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Did you know what you wanted to become from the start or did you changed your mind throughout the years?

When I was in elementary I wanted to become a doctor but throughout the years I realized it was difficult and so I decided to become a nurse because I want to study medicine.

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Yashakita A (Ana)’s Answer

I thought I knew what I wanted but life changed my mind. When I graduated from high school I wanted to be a doctor as well. More specifically an OBGYN. While in college I decided becoming a doctor would be too time consuming as far as years of study was concerned so I changed my path to nursing. However, after starting nursing school an unexpected event forced me to drop out. I didn't have a back up plan. Thankfully I had customer service experience from a summer/holiday job I worked on school breaks. I started a job as a call center customer service representative and, over the course of 7 years, worked my way up to my current role as a consultant. Definitely wasn't the career I thought I'd have but I love my job and wouldn't trade my journey. So, even if you change your mind again (or life does it for you), my advice is to always do your best no matter your title. Sounds cliché but good ethics and hard work will help you advance in any industry.
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Diana’s Answer

Hi there,

Of course not! We are influenced by so many things at different stages of our lives that we start hesitating and panicking about what we would like to do or become.

My suggestion, check on different careers, go to different colleges online and research about careers you think you would like, but don't lose your sleep about it. Time will tell what you will choose. Changing careers is fine as well. Always follow your passion for whatever you decide to become!
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Vickie’s Answer

From as early as high school I thought I knew what I wanted to have as a career. When I got to college, I changed my degree four times. This is a journey that is different for everyone. Changing your mind is okay and very normal. It sounds cliche but find something that brings you joy, and the money will come later.
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Brian’s Answer

Had no idea! However, had a sense of what I might be good at. I used some profile testing tools that teased out what my strengths might be. I say that because we all have some core things about ourselves that show even when we are young. For example, you might be a natural leader, awesome at organization, are creative, etc. So that helped me.

What I did was asked a bunch of people about what they were doing and why. I found that the engineering world seemed right for me. An Uncle was very successful as a Mechancial Engineer. So I applied to be one of those and immediately changed to Electrical Engineering (beause it was broader and allowed me to have some range).

While I got an EE degree I never used it. I went into software engineering right away. That lead to designing systems which lead to writing a book, etc.
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KhyRi’s Answer

Hey Yuridia!

When I was younger I wanted to be a pilot in the military. I grew up near Andrews AFB so I was exposed to soliders regularly. Then, as I got older, I realized it wasn't my passion. Then I wanted to work with kids, because my mom did. That fizzled out when I started working at a daycare full time to make extra money in college. Did I ever want to do what I'm doing now? No. But I'm open to whatever He has in store for me. My advise - stay open and pay attention to things that get you excited.
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ANDI’s Answer

As a child I wanted to be a teacher. As an adolescent I wanted to be a baseball statistician. As an adult I worked at a bookstore, as a barista, in childcare, as a medical receptionist, and now I'm in the Navy working with aircraft logs and records. You'll continue growing and changing. If you haven't found your peace or your passion, keep working your path.... you'll figure things out in time.
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Ann’s Answer

I've changed my mind several times. I always wanted to be a teacher. For various reasons that did not work out. I then spent several years working whatever service jobs I could find. I also spent time learning new skills and taking classes whenever I could. Business, office skills, a few accounting classes. Just trying to set myself up for a better paying job. It wasn't until I got my first job working in a hospital that I finally found my place. I worked as a file clerk, receptionist, secretary, admin assistant and a biller. That's when I found out about medical coding which has been my career for 13 years.

I also now teach entry level and beginner coders so I did wind up teaching after all! Just not second graders as I always thought I would.

I kept myself open to any opportunities I thought would help me earn a better income in the future and I tried many different things before I found what I love. Even if you start out with one career in mind, it's absolutely OK to change your mind and change careers as you grow and mature and your life and goals change.
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Thomas’s Answer

Greetings, Some people do know exactly what they want to be from the time they are young and this will shape each decision they make until they get to that point of accomplishing their goal. This is not the norm for everyone. The average person will, not only, change what they want to be as they grow and mature but will also most likely change their careers more than once.

I originally stayed with my highschool job and got into management in the restaurant industry. After about 5 years I followed my passions and moved over seas to volunteer and work for a non profit in Beijing, China. This was a great experience that I learned so many new things. When I came back to the States after about Five years I went back to college, and found neat jobs that could provide for me. One was a job learning construction at an hourly rate, the other other one was hosting Trivia at bars. It was in my Trivia hosting gig where I met my wife. After I got married my priorites changed. I realized that although it was nice to work for mysyelf it was important as I started a family that I find a stabile job with benefits.

I went into the telesaels industry, becasue I wanted to be able to write my own checks, not dictated on hours but on hitting certain quotas to maximize commision. All of my life experieces leading up to this point in my life had taught me how to really connect with people and close deals.
Working for Verizing Wireless has given me a quality of life I wouldnot have had working for myself. Flexible hours, great earning potential, time for my growing famly with benefits. I found that when my priorities were for my family what mattered changed. Finding a company that allowed me to earn a great living whild valuing my time off of work was important to me. And it has worked out.

I think it is important to do something that you enjoy and can make a living do it. As you grow that job may change, just like the priorties in your life may change. Often you will find the skills that you learned along the way will qualify you for new unique jobs with higher earning potential.
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Claire’s Answer

As a child, I wanted to be a veterinarian for the longest time. As I got older, I decided against it due to the amount of schooling. I don't know any one who knew off the bat from childhood what they wanted to do to be honest. What's funny is I ended up as a school counselor with only 2 less years of schooling anyway! But I decided I wanted to work with people and not animals. It's all a part of your career journey/decision process. I wish you luck in finding your niche!
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Michael’s Answer

Hi Yuridia,

One's career path is never straight forward. I earned my Bachelor of Science (BS) in Criminal Justice and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Management. I wanted to become an attorney and specialize in Corporate Law. But, after completing my MBA, I was burnt out from school and had student loans to pay back. So, I took a break and started looking for employment.

My first job out of college was working as a Computer Statistical Analyst for a Market Research firm. Without any experience for the position, most of my learning was on the job training. Career progression led to my next position as a Project Manager and still within the Market Research industry. Over 12 years establishing a career in Market Research, I was caught up in back to back corporate downsizings and restructures.

The economy was in a full recession. It was challenging to find work, especially in my field. So, when a friend indicated that the company that he worked for was hiring, I jumped at the opportunity. The position was entry-level. It was being a Front Line Retention and Loyalty Representative in a call center. This was a complete career change from what I was previously doing. Meaning, my responsibilities were to handle 65 customer calls per day from customers who were upset, angry, etc. The main goal was to retain customers and have a win-win-win solution on every call for the customer, for the company and for me.

Over 13.5 years working in the Telecommunications industry, positions held were in Resource Management, Data Analytics and Finance. Again, a career journey is never straight forward. There will be internal and external influences that will affect one's career journey. The key is to keep moving forward, learning, developing, advancing, growing, pushing and challenging yourself, etc., but, at the same time, enjoy, have fun and reflect. Is it worth it in the end? The answer is "Yes!".

Best wishes along your career journey!
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Stephen’s Answer

I started in one direction, but I kept an open mind and my path took a couple of turns to take me to where I am now. When I was young I felt like I had to make a choice and stick to it, but I only needed to start somewhere and my path kind of evolved on it's own. Good luck!
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