3 answers
4
Questions
Asked
511 views
How old were you when you started your career?
I am a 12th grader at Galileo High School and currently choosing a major to the college I will be choosing from.
#Undecided
Login to comment
3 answers
Updated
Gloria’s Answer
Hi Kurt,
I didn't truly find my career until my late 20's, like 27 or 28. And that first career led me to a second one in my late 30's. I think that what you might want to know is how my college major at 18 tied to the career that I finally chose. My first major in college was Journalism. I say first because I am not a journalist today. I didn't even graduate with that degree. Nor did I have a degree when I found my first career. This was because I didn't really understand what I could do for a living with my passion. I love to write. I write for my job and I write in my free time. As you can imagine, I have incredible typing speed. The challenge for me was finding the way that I wanted to use my writing. And at 18, I just knew two things - journalism or published author. Now both of those careers are exceptionally competitive. They both require a strong amount of aggressiveness and very strong opinions and viewpoints. I don't have enough of either. The game changer for me was entering the workforce. I then began to see how writing was a part of other jobs. I entered writing through the creation of policy and procedure documentation. Pretty boring but required at every company. So I started there. Then I began to take that stuff and turn it into training, teaching other people how to do their jobs more efficiently. My verbal communication is pretty good too, so I became a trainer. Now I am an Instructional designer. I write training classes taught by other people, I write video scripts for peers to create video courses, and I write web-based training courses. It was only after I had been training for several years that I finished my Bachelor's Degree (General Studies) and then went on to get my Masters Degree (Instructional and Performance Technology).
So what would I offer to you right now? If you do not know what you want to do as a career, still go to college if you can afford it. I would recommend taking a very general degree if you don't know exactly what you want to do. Something like Liberal Arts, English, or Business. My one regret was that I took 17 years to finish my Bachelor's degree. Not having a college diploma, any diploma, held me back in my career especially during economic downturns. Looking back with what I know, I would have just done an English major as quickly as possible.
Gloria
I didn't truly find my career until my late 20's, like 27 or 28. And that first career led me to a second one in my late 30's. I think that what you might want to know is how my college major at 18 tied to the career that I finally chose. My first major in college was Journalism. I say first because I am not a journalist today. I didn't even graduate with that degree. Nor did I have a degree when I found my first career. This was because I didn't really understand what I could do for a living with my passion. I love to write. I write for my job and I write in my free time. As you can imagine, I have incredible typing speed. The challenge for me was finding the way that I wanted to use my writing. And at 18, I just knew two things - journalism or published author. Now both of those careers are exceptionally competitive. They both require a strong amount of aggressiveness and very strong opinions and viewpoints. I don't have enough of either. The game changer for me was entering the workforce. I then began to see how writing was a part of other jobs. I entered writing through the creation of policy and procedure documentation. Pretty boring but required at every company. So I started there. Then I began to take that stuff and turn it into training, teaching other people how to do their jobs more efficiently. My verbal communication is pretty good too, so I became a trainer. Now I am an Instructional designer. I write training classes taught by other people, I write video scripts for peers to create video courses, and I write web-based training courses. It was only after I had been training for several years that I finished my Bachelor's Degree (General Studies) and then went on to get my Masters Degree (Instructional and Performance Technology).
So what would I offer to you right now? If you do not know what you want to do as a career, still go to college if you can afford it. I would recommend taking a very general degree if you don't know exactly what you want to do. Something like Liberal Arts, English, or Business. My one regret was that I took 17 years to finish my Bachelor's degree. Not having a college diploma, any diploma, held me back in my career especially during economic downturns. Looking back with what I know, I would have just done an English major as quickly as possible.
Gloria
Updated
Alejandra’s Answer
Hi Kurt!
I wanna say my actual career that I'm currently in and enjoying didn't start for me until I was about 21/22. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do, and then about a year to get a job in the career I wanted. I also did not end up pursuing a career in my major's field even though I had done a job related to neuroscience for 2 years prior to graduating.
It's really normal and incredibly common to not know what you want your carer to be when you go to college or are in 12th grade picking a major.
I recommend the following:
a) pick a college that has a few majors/programs you're interested in. What might happen is that you'll probably end up switching your major. You wanna make sure your school of choice also has your second choice and maybe even your 3rd! I met some people in college that ended up wanting to pivot to something new, and my school didn't offer it. This meant they had to re-get into a new school meaning new applications, new fees, and a whole new setting to get used to.
b) Follow your passion, because if you pick something you love no matter what you'll learn about something that will likely bleed into your actual future career that hopefully aligns more with what you're interested in. For example, I majored in Neuroscience, even though I don't work in neuroscience my obsession for understanding human behavior led me into branding. Now I have all this amazing background that directly applies to my job now, even though I didn't major in marketing, etc.
c) BUT, think critically about what your major will imply about future income and lifestyle. If you major in African Studies, how will that help you pivot into a career you would be more interested in? Not saying it doesn't, but these are things to consider when picking a major that MIGHT not apply to your future career.
I know it's hard to think big picture when planning all of this out, but I strongly suggest going with what you know you love and would be interested in. School is going to be hard no matter what, and your major might not even apply to your future career.. so why not become an expert in something you love? and spend time and hard work studying something that actually interests you.
I hope that's helpful and good luck!
I wanna say my actual career that I'm currently in and enjoying didn't start for me until I was about 21/22. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do, and then about a year to get a job in the career I wanted. I also did not end up pursuing a career in my major's field even though I had done a job related to neuroscience for 2 years prior to graduating.
It's really normal and incredibly common to not know what you want your carer to be when you go to college or are in 12th grade picking a major.
I recommend the following:
a) pick a college that has a few majors/programs you're interested in. What might happen is that you'll probably end up switching your major. You wanna make sure your school of choice also has your second choice and maybe even your 3rd! I met some people in college that ended up wanting to pivot to something new, and my school didn't offer it. This meant they had to re-get into a new school meaning new applications, new fees, and a whole new setting to get used to.
b) Follow your passion, because if you pick something you love no matter what you'll learn about something that will likely bleed into your actual future career that hopefully aligns more with what you're interested in. For example, I majored in Neuroscience, even though I don't work in neuroscience my obsession for understanding human behavior led me into branding. Now I have all this amazing background that directly applies to my job now, even though I didn't major in marketing, etc.
c) BUT, think critically about what your major will imply about future income and lifestyle. If you major in African Studies, how will that help you pivot into a career you would be more interested in? Not saying it doesn't, but these are things to consider when picking a major that MIGHT not apply to your future career.
I know it's hard to think big picture when planning all of this out, but I strongly suggest going with what you know you love and would be interested in. School is going to be hard no matter what, and your major might not even apply to your future career.. so why not become an expert in something you love? and spend time and hard work studying something that actually interests you.
I hope that's helpful and good luck!
Updated
Sarah M.’s Answer
I'm 45, and I've been in my current career as a Business Analyst for 4 years. I've had many different roles over my working life, and would love to have told my teenage self that it's OK to not really know what you want to do, and that in fact, that may change as you learn more about the world, and yourself.