How do I decide what college to go to if I don’t know what I want to do?

My advice would be to research the health field, see what some of the options are, and select a few that stand out or are most interesting to you. Once you have selected three or four options, try reaching out to local professionals who are currently working in the positions you are interested in knowing more about. Not only will this give you more information about exactly what that position entailes, but it is also an opportunity for you to gather more information on what steps you need to take in order to get to where they are. In my opinion, the best thing you can do is go out and gain experience so you can start to figure out what you don’t like. You have already started this process which is awesome! I wouldn’t be too stressed about not knowing exactly what you want to do at this point in your life. As for the whole selecting a college thing, I would again encourage you to do research. Look at different colleges, go do college tours, reach out to alumni, and ask a ton of questions! Start contacting some local colleges and see about taking a tour and getting more information about what they have to offer. Make a list of the most important qualities a college should have such as small class sizes, on campus activities, safety, or even how close it is to home. You might try setting up an appointment with your high school counselor to see if they have any information about local colleges or if they have any contacts that might be helpful to you in moving forward. I would also encourage you to take a career assessment test. There are some online for free, just type it into google and give it a try! It is a great way to get more information about career fields you may not have previously considered! Don’t stress yourself out too much about choosing a career path before you start your freshman year of college, enjoy the process and the rest of your high school experience. Goodluck with everything!

Hi, Rebecca,

I commend you for being so forward thinking. I wish I had considered how my choices during high school and college would affect my career prospects. I know it must seem overwhelming from where you are now, but you have several good pieces of advice here. I'd like to add another suggestion. To be honest, I'm still not sure I have completely figured out what I want my career to look like for the long term. A friend suggested that I look at the career guide I linked below. It's lengthy, but is absolutely worth the read. I think you'll also find the unique perspective interesting.

Good luck in your decision. I'm confident you will find your path before too long.

Rebecca, you are well ahead of the game if you are already thinking about college and already determined that you may or may not want to be a veterinarian after experiencing it. There are so many wonderful things you can do and it can sometimes seem overwhelming. The advice you have been given about taking some online assessments based on your interests and skills is great advice to narrow the choices.

As a father of two college students and a 3rd in high school, I have traveled this path already both as a student and as a dad. It is never easy, but always one that you will find your way.

When selecting a college, the advice to visit some campuses near you and also to seek out counselors at your high school and at the colleges is great advice.

In addition, the first year of college is often required courses in math, science, English, history, etc. so having a degree at that point is not necessary. Both of my children have changed their majors after the first year and are still on track to graduate in 4 years. You do have time!

When selecting a college, make sure they have a diverse set of degrees and not a very limited catalog. Some schools have very limited degree options and changing can be difficult if you choose to do so.

Finally, college can be very expensive so you might even consider a community college for the first year or two until you find your path and then move to a larger college/university for your remaining years. This can be very cost effective and allow you the opportunity to enter a university that fits your interests when you are more comfortable with your choice.

Best of luck to you as you pursue your higher education.

Rebecca, Donna has some good advice above, especially about not stressing out about what career path is right for you at this point in your life. Life (and a career) are journeys and what you start out doing is not often where you end up unless you are too afraid or not willing to change. The great thing about an education is that the things you learn are transferable between many career fields. For example, you mentioned you have been and are taking a lot of animal and science related subjects. When you step back and take a bigger view of just those topics, they extend into research, business management, legal counseling, accounting, finance and a ton of other related fields that all have animals and science at their core. What you learn about animals can be transferred to humans in many cases so you can look at your entire education as a launching pad with myriad possibilities. The trick is to gather information and skills before you launch.

My personal experience shows what I mean. I loved science and math while in High School and took all that my school offered. I went to a college that had a good science and math program (I wasn't too picky about the college, just went to the one my sister was going to). I started by declaring I was going to be a physics major with a math minor. I took mostly gen-ed classes my first semester and took the time to meet and talk to other students in those majors (just like you shadowing the vet). I discovered that I wasn't happy with that choice so I changed to a Chemistry major/Math minor for my second semester and continued taking gen-ed classes for the most part. Again, I found other students and professors in the field and found that I needed a better memory for processes than I had so that was not going to work for me. I changed to a General Science major for the next two semesters and took some of the preliminary science classes. This was fun, but not what I was really interested in. I met a friend who had grown up on a ranch and was planning on changing his major from music to Agriculture, which required changing colleges. I had always loved animals and decided to change to an Ag degree and go with him to the new college. As it turned out, he decided to stay at the college since his girlfriend was there but I went ahead with the plan and changed. I got my degree in Animal Science and really enjoyed it (the math helped a lot, as did the science). I graduated and worked in the agriculture related field as a meat market manager, then as a frozen food distribution manager (I found out in the course of getting my degree, that I am allergic to animal dander). Those jobs led to a role as manager of an auto parts distribution facility and then to a supervisory role at a Wal-Mart Distribution center. I had to move my family for personal reasons so I got a job as a quality control tech at a food manufacturing company. While there, I became the transportation manager, arranging for trucks to bring fresh meat from Indiana to Texas for production and then deliver frozen food products to customers nation wide. I then got promoted to the quality control manager role for one of the companies other facilities. I got laid off there, and used the skills I had gained thru all of this experience to start a career in the high tech computer manufacturing field where I have been for the last 18 years.

Bottom line is that it isn't as important to choose the "right" career path up front as it is to build skills and be willing to change as circumstances change. The skills, such as leadership, attention to detail, communication, etc. can be applied to any number of careers so seek out opportunities to build on those and as for a career choice, look at what you like to do in your spare time and which High School classes you really loved. As you go through college, look for the campus organizations that spark your interest. This is where you will find your passion and if you seek opportunities in those areas, you will find yourself happier in the long run. Remember however, that passions change over time so when they do, be willing to change with them.

For next steps, Donna mentioned taking a career assessment survey which is a great idea. I would also recommend taking the "Strengths Builder 2.0" survey to help identify your areas of strength and then take that information to your councilors to assist in selecting options. It is available on line for >$10 last I checked and provides some good insight into what you are good at.

I hope this has helped and I really wish you the best in whatever you choose to do.