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How do I know what's right for me as a career?
I just don't know? #career-choice
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11 answers
Updated
Alexander’s Answer
It's ok to not know what is "right" for your career at this point in time.
When I was a student in highschool, I didn't know what career I wanted to pursue either. I just thought that if I get good grades, something "good" would appear.
I entered college to pursue Biology because it seemed like a good major. My parents told me to become a doctor, and I thought that would be the right thing to do. I thought that after studying Biology for 4 years I would be enter a Master's program and become a general practitioner, but I never had a real interest in becoming a doctor. I ended up graduating with a degree in Biology, and it hit me:
I didn't know what career was for me.
And it was hard. I had spent 4 years of my life studying something I didn't have a real interest in because my parents told me to do it. I never really listened to myself during those 4 years. Even though studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math were fun, I just didn't have the passion to become a doctor.
I spent the next couple of years soul searching and working random jobs. I didn't know what to do with my life. I felt like I was living an empty life with no purpose or passion. But I felt like I was born to do much bigger things with my life. It was at that moment I decided to stop "searching" for the right career path, but instead to start "pursuing" the right career path. I had deep fear that one day I would wake up, realize time has passed, and I haven’t changed, grown, lost, gained, pursued new experiences, added anything of value to my life, or really done anything with my time. I had deep fear that every day of my life would go like this: work, home, tv, sleep, work, home, tv, sleep...and then I would end up in the dirt!
I realized that I had to pursue a meaningful life. And to me, that meant I needed to find meaningful work.
I started researching topics that seemed interesting for me. I loved creating things, whether it was drawing or photography, as a kid. And even today I still do photography and drawing. I knew that creating and building things was something that brought me joy, happiness, and excitement. For me, it brought me meaning in my life.
Through much trial and error, I discovered the internet and that I could be a web engineer. I discovered programming as a hobby, and decided to make it a full time career for myself because I found meaning in it. I found that I could be creative, and build amazing things, and share it with the world. I loved everything about software engineering because I could create so many things in this field. To me, this was exciting and brought me meaning.
So, how do you know what's right for you as a career? You'll find it as long as you continue learning more about yourself. Continue to try out different things in life, and learn about different topics. You will learn more about yourself as you study the world around you. Sooner or later, you'll discover the meaningful work that brings you meaning in your life.
When I was a student in highschool, I didn't know what career I wanted to pursue either. I just thought that if I get good grades, something "good" would appear.
I entered college to pursue Biology because it seemed like a good major. My parents told me to become a doctor, and I thought that would be the right thing to do. I thought that after studying Biology for 4 years I would be enter a Master's program and become a general practitioner, but I never had a real interest in becoming a doctor. I ended up graduating with a degree in Biology, and it hit me:
I didn't know what career was for me.
And it was hard. I had spent 4 years of my life studying something I didn't have a real interest in because my parents told me to do it. I never really listened to myself during those 4 years. Even though studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math were fun, I just didn't have the passion to become a doctor.
I spent the next couple of years soul searching and working random jobs. I didn't know what to do with my life. I felt like I was living an empty life with no purpose or passion. But I felt like I was born to do much bigger things with my life. It was at that moment I decided to stop "searching" for the right career path, but instead to start "pursuing" the right career path. I had deep fear that one day I would wake up, realize time has passed, and I haven’t changed, grown, lost, gained, pursued new experiences, added anything of value to my life, or really done anything with my time. I had deep fear that every day of my life would go like this: work, home, tv, sleep, work, home, tv, sleep...and then I would end up in the dirt!
I realized that I had to pursue a meaningful life. And to me, that meant I needed to find meaningful work.
I started researching topics that seemed interesting for me. I loved creating things, whether it was drawing or photography, as a kid. And even today I still do photography and drawing. I knew that creating and building things was something that brought me joy, happiness, and excitement. For me, it brought me meaning in my life.
Through much trial and error, I discovered the internet and that I could be a web engineer. I discovered programming as a hobby, and decided to make it a full time career for myself because I found meaning in it. I found that I could be creative, and build amazing things, and share it with the world. I loved everything about software engineering because I could create so many things in this field. To me, this was exciting and brought me meaning.
So, how do you know what's right for you as a career? You'll find it as long as you continue learning more about yourself. Continue to try out different things in life, and learn about different topics. You will learn more about yourself as you study the world around you. Sooner or later, you'll discover the meaningful work that brings you meaning in your life.
Updated
Anisa’s Answer
TLDR; Be super curious, ask lots of questions, and make friends. It really is all about who you know, and people are more willing than you think to help.
I can only speak from experience here, so I'll tell you a little bit about how I figured that up. Growing up, I was encouraged to pursue certain career paths. Of those, I thought I preferred the field of medicine. I was good at science and math, and got pretty good grades. So naturally, I assumed that I should be a doctor. The issue was, I was not surrounded by people with diverse careers. My only examples in the adults around me were Doctors, Lawyers, or Engineers.
Did the whole college thing, majored in Neurobiology and got pretty good grades. But when applying to medical schools, I was not happy. I decided to work as a research assistant for a Doctor in his research lab. He saw my ability to speak to anybody, my organizational skills, and my data-driven way of thinking and asked me to work for his healthcare startup. I basically worked at minimum wage, and did everything from customer support, to wireframe building, to product planning, to sales. I even had to learn how to build pitch-decks for the CEO. I failed a lot, but I worked hard.
Then I realized, I don't know exactly what I want to do but this tech/startup scene is exciting. So I took a leap of faith and decided to apply to startup job. One company took a shot on me, and I just continued to be curious. I basically worked in customer success, and I honestly had NO idea what I was doing. I asked tons of questions, tried to become friends with anyone and everyone. This is where I learned that I wanted to be in Sales...and that I was good at it. I continued to work for a few startups here and there, working my way up.
Until I applied for a job at my current company. I did NOT meet all the job requirements, but I thought I'd take a chance. I got an interview and I sold myself as hard as I could. Then I got the job and I studied super hard, immersed myself in the tech world. When others told me I didn't need to know the industry/product that well, I didn't listen. I kept working at it, and trying to improve. I've been at this company for 5 years now, and have been promoted every single year.
I can only speak from experience here, so I'll tell you a little bit about how I figured that up. Growing up, I was encouraged to pursue certain career paths. Of those, I thought I preferred the field of medicine. I was good at science and math, and got pretty good grades. So naturally, I assumed that I should be a doctor. The issue was, I was not surrounded by people with diverse careers. My only examples in the adults around me were Doctors, Lawyers, or Engineers.
Did the whole college thing, majored in Neurobiology and got pretty good grades. But when applying to medical schools, I was not happy. I decided to work as a research assistant for a Doctor in his research lab. He saw my ability to speak to anybody, my organizational skills, and my data-driven way of thinking and asked me to work for his healthcare startup. I basically worked at minimum wage, and did everything from customer support, to wireframe building, to product planning, to sales. I even had to learn how to build pitch-decks for the CEO. I failed a lot, but I worked hard.
Then I realized, I don't know exactly what I want to do but this tech/startup scene is exciting. So I took a leap of faith and decided to apply to startup job. One company took a shot on me, and I just continued to be curious. I basically worked in customer success, and I honestly had NO idea what I was doing. I asked tons of questions, tried to become friends with anyone and everyone. This is where I learned that I wanted to be in Sales...and that I was good at it. I continued to work for a few startups here and there, working my way up.
Until I applied for a job at my current company. I did NOT meet all the job requirements, but I thought I'd take a chance. I got an interview and I sold myself as hard as I could. Then I got the job and I studied super hard, immersed myself in the tech world. When others told me I didn't need to know the industry/product that well, I didn't listen. I kept working at it, and trying to improve. I've been at this company for 5 years now, and have been promoted every single year.
Updated
dave’s Answer
ideally you want to try to transform something that you love and are passionate about into a profitable career/businees so I would start by making a list of things that you are Most interested in and then go from there
good luck!
good luck!
Updated
GOPIPRASAD’s Answer
I agree with Dave's answer. I would encourage you to try to find out what is the work you most enjoyed doing and explore opportunities to make it a career. This way you can enjoy what you are doing and build your career and future. Wish you good luck.!!
Updated
Tori’s Answer
Great question Kaitlin! As others have stated, think about what interests you, what you are passionate about, or the things that drive/motivate you.
My advice and to add on to what others have said is to create a list of things you like to do & try them out! If you are in or decide to go to college, you don't have to pick a specified major right away, you can take your general core courses and try things out while you are still deciding. Even if you arent thinking about college, you can still try your interest out to figure out your next steps.
Things you can do:
- Get an internship or volunteer by searching for opportunities online in your area via Google.
- Use job search engines like Indeed.com, Monster.com, Google.com, or LinkedIn.com and search the name of a job you want and look at the requirements. When you look at the requirements you will be able to see what skills you will need to get there. Then you can search how to get those skills.
- Take a free career/personality test online like 16 Personalities, Holland Code Career Test, and O*NET Interest Profiler. I found these helpful but there are many others you can use if you search “free career test” on Google.
- Talk to people in jobs that may interest you to get more information about their experience and what they feel are some of the cons and pros of the job.
Don’t think too far ahead. You can start out in one career and move into another. Experience different things and you will lead yourself to what you are truly interested in by figuring out what you do like and what you don’t.
My advice and to add on to what others have said is to create a list of things you like to do & try them out! If you are in or decide to go to college, you don't have to pick a specified major right away, you can take your general core courses and try things out while you are still deciding. Even if you arent thinking about college, you can still try your interest out to figure out your next steps.
Things you can do:
- Get an internship or volunteer by searching for opportunities online in your area via Google.
- Use job search engines like Indeed.com, Monster.com, Google.com, or LinkedIn.com and search the name of a job you want and look at the requirements. When you look at the requirements you will be able to see what skills you will need to get there. Then you can search how to get those skills.
- Take a free career/personality test online like 16 Personalities, Holland Code Career Test, and O*NET Interest Profiler. I found these helpful but there are many others you can use if you search “free career test” on Google.
- Talk to people in jobs that may interest you to get more information about their experience and what they feel are some of the cons and pros of the job.
Don’t think too far ahead. You can start out in one career and move into another. Experience different things and you will lead yourself to what you are truly interested in by figuring out what you do like and what you don’t.
Updated
Rob’s Answer
Good answers all here! I would also suggest that, as you go about researching different career options, you should consider what skills you want to use and what sort of environment you want to work in. For some people, reading and writing all day while you sit at a computer in an office is a very meaningful way to spend your time (it is for me!), but for someone who prefers to work with their bodies or in a different environment (in a shop, outside, etc.) it might not be.
Relatedly, there is a Japanese concept called Ikigai that is concerned with trying to find meaningful purpose in life through work. In essence, you try to find a job/career that satisfies four questions: (1) what do you love? (2) what does the world need? (3) what can you be paid for? and (4) what are you good at? Here's a short video from YouTube fleshing this out a bit more: https://youtu.be/4LE5bel_GvU.
Relatedly, there is a Japanese concept called Ikigai that is concerned with trying to find meaningful purpose in life through work. In essence, you try to find a job/career that satisfies four questions: (1) what do you love? (2) what does the world need? (3) what can you be paid for? and (4) what are you good at? Here's a short video from YouTube fleshing this out a bit more: https://youtu.be/4LE5bel_GvU.
Updated
Ashley B’s Answer
All of the advice here is great! Start with Dave's answer of making a list of things you are passionate about, but also create a list of things you are good at. See if there are similarities between the two. It's much easier to build a career around something you can do well and also enjoy.
Updated
Marcus’s Answer
I highly agree with the advice that has been given here, but I just wanted to add a few notes. For some of the careers that you may be interested, it may be possible to try them now and see if you enjoy the experience. I work in software engineering and for that career specifically, it is fairly easy to pick up a tutorial and start coding right away, so try looking into activities like this that can allow you to see what exactly you will be doing. Any type of engineering career should have a few activities that can be preformed to see if you like the process.
I really liked Dan's point of trying to join a family member or friend at the actual job, I think that is a great way of actually seeing what the experience is like and going hands-on to see if the career is really for you.
Overall, just try to get out there and do something pertaining to the field, who knows, you may find something you initially thought you wouldn't like and end up loving it.
I really liked Dan's point of trying to join a family member or friend at the actual job, I think that is a great way of actually seeing what the experience is like and going hands-on to see if the career is really for you.
Overall, just try to get out there and do something pertaining to the field, who knows, you may find something you initially thought you wouldn't like and end up loving it.
Updated
Adam’s Answer
This is an excellent question. If you are not one of those people who know exactly what you want to do, this could be a very stressful topic to think about.
I know that there are a lot of responses on here and there will be some repetition, but here are my thoughts.
1. Talk to family and friends...or parents of friends. Ask them what they do? Do they like it? What does a work day look like for them? When you start asking these questions, it sometimes help to determine if that's something you would be interested in.
2. What subjects do you like at school? Would these translate into a job that you would be interested in? If you like science, then you might want to investigate jobs in that area. If you like math, then focus on that. Find something that you like to do and enjoy. If you're going to be working for the next several years, you want to try to do something that makes you feel accomplished at the end of the day.
3. Work some part time jobs. While working, decide what you like about the jobs(s). How would this translate into a future career. I like to use my example of working at McDonald's. While some people think that there's not a lot to a fast food job, my time there taught me about problem resolution, working as a team as well as working as an individual. I learned all about customer service, resolving conflicts with team mates and working together to get something accomplished. As a result of this, I am currently a Manager at a national company resolving payment issues for medical providers and leading a team to do this. I couldn't be happier.
Be inquisitive, look for something that you like and a lot of times, it's trial and error. Key thing...enjoy what you do!
I know that there are a lot of responses on here and there will be some repetition, but here are my thoughts.
1. Talk to family and friends...or parents of friends. Ask them what they do? Do they like it? What does a work day look like for them? When you start asking these questions, it sometimes help to determine if that's something you would be interested in.
2. What subjects do you like at school? Would these translate into a job that you would be interested in? If you like science, then you might want to investigate jobs in that area. If you like math, then focus on that. Find something that you like to do and enjoy. If you're going to be working for the next several years, you want to try to do something that makes you feel accomplished at the end of the day.
3. Work some part time jobs. While working, decide what you like about the jobs(s). How would this translate into a future career. I like to use my example of working at McDonald's. While some people think that there's not a lot to a fast food job, my time there taught me about problem resolution, working as a team as well as working as an individual. I learned all about customer service, resolving conflicts with team mates and working together to get something accomplished. As a result of this, I am currently a Manager at a national company resolving payment issues for medical providers and leading a team to do this. I couldn't be happier.
Be inquisitive, look for something that you like and a lot of times, it's trial and error. Key thing...enjoy what you do!
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
Its okay to not know what your career choice is going to be. I suggest if you have the chance try job shadowing a couple of places in jobs that you are interested in. This will allow you to see what the day to day requirements are and you could try to imagine yourself in that position. Also intern positions are good a lot of times interns can get paid and if you work as an intern at a job that was interesting to you and you decide you don't like it you are not committed to that path in college.
Dan Wolf
Retired Electrical/Software Engineer and part-time College Professor (BSEET and MS Engineering Management)
129
Answers
Updated
Dan’s Answer
Start with Dave’s previous answer then start talking to people who know about that type of work.
Ask people who they know that could explain that type of work.
If a friend or neighbor knows of this type of work, ask if you could attend the annual “Bring your child to work day” with them (many companies support this).
Ask to speak with the career advisor at your High School and/or local college.
Google the career choice and read to learn.
Google “Salary satisfaction survey XXXX” where XXXX is the career title. These types of surveys typically summarize the pros and cons of the career as well as salary.
Consider taking a related class at the local community college. You can usually take college classes while still in High School (and you get full college credit).
Ask yourself if the career will compensate you enough to provide the lifestyle you desire. Money is not everything but it does make life easier.
Ask yourself if the career is reasonable. If you love sports but are very short in height, you may not be a good prospect to be a professional basketball player. However, you may be good at a career in Sports Management. There are many related options/alternatives to every career.
To repeat Dave’s answer: seek something that you have an interest or passion for and follow your dream. It’s always more fun when you are doing something that you like.
Ask people who they know that could explain that type of work.
If a friend or neighbor knows of this type of work, ask if you could attend the annual “Bring your child to work day” with them (many companies support this).
Ask to speak with the career advisor at your High School and/or local college.
Google the career choice and read to learn.
Google “Salary satisfaction survey XXXX” where XXXX is the career title. These types of surveys typically summarize the pros and cons of the career as well as salary.
Consider taking a related class at the local community college. You can usually take college classes while still in High School (and you get full college credit).
Ask yourself if the career will compensate you enough to provide the lifestyle you desire. Money is not everything but it does make life easier.
Ask yourself if the career is reasonable. If you love sports but are very short in height, you may not be a good prospect to be a professional basketball player. However, you may be good at a career in Sports Management. There are many related options/alternatives to every career.
To repeat Dave’s answer: seek something that you have an interest or passion for and follow your dream. It’s always more fun when you are doing something that you like.