How do I find the perfect career?
Even though I am a freshman in High School, I want to start thinking of a future career, but I do not know where to start off. #college #career #university
3 answers
Ken’s Answer
Hi! Samantah!
You asked a very important question. Your career is supposed to be something that you enjoy and look forward to every day and feel success and fulfillment - that way you will be able to do your best and make the most contribution to your organization as you will be energized.
The first step is getting to know yourself. Here is a link that will help with that:
https://www.themuse.com/advice/14-free-personality-tests-thatll-help-you-figure-yourself-out
The next step is to get to know more about what the test tells you about yourself. Finding the best career is like buying a pair of shoes. They may look great, but the only way to see about the proper level of comfort and fit is to try them on and walk in them for a while. If you see any suggestions of careers that look interesting from the tests, talk to you school counselor about becoming involved in coop, intern, volunteer, and shadowing programs that will allow you to see the inside of a career area. It is very true that a career can look one way on the outside and appear very differently on the inside.
Best of luck! Happy exploring! Please keep me posted! I would like to follow your progress!
Todd’s Answer
It’s never too early to start thinking about your future. My advice is to start following the companies and organizations you admire, and think about where you want to start your career. When you first enter the working world, the success of the organization you join and your belief in it should have equal — or even more weight — than the position or compensation. If your company grows and succeeds, you will too. Choosing a successful organization will give you access to intelligent and experienced co-workers and managers, ample resources and room for growth that will have ripple effects for years to come.
I also recommend that you seek out the counsel of mentors (like the ones on CareerVillage), friends and fellow students. Just take every piece of advice with a grain of salt — mine included.
Nicole’s Answer
First, I will share that I think your timing on this is excellent. In my opinion, spending the time to sort out what you think you want to study and doing that some time before the second half of your sophomore year in high school is time well spent.
As an engineer, my answer to your question may not surprise you...I think that one of the best ways to find your perfect career is to **build** your perfect career. You could start by outlining for yourself what you like and don't like, the types of projects you may want to focus on (business, government, social, environment, all of the above :)), what type of starting salary you want to achieve, where you want to live...there are so many options at your fingertips...which is why starting early, in order to build your path, can be so helpful. These planning steps can also help minimize stress when the time comes to choose a college and/or major.
Learn about different careers by continuing your research. Read, intern, volunteer, seek advice from others. And when possible, give yourself the time to try things out. You may find experiences that you like and that you get a chance to come back to at different points in your journey.
Best of luck to you!