a match between your skills and your interests and see what options there might be in those fields. Then, see if you can talk to, shadow, or gain some type of experience in those careers to see if you would enjoy the work.
Also, since you are still in 10th grade, you still have a lot of time to decide! Don't get too stressed out yet. I would say to just do what you love, work hard, and things will eventually fall into place.
Frank Saucedo
Forms Administration
14
Answers
Simi Valley, California
Updated
Frank’s Answer
Devan,
Thank you for taking the time to ask your question. When you ask, you're moving forward on your way to discovering answers.
Choosing a career, that was a big question for me when I was in high school. I really did not know what I wanted to do at your age. That is very typical of many people. I liked history and business too. I ended up going to a community college and discovered there a career path to follow. It was not a straight line path. I worked for several companies and each company I worked at led me closer and closer to discovering the skills that I had and enjoyed. I eventually turned my sights towards business and eventually found myself as a technical writer in the mortgage industry. Today I work for a worldwide insurance company managing about a thousand forms in our retirement planning department, editing, finalizing and making sure our customers have access to the forms they need to do business with our company. I enjoy going to work every day because I'm using the skills I have and enjoy.
It is very important to find out what you enjoy. What are your strengths? Do you like working in an office or do you prefer to be outdoors. Do you like working on a computer or do you like working with your hands. One way to get an idea of where your strengths are is to take a career test. You can possibly get a career test from your school counselor. I took a career test at a YMCA/YWCA. I'm not sure if YMCA still offers these tests but you can find a group online that will offer these tests for a small fee. Another simple way to start narrowing your career choices is to find a career test on YouTube or another learning website, for no charge. The free tests are not as comprehensive. Look for as comprehensive a test as you can find and that will direct you towards potential career paths. If you find a career or two that you want to research you may want to ask people on CareerVillage who are in that field about the paths required to get into their field, their pros and cons of their job and what a typical day in their job is like. One other tool I suggest is to take a look at job postings at a company website in the industry you're looking for and/or check some larger website listing sites such as "careerbuilder.com" and find out what education and skills companies are looking for in potential hires. This will give you an idea of what areas of study you should consider.
Don't fear the process of finding a career. Enjoy the discovery and if you can, have your parents, a relative, or a brother or sister help you with the discovery. As a matter of fact those that know you the best can offer you ideas of what you are good at.
Keep exploring, keep learning.
All the best to you Devan.
Talk to a school counselor to ask about a career test or find one online.
Once you have narrowed down your career options to a few, ask questions of people on CareerVillage in the fields you are interested in.
Check website job postings (company or job listing websites) to discover the qualifications of a career in that industry
Ask the help of a parent or other relative who knows you well for their input.
Enjoy the discovery process. The more you look, the closer you are to discovering the path to follow.
Thank you for taking the time to ask your question. When you ask, you're moving forward on your way to discovering answers.
Choosing a career, that was a big question for me when I was in high school. I really did not know what I wanted to do at your age. That is very typical of many people. I liked history and business too. I ended up going to a community college and discovered there a career path to follow. It was not a straight line path. I worked for several companies and each company I worked at led me closer and closer to discovering the skills that I had and enjoyed. I eventually turned my sights towards business and eventually found myself as a technical writer in the mortgage industry. Today I work for a worldwide insurance company managing about a thousand forms in our retirement planning department, editing, finalizing and making sure our customers have access to the forms they need to do business with our company. I enjoy going to work every day because I'm using the skills I have and enjoy.
It is very important to find out what you enjoy. What are your strengths? Do you like working in an office or do you prefer to be outdoors. Do you like working on a computer or do you like working with your hands. One way to get an idea of where your strengths are is to take a career test. You can possibly get a career test from your school counselor. I took a career test at a YMCA/YWCA. I'm not sure if YMCA still offers these tests but you can find a group online that will offer these tests for a small fee. Another simple way to start narrowing your career choices is to find a career test on YouTube or another learning website, for no charge. The free tests are not as comprehensive. Look for as comprehensive a test as you can find and that will direct you towards potential career paths. If you find a career or two that you want to research you may want to ask people on CareerVillage who are in that field about the paths required to get into their field, their pros and cons of their job and what a typical day in their job is like. One other tool I suggest is to take a look at job postings at a company website in the industry you're looking for and/or check some larger website listing sites such as "careerbuilder.com" and find out what education and skills companies are looking for in potential hires. This will give you an idea of what areas of study you should consider.
Don't fear the process of finding a career. Enjoy the discovery and if you can, have your parents, a relative, or a brother or sister help you with the discovery. As a matter of fact those that know you the best can offer you ideas of what you are good at.
Keep exploring, keep learning.
All the best to you Devan.
Frank recommends the following next steps:
Lillian Tsui
Talent Partner
9
Answers
Updated
Lillian’s Answer
Hi! Think about a few industries you're interested in and what your strengths and passion are. Then, try to research and find people in those fields (perhaps ask your family/relatives, counselor, etc.). Based on your interests, perhaps double major in those areas. Setting up informational meetings or calls with people in potential industries/jobs you're interested in can be eye-opening where you learn about the day-to-day, etc. Be prepared with a list of questions to ask and make sure you keep in touch with these people because they might have future internship opportunities.
Tiffany Thomas
Senior IP Analyst
5
Answers
Crest Hill, Illinois
Updated
Tiffany’s Answer
Hello!
Great question. I was unsure of exactly what I wanted to do once I was in high school. I decided to ask the adults in my life what they did for a living in doing that I was able to land a intern in the Human Resources department of the Westin hotel from one of my parents friends while I was in high school. That intern opened up so many ideas in my head, from that moment I knew I wanted to be in some form of business atmosphere. I would suggest starting there asking questions and Google different careers I believe that will help peek your interest a bit. Lastly always remember you can do anything so don't limit yourself and remember you don't have to be locked into one career for the rest of your life so choose something that you enjoy but something that will challenge you as well.
Great question. I was unsure of exactly what I wanted to do once I was in high school. I decided to ask the adults in my life what they did for a living in doing that I was able to land a intern in the Human Resources department of the Westin hotel from one of my parents friends while I was in high school. That intern opened up so many ideas in my head, from that moment I knew I wanted to be in some form of business atmosphere. I would suggest starting there asking questions and Google different careers I believe that will help peek your interest a bit. Lastly always remember you can do anything so don't limit yourself and remember you don't have to be locked into one career for the rest of your life so choose something that you enjoy but something that will challenge you as well.
Jessica Ramos-Molina
Accountant
1
Answer
San Francisco, California
Updated
Jessica’s Answer
Hi Devan,
You asked a great question and one that can be difficult to figure out for a lot of people. First it is good that you like business and history, now think about what is it about these two topics that you enjoy. What side of business do you like? Do you like working with numbers? Do you like negotiating? Do you like coming up with ideas that you can turn into goods or services? For history, do you like learning about it, discussing it, or explaining it to others? Identifying what you enjoy about a topic can be a good start into figuring out if you want to explore it in more depth and go into a career in that field.
Second, it is good to be open to exploring and learning new things and know that you don't have to have everything figured out as soon as you graduate high school. You can attend workshops (virtually), research career events near you for high school students, visit college websites and read the majors' descriptions, and talk to different people so you can get different perspectives.
Last whatever you're interested in, you can watch YouTube videos for people in that field. They can provide better insight and you can use their experience to determine if their day-to-day activities call your attention.
You asked a great question and one that can be difficult to figure out for a lot of people. First it is good that you like business and history, now think about what is it about these two topics that you enjoy. What side of business do you like? Do you like working with numbers? Do you like negotiating? Do you like coming up with ideas that you can turn into goods or services? For history, do you like learning about it, discussing it, or explaining it to others? Identifying what you enjoy about a topic can be a good start into figuring out if you want to explore it in more depth and go into a career in that field.
Second, it is good to be open to exploring and learning new things and know that you don't have to have everything figured out as soon as you graduate high school. You can attend workshops (virtually), research career events near you for high school students, visit college websites and read the majors' descriptions, and talk to different people so you can get different perspectives.
Last whatever you're interested in, you can watch YouTube videos for people in that field. They can provide better insight and you can use their experience to determine if their day-to-day activities call your attention.