4 answers
Kayla
Student
Bronx, ID
1
Question
Asked
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what do I do if I have no clue what I wanna be
I am interested in so many things I don’t know which one I boils stick with #career
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4 answers
Arshia Malek, M.Ed.
Educator | Consultant | Counseling Faculty
17
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Arshia’s Answer
Hi Kayla,
There's nothing wrong with not knowing what career you want to pursue. After all, you want to make sure you commit to the career path that is in alignment with your interests, passions, strengths, and personal values.
Career choices and interests are fluid, meaning that it can change over time, so the most important thing is to be open-minded and allow yourself to follow your interests and passion, while also being realistic about your chosen field. It's important to speak with your academic and career advisors in college and develop rapport with them, so they can help you with your educational and career journey.
You will want to do a lot of research online into your chosen fields and look into the pathways that allow you to get there. Look up professional associations, job descriptions, and sometimes you will have to work your way backwards- meaning look at the job posting and see what it requires and then go to school to work on that goal. Taking career and personality assessments such as MBTI and the Strong Inventory are very useful. Your higher education institution should have subscriptions to get you those tests free of charge or at very minimal prices. These tests will reveal information about yourself and is a good starting point for you to build upon.
My last piece of advice is to never stop reflecting inwards and always learn more about yourself. This way you will choose a career that truly make you happy.
Take the following test: https://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-personality-test-new (similar to MBTI)
Start exploring careers: https://www.onetonline.org/
O-Net Interest Profiler: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
There's nothing wrong with not knowing what career you want to pursue. After all, you want to make sure you commit to the career path that is in alignment with your interests, passions, strengths, and personal values.
Career choices and interests are fluid, meaning that it can change over time, so the most important thing is to be open-minded and allow yourself to follow your interests and passion, while also being realistic about your chosen field. It's important to speak with your academic and career advisors in college and develop rapport with them, so they can help you with your educational and career journey.
You will want to do a lot of research online into your chosen fields and look into the pathways that allow you to get there. Look up professional associations, job descriptions, and sometimes you will have to work your way backwards- meaning look at the job posting and see what it requires and then go to school to work on that goal. Taking career and personality assessments such as MBTI and the Strong Inventory are very useful. Your higher education institution should have subscriptions to get you those tests free of charge or at very minimal prices. These tests will reveal information about yourself and is a good starting point for you to build upon.
My last piece of advice is to never stop reflecting inwards and always learn more about yourself. This way you will choose a career that truly make you happy.
Arshia recommends the following next steps:
Amy Sage
Performance Management Technology and Engagement
2
Answers
Fort Collins, Colorado
Updated
Amy’s Answer
"Being" and "Doing" are two different things.
Often times when I'm having an experience, reading, learning something new, training, etc. I can feel my internal energy raise or lower. Not my ego and thoughts, but what energizes me and what doesn't. Listen to that energy.
You don't have to pick one thing for a career and that's what you will do the rest of your life. Hopefully, you will have many different jobs and roles and grow and learn something different about yourself and the world from each of them.
Taking a leap of faith and finding out it's not a fit for you is data.
Often times when I'm having an experience, reading, learning something new, training, etc. I can feel my internal energy raise or lower. Not my ego and thoughts, but what energizes me and what doesn't. Listen to that energy.
You don't have to pick one thing for a career and that's what you will do the rest of your life. Hopefully, you will have many different jobs and roles and grow and learn something different about yourself and the world from each of them.
Taking a leap of faith and finding out it's not a fit for you is data.
Gloria Ortiz
Instructional Designer
850
Answers
Irving, Texas
Updated
Gloria’s Answer
Hi Kayla,
That is a common question, even when you are my age. It is hard to know what you want to do or if you want to keep doing something. If you really don't have a sense, I would ask you this - what would you do even if you didn't get paid for it? Is there a subject that you love in school and can read about all day? Is there some artistic endeavor that you do in your spare time, like writing or dancing? In other words, I would start with the things that you love or things that others think that you do well. If you cannot answer those questions for yourself, I would ask other people, like friends or family. When I was young (and to this day), in my spare time, I always write - whether it's stories or poems or even just writing down my thoughts in a journal or telling stories on social media. I do it because it makes me happy and takes me away from my daily life and into the potential of dreams. I wrote about places that I wanted to visit or things that I wanted to do. Some of what I wrote about came true.
Volunteering is another way to learn new skills or learn about what you may do well. I would say volunteer with charities that interest you. I have volunteered for local children's charities, the local food bank, or volunteered to support things like 5k events for charities. This also helps you meet new people, people with jobs who can tell you about what they do and why they do it.
Gloria
That is a common question, even when you are my age. It is hard to know what you want to do or if you want to keep doing something. If you really don't have a sense, I would ask you this - what would you do even if you didn't get paid for it? Is there a subject that you love in school and can read about all day? Is there some artistic endeavor that you do in your spare time, like writing or dancing? In other words, I would start with the things that you love or things that others think that you do well. If you cannot answer those questions for yourself, I would ask other people, like friends or family. When I was young (and to this day), in my spare time, I always write - whether it's stories or poems or even just writing down my thoughts in a journal or telling stories on social media. I do it because it makes me happy and takes me away from my daily life and into the potential of dreams. I wrote about places that I wanted to visit or things that I wanted to do. Some of what I wrote about came true.
Volunteering is another way to learn new skills or learn about what you may do well. I would say volunteer with charities that interest you. I have volunteered for local children's charities, the local food bank, or volunteered to support things like 5k events for charities. This also helps you meet new people, people with jobs who can tell you about what they do and why they do it.
Gloria
Pantea Rad
Customer Success Manager
3
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Pantea’s Answer
Hi Kayla,
It is totally normal to not know what you want to be, there are so many careers out there and some that you might not even be aware of. I am not sure of your situation so if you could tell me more I would be happy to give you some specific guidance but until then I will give you some blanket thoughts.
If you are going to college whether it is a 2 year or 4 year try taking a few electives outside of the standard course work. If you are into movies, take a film class and then talk to your teachers about what kind of work you like to do to see how they can overlap. Try volunteering in the field of your interest, people always need free workers but it is a great way for you to get a taste of what that industry is like.
When I first started college I was hell bent on being a doctor but I knew that getting into medical school as an Biology student is really hard (based search on google) so I decided to follow my interest in people so I majored in Psychology while doing the pre-req classes for Medical school. I quickly realized I am not that great at Chemistry and there were a lot of Chem classes to take so I change my focus from Psychology and Pre-med to Psychology and pre-nursing. It was still in the field of science but much less Chemistry. As I finished my course work for pre-nursing I decided to pick up a minor in Counseling. I am a big planner and always like to have a plan A, B and C just in case. Well after finishing all my course for pre-nursing, my major in Psychology and a minor in Counseling , I realized I didn't want to be a nurse either. I wanted to spend my day talk to people and helping them. While it might seem like all of my studying to be a nurse or doctor was a waste it actually opened new doors for my career. Since I had an understanding of science and had the skills to be a counselor I ended up working for a Bio-technology company as my first job.
All in all my point is that if you are willing to try new things and take a little risk the opportunities will be there without you realizing it.
I hope this help!
It is totally normal to not know what you want to be, there are so many careers out there and some that you might not even be aware of. I am not sure of your situation so if you could tell me more I would be happy to give you some specific guidance but until then I will give you some blanket thoughts.
If you are going to college whether it is a 2 year or 4 year try taking a few electives outside of the standard course work. If you are into movies, take a film class and then talk to your teachers about what kind of work you like to do to see how they can overlap. Try volunteering in the field of your interest, people always need free workers but it is a great way for you to get a taste of what that industry is like.
When I first started college I was hell bent on being a doctor but I knew that getting into medical school as an Biology student is really hard (based search on google) so I decided to follow my interest in people so I majored in Psychology while doing the pre-req classes for Medical school. I quickly realized I am not that great at Chemistry and there were a lot of Chem classes to take so I change my focus from Psychology and Pre-med to Psychology and pre-nursing. It was still in the field of science but much less Chemistry. As I finished my course work for pre-nursing I decided to pick up a minor in Counseling. I am a big planner and always like to have a plan A, B and C just in case. Well after finishing all my course for pre-nursing, my major in Psychology and a minor in Counseling , I realized I didn't want to be a nurse either. I wanted to spend my day talk to people and helping them. While it might seem like all of my studying to be a nurse or doctor was a waste it actually opened new doors for my career. Since I had an understanding of science and had the skills to be a counselor I ended up working for a Bio-technology company as my first job.
All in all my point is that if you are willing to try new things and take a little risk the opportunities will be there without you realizing it.
I hope this help!