How do I find the perfect career for me?

Don't worry! You'll find not only one thing, but surely many things to dedicate yourself to. You're at the beginning of a journey, and there are many ways to find your path. What's important is that you start exploring now.

Fundamentally, the search for a career that suits you is a search for (1) a field you're passionate about, (2) a field which suits your personal skills, and (3) a field which provides a sustainable lifestyle for you (meaning that it pays you enough to live the type of life you believe you need to be happy). Of those three goals, the first one is often the most important. With some exceptions, you can usually find ways to make #2 and #3 work if you can make #1 work. So how do you figure out what you're passionate about?

I'd suggest exploring as many fields as you can by taking advantage of all of the resources your school and community have to offer. Join clubs, go to meetups after school or on weekends (meetup.com), or find events in your area that draw a wide variety of people (for example TEDx events) and join them to meet people. When you're there, tell people about your curiosity and ask them to describe what they do. Read business magazines (or any magazine, really) and books to find people who are doing things that inspire you. If you find anything intriguing, one possible next step would be to get an internship in that field to see if it feels like what you thought it would feel like. Don't ever waste a summer doing something that doesn't help you explore an inspiring future!

Most people are the same way when they are 17; in fact even if some of your classmates are "sure" of what they want to do, they change their mind.

In college you will have plenty of time to decide what you want to do afterward, so I would not pick a college by what you want to do.

I would consider a liberal arts school, or a large public college, if you are unsure of what you want to do because you will have plenty of options and flexibility to pick what you are interested in.

Take a variety of classes, and don't force it; you'll find something eventually that piques your interest and you will naturally want to continue to work to be what is rewarding to you.

The key to finding the perfect career for you is doing what you love. It is common to be unsure of what you want to pursue as a career, however, perhaps there is a certain subject in school, or a favorite hobby that you enjoy, and that could be a step toward your future career. Don't even worry about what you want to do right now, many people change their minds all the time in college. So you have a lot of time to consider your career, just rememeber that you have to love it.

Don't worry! It can take some time, and if you focus on doing things you enjoy, you will find something in time.

When I was in high school, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do professionally. What worked for me was to start guessing - trying out certain professions to see how they fit. I'd spend a few weeks pondering a certain industry (like film) and learn as much as possible about that. Then I'd spend a few weeks imagining work in another industry (electrical engineering) and see how that one fit. This helped me to pick a career (finance).

That said, don't worry! Even if you pick a career, you can always change it later. It is much much more dangerous to have no ambitions than it is to have too many ambitions.

No need to stress. Your rescuer is here! If you need extra assistance in finding your career, you can go to www.queendom.com for career, personality, etc. quizes, tests and polls. Have a really good day! :)

I am also 17 years old and I am having doubts about my dream career as a chef. I am still trying to figure out what works for me.

Never fear- you are not really supposed to know what you want to do for your life at 17. Work on ideas, volunteer int he community, get an idea of what kind of people you want to be around. I like being around nerds - for example.
Try to figure out what will not work for you, like if I had to be on the phone 90% of my day i would slowly go insane, so I knew that would not work. Or if I had to look at rows of numbers all day I would be bored and unhappy so that would not work either. What I did find is that while I love to teach people things there are ways to do that beyond the classroom and the best part of learning these things about yourself is that you can help to narrow down where your career path might lead.
remember beyond anything else - try new things - always try new things.