How do you find a career path?

[Ghost]

I'm getting to the point where I must start choosing courses and the like for University.

But I don't know what I want to do with my life. I'm thinking and thinking of what would suit me and I could succeed in. But for the the life of me I don't know.

There are so many paths I could choose. How did you Rebels find your path?

[Nuala]

Finding a career is a lifetime quest, I'm on a path right now, but I may as well take another one if I feel like it. My main choice was made because I wanted to be financially independent quickly.

 

After high school, I went to university to study Biology and, even if I liked it very much, something just didn't felt right. I asked myself if I would be willing to spend 10+ years studying with but a few chance to find a work in biology after that? Furthermore, my university was quite far from my parent's place, so I would have them to help me with the rent and food money... So, I decided that it was not worth it, stopped university, went back at my parents, took a few month to make some money in a factory, then I moved to Paris to become a computer scientist, the market was still young at that time and I knew that I would have no problem getting some work, and I was proven right, I started working right away (1 week school/3 weeks in a company). So, you can say that I decided on my path on several criteria:

- It had to be something I had an interest in, even little

- Studies had to be short as I wanted to be independent as soon as possible and avoid the "nice diploma, but we need people with experience"

- I wanted a career where you can easily find a job. Unemployment is not that fun.

 

So, whatever you decide, check the job market beforehand. I think it's safer to get a grade and experience in a domain that will allow you to find a job easily, you can always change your career during your lifetime, at least make it a choice, not a necessity. 

[obax]

I think it's important to find something you love to do (or at least like a lot). It can take some time to figure this out, but once you do, everything will just feel right.

 

For myself, I started out as an English major in school, but I wasn't happy. Then I took a zoology course, one intended for arts students so it wasn't very technical, but the passion of the prof made me realize biology was for me. I switched, and it felt right. I got a job as a wildlife rehabilitator, the job I always wanted since I was 8. That has since passed by (long story) and now I'm pursuing a career as a police officer. I realized that, while I love animals and working with them, what I really wanted to do was help. People, animals, doesn't matter to me. 

 

The other thing to remember is, it's never too late to change. What you choose now doesn't have to be the rest of your life. If you pick something and it doesn't end up working, try something new. This doesn't mean you have to drop your major the second it doesn't feel right, but if a course looks interesting, or if it's something you've always been curious about, then go for it. You might find a secret passion you never knew you had.

 

Good luck!

[RisenPhoenix]

Honestly, if your age in your profile is accurate, I wouldn't worry about it too much.  I know a few schools which don't allow incoming freshmen to even declare majors, and make them wait until the end of their sophomore year.  If you *have* to choose a major, think of something that you enjoy and run with it.  But keep in mind that the average college student changes majors 2 or 3 times before finding something to settle down with.  And even then, determining a career path really only lays itself down in your junior/senior year of college.  Just keep your eyes open for new opportunities, and remember that even failures open up different avenues and can provide clarity (said as someone who failed a course, changed majors because of it, eventually went to graduate school for a Masters in the area of study, and eventually started an awesome job in research).

[Raikas]

I think good questions are

1. What do you love doing?
2. What are you good at doing?
3. Where do you want to be at 25 (and beyond)?
4. Is there something that lets you do #1 and #2 and gets you to #3?  Or at least 2/3 of those items?

 

Honestly, if your age in your profile is accurate, I wouldn't worry about it too much.  I know a few schools which don't allow incoming freshmen to even declare majors, and make them wait until the end of their sophomore year. 

 

One caveat here: this depends on what country you're in:  If you live somewhere where your decisions at 14-16 are going to seriously limit you in the future, then yes: give it some serious thought now.  You can always change your mind, but it's so much easier if you don't have to!

 

 

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[JesseN]

My two cents.

 

Career path, that's a term I've heard used a lot and while it sounds all nice, I don't buy it.

 

I don't personally know anybody who wants to do what they are doing. I don't know anybody who grew up wanting to be a claims agent, who wanted to be a loan officer, who wanted to be exactly what they are. If you ask me, life isn't about having a satisfying career, it's about having a career that is able to reward you with a satisfying life.

 

Some people can live their life working at a gas station and be just as happy as can be. Other people need a higher income for various reasons. Still others are never happy with their lives, so it doesn't matter where they work.

 

IMO, don't go around asking yourself what you want to do for a career, instead you should be asking yourself what career will allow you to live the life you want to live. Do you like to travel? Then that narrows down a TON of jobs for you. Do you like working with your hands or would you rather wear a suit? Again, that narrows things down a bunch.

 

Instead of asking yourself what you want your job to be, ask yourself what kind of person you are. Then, once you have that answered, start looking for jobs that can accomodate YOU.

[Kristen]

With a few very specific exceptions (engineering, for one), what you do in university has absolutely no bearing on your career path. So unless a particular field or lifestyle or income is important to you, study what you like. (This is, as has already been mentioned, assuming you live in the US or a place with a similar culture. I made the assumption because you likely wouldn't be asking a question like this otherwise.)

 

That said, as far as choosing a career you have to consider more than just the topic of study/work. If you want to live in a certain place, have a certain lifestyle, have a family or not, travel or not, all of these things should effect the career choices you make. If you don't know the answers to those questions yet, that's fine too. I'm almost 30, and only now at a point where I've really given honest consideration to those things. So far I've just pursued my fancy, and it's been great, but at a certain point you have to start thinking about the future and the bigger picture and making choices that will support those goals. But that time isn't now, unless you really know what you want. Most people don't at your age. And if they do, it changes.

 

One more personal thought regarding career choice: (I'll get to the school part again in a minute, sorry for writing a novel) goes against what you may hear from people who have been so "liberated" by not working for the man. You don't have to love your job. You have to find it fulfilling (in whatever way that means to you) and at least like going to work a little, but again--you don't have to love your job. You can find satisfaction in other areas of your life. How you make your money does not define who you are. What is important though, is that your job fits into the bigger picture of what you want your life to be like. Consider the location, working hours, working environment, flexibility or stability, those sorts of things are more important than what you actually do. But if there is something you're really passionate about, you may find it easy to compromise on some of your other wants. That's not for me. I'd rather make the job fit my lifestyle than make the lifestyle fit my job. It's complicated, and it's your choice, and you don't have to make it right now.

 

And how did I find my path? Well, I haven't exactly. I can sort of see it off in the distance, but I'm not there just yet. To continue the metaphor, I've been sort of bushwhacking my way through life. It's been exciting, though difficult, and until recently it's suited me. I've done a lot of cool things as a result of being uncommitted and having no plan, but it's also caused me a lot of hardship. I think it might just be the mental block of turning 30, but I have gradually developed a keen sense of the future, a desire for stability, and have started planning/acting to make it happen. A couple years ago I jumped on a path that presented itself. I didn't really know exactly what I wanted, just lots of things I didn't want (and that's fine too!). But this path is taking me in the direction I want to go, so it's the right path for me, for now.

[Gonzosan]

Everyone asks that question and only a few actually find out what they truly want to do with their lives or at least actually do it. I'm in the Air Force and have been since I was 19, I'm almost 27 now. When I was 17 I graduated high school and a few months later I turned 18 to which my dad and I decided to try and start a web development company. I was the web designer and he was the salesman. Not knowing a thing about web design I learned and did it for a few months before finally giving it up and deciding to find a way to go to school for something I truly enjoyed which was game design. I didn't have the money and long story short I ended up in the military. I wanted a job working in IT but got a job working on security systems (fence sensors, cameras, fiber optics). It sounded much cooler when I read about it but realized we were working on antiquated systems. The thing that I really enjoyed was that I was able to visit two countries that I had been wanting to visit since I was a kid. I was sent to South Korea for my first assignment straight out of tech school and was allowed to pick a follow on which was Japan. I had been wanting to visit Japan since I was a kid so I thought this was awesome. I hated the job, but loved the locations.

 

I ended my first enlistment in Japan and decided I wanted to give the military one more try but with a different job so I 'crosstrained'. I wanted to fly and travel so I picked three jobs that I wanted; Aircraft Loadmaster, Aerial Gunner, and Flight Engineer. I ended up becoming a Flight Engineer on Helicopters which ironically meant I would also become an Aerial gunner. It was my "billy bad ass" moment in my career where I would fly on helos, shoot miniguns and learn to rescue people. I also learned a lot through survival school but the job itself was way way out of my comfort zone, mentally and physically so I got out of it and eventually landed full circle into the job I really wanted in the military which was IT.

 

I now work in IT and I love it but hate the military so I started making my "getaway" business online doing game design and teaching it. It's still in it's infancy, but I truly enjoy it and it's growing by leaps and bounds every month. The whole point of this story is that I went from wanting to become a game designer to travelling the world, flying on helicopters, then back to working on computers then finally finding out that what I really wanted was to become a game designer. You need to try multiple things and find out what you want. I can honestly say I've done what I could and realized certain jobs weren't for me, I can say that the military in the long run isn't for me. I've been to school myself and that too wasn't for me but I've tried it and know what doesn't work. You need to take some risks and realize that experience is the best way to know what you want in life. Now pursuing a passion and making a living from it is an entirely different story altogether but if you want to know what to do with your life then find multiple things that you want to pursue and knock them off one by one. I don't think there are many truly successful people out there that don't have multiple paths in life. So go out and find what you want.

[Hrothgar]

Whatever course of study you choose, take a class or two in business and/or entrepreneurship. It may not be your cup of tea at the time (or vodka, depending on what kind of student you are), you could easily be in a position of being self-employed. If your dream job doesn't exist, make it yourself.

[terrormortus]

I read a pretty good set of articles on Art of Manliness recently (google how to find your vocation) but for me it came down to three questions.

 

1: What am I good at/what do I want to be good at?

2: What am I passionate about?

3: What do I enjoy doing?

 

When you can answer all three then you'll have a pretty good idea what you want to have as a career. You want a job that you either have a talent for or that you're motivated to work for. You want something you actually feel passionately about because that is what it'll take to achieve mastery and when you have that then someone out there will pay you for it. And while there are always going to be tasks you don't like or days you don't want to go it, you want to actually get out of bed in the morning looking forward to your day.

 

Also don't stress so much. Get some life experience as that more then anything will help you decide. 

[Gonzosan]

Whatever course of study you choose, take a class or two in business and/or entrepreneurship. It may not be your cup of tea at the time (or vodka, depending on what kind of student you are), you could easily be in a position of being self-employed. If your dream job doesn't exist, make it yourself.

 

I agree with just about everything you said but I'm not sure a class will really teach you anything about being an entrepreneur. It's one of those things you just need to learn by doing. I believe everyone should give it a try. No matter what you do in your life you should always be striving to become truly independent even if you need to start doing it on the side. These days "create your career" is more relevant than before. I thought it was pretty awesome to see that even though job numbers are going down the entrepreneurial crowd seems to be increasing more than usual. 

[Wolfhorde]

I'd pretty much go along with what others have said. Especially what you enjoy and what you're good at but I'd always keep an open mind. One of the problems with modern jobs is how sterile they are (doing the same things for a couple of decades over and over with not a lot of freedom can be a huge demotivator - there's some interesting science on this - for reference look at some of the TED talks below). From what I gathered, a job within a 'proper environment', a certain freedom/autonomy/responsibility and the opportunity to transfer skills seems like an allround goodie. Now, these might be more dependant on where you work (i.e. which business/what kind of business) than as what you actually work. Of course there are jobs - especially regionally - that have a higher tendency to go into that direction.

 

Next, I think it also depends on how you view it. As I said and as - from what I have gathered - science has ascertained - making progress and enjoying things often correlate. What I'm trying to say is I think we should stop thinking of going into specific jobs with the aim of landing a specific job as opposed to going into a job with the aim to use our skill range. E.g. just because you studied psychology doesn't mean you have to strictly follow that path. You could become an entrepreneur, businessman, counsellor - whatever.

My personal advice: Keep a wide horizon, be on the lookout for opportunities and expand your skill range/skillset/however you want to call it.

 

Some potentially helpful links:

AoM Article on lifelong learning

AoM Article on skill diversity

AoM on neuroplasticity pt. I (knew of this concept before the article and I can only say it changed my life and how I view 'skills')

AoM on neuroplasticity pt II

AoM personal responsibility I & II (also interesting for scientific working because of the psychological principles discussed)

AoM on networking

AoM on taking notes

AoM on social skills (don't ever underestimate 'soft skills' in your career pursuits)

 

(yes, I'm an avid AoM reader!)

 

Dan Ariely on fulfillment in work

Freeman Hrabowski on college success   (some principles also applicable to work environments)

Sirolli on being successful while working with the consumers/audience (personal favorite)

Simon Sinek on leadership (personal favorite #2)

Dan Pink on motivation in work spaces and the science behind it

[girljen]

I stumbled upon my career path by accident.

 

About seven years ago, I was working as an EMT. I'd decided to become an EMT because I was curious about EMS. But I had learned that a job that takes me into uncontrollable environments, requires me to invade strangers' personal space, and sometimes results in me getting off work an hour or two late was just Not Okay. Around that time, two things happened: I got pregnant and grew to the point where I couldn't tie my boots anymore, and a job in the dispatch center opened up.

 

I thought I'd just take the dispatch job for a few months until I had the baby. Instead, I fell in love with the work. I was in a totally controlled environment, I didn't have to make physical contact with people, and there were no late calls. Not only that, it was like playing three games of Tetris at once, all with different difficulty levels, and it was SUPER FUN. I've since left the ambulance company for reasons unrelated to the work, and found an equally fun job dispatching police.

 

My only advice would be this: Try things! If nothing else, you'll learn.

[pantinaprovina]

I went to community college first starting with general classes that everyone needs and eventually taking classes towards an associate's in business. After taking accounting and realizing that I really liked it and was good at it, I switched my major to accounting and only had to take about 3 classes to get my associate's in accounting. I did all this working in retail/food service at the same time which ended up helping me a lot when I had group projects or papers to write (work experience actually helps a lot in college). I now have an entry level position in my field with no loans. 

 

It takes time to find out what you're good at and what you like to do so start with general courses and give yourself a couple of years before you start to panic. Also you can look at what you like to do for fun or what you end up spending your free time doing. I've always loved spreadsheets and would sometimes find myself spending hours creating the 'perfect' spreadsheet for something mundane like calculating the cost of getting an apartment. I never realized how similar accounting was until I took the class and saw what it was really about. 

[porchcricket13]

My mom actually pointed it out to me, I'd never even thought about it before. I thought I'd be in retail for life. Now there is almost nothing else I could see myself doing, certainly nothing out side of an animal related field. I love being a vet tech (vet nurse to some in other countries). I have thought about vet school, there are major pros and cons. I'm already great with diagnosing, even if I have to keep it to myself. The biggest difference is in how much interaction there is, I love the nitty gritty dirty work and how while the vet is reading the books and talking to clients I'm hands on. I also hate surgery, I'm happier in an er/ icu. My job is incredibly multi-faceted, I am the link between client and doctor, and doctor and patient. It can royally suck in so many ways, but the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad. 

 

As for it giving me what I need financially, frankly not one animal related career will do that completely. Most vets right out of school don't make much more than I do when you factor in student loan repayment. I survive, in my career that's pretty much what you can hope for. 

[El Exorcisto]

My advice will probably go against the grain pretty hard, but never EVER pick something you love to do as a career. If you love doing it, you love it because it is your choice. As soon as it becomes your job, you will inevitably hate it, because it's, well, your job. Some back story...

 

I moved away at 18 after graduating and attended University in Florida, 1500 miles from my home. I did poorly, got kicked out an dmoved in with my girlfriend because the thought of coming back to judgemental parents was too much to bear. I worked waiting tables, then at a pet shop... I sol shoes for awhile and did quite well. I got my real estate license but quickly found the job was not my gig... So my now wife (the same girlfriend) and I eventually ran out of money and ended up, inevitably, moving back to NY with my folks. We both got jobs at the local hospital and pursued careers in medicine. Why, you may ask? Because the field is stable, pays well, the hours are flexible, and there are jobs speckled densely across the country for both of us. We both worked entry-level jobs through school, struggled and almost wnt broke, but we DID it. This builds character, and teaches about who you are.

 

That said, nothing would make me happier than being a fly fishing guide, or a gunsmith, or especially an astronaut. Unfortunately I'd grow to hate the bullshit that comes with any career, and take with it my love of the subject matter as collateral damage. My best advice for you is to move out, get a job waiting tables, and have a little fun. Soak up some of what life has to offer and get some perspective on WHO you are. No teenager knows who they are, hell, most 40 years olds I know STILL don't. Struggle a little and build some character. THEN go to school for a JOB that will support you and your habits for the rest of your life if nee be. Art History or Pre-Columbian Sociology may be fascinating, but they will not pay the rent. You'll end up waiting tables anyway, with $100k+ in student loans haunting you.

 

If, however, the dream career finds you (Mehdi with Stronglifts, Bobby Flay with Food Network, the Sham-WOW guy...) then grab it with both hands and ride it til the wheels fall off. These are the rare finds that make a lifetime special, and almost no one trips over them. When you have some experience in life you can seek them out, but trying to find fame and fortune out of a university degree alone will not get you there.

 

Sorry to dash the romance of a fulfilling career, but a fulfilling LIFE hould be far more important.

[Krisis]

I strongly disagree with El Exorcisto.  I don't have experience to speak of myself, but I can tell you my husband LOVES computers and loved programming.  He started programming when he was 12 on his home computer.  He is a software developer/computer programmer and he absolutely adores his job.  He's done it professionally for 10 years and goes to work every day excited for his day and comes home excited about what he's accomplished. 

 

It's possible to choose a career you love and be fulfilled by it even after you've worked at it for years and years.  

 

However I'm currently in the same boat.  I'm a junior in college and I'm slightly older (26) but I still have NO CLUE what I want to be when I grow up :-) For the last 5 years I've been a stay at home mom and that has been great, but I'd like to have some kind of marketable skill.  I'm going to school right now and getting an English degree but I'm not sure if I'll stick with English or not.  

[El Exorcisto]

Krisis, living a life to get said experiences is the mantra I am preaching. I never looked at my time without a degree as somehow wasted or underutilized. Now that I look back on that time I would not be the man I am today without sinking my teeth into like the way I did. Living life builds character, and character is a sorely lacking element in our nation if not the world today. So many people expect their track to be chosen for them, or to chose it at the arbitrary age of 18 and stay the course until they retire or die. This breeds a species of unadaptable automatons, perfectly content to graze on the grass as sheep, because they are supposed to.

 

If you choose to continue onto a college education straight out of high school, you will find no fault with myself or just about anyone. However, understand, that deciding on where you want to be when you are 60 at the tender age of 18 is a mistake. Making a mistake in college and losing sight of a goal you can't understand will also saddle you with a potentially insurmountable, and unavoidable debt. You will also graduate with little understanding of the world around you, and if your degree does not have a career attached to it directly, will more than likely find yourself in the same entry-level job that you would have taken at 18 years old.

[Krisis]

That's definitely true.  I graduated with my Associate's Degree when I was 17 and I was so terrified of choosing a career path RIGHT THEN that I dropped out of college and wasn't able to go back until January (of this year, 9 years after leaving school.)  Now I am finding that I want to be a student forever because I love school so much.  Since that's not really a viable option, I'll have to graduate eventually.  But even at the ripe old age of 26 I have no idea what I want to DO for the rest of my life. 

 

My husband on the other hand never got his degree.  He's entirely self taught and in his field (software development) he's got enough experience that a degree isn't necessary.  He loves what he does but he's in line for a promotion that would make him a manager and thus in charge of people, and he will likely turn it down.  Being in charge of others isn't what he loves, so he won't do it.  

[El Exorcisto]

So in retrospect you agree almost entirely with everything I said, Krisis?

[Erick the Red]

My two cents.

 

Career path, that's a term I've heard used a lot and while it sounds all nice, I don't buy it.

 

I don't personally know anybody who wants to do what they are doing. I don't know anybody who grew up wanting to be a claims agent, who wanted to be a loan officer, who wanted to be exactly what they are. If you ask me, life isn't about having a satisfying career, it's about having a career that is able to reward you with a satisfying life.

 

Some people can live their life working at a gas station and be just as happy as can be. Other people need a higher income for various reasons. Still others are never happy with their lives, so it doesn't matter where they work.

 

IMO, don't go around asking yourself what you want to do for a career, instead you should be asking yourself what career will allow you to live the life you want to live. Do you like to travel? Then that narrows down a TON of jobs for you. Do you like working with your hands or would you rather wear a suit? Again, that narrows things down a bunch.

 

Instead of asking yourself what you want your job to be, ask yourself what kind of person you are. Then, once you have that answered, start looking for jobs that can accomodate YOU.

 

I work with a lot of engineers (not one myself).  None of them like the doing part of their job.  All of them like what their job allows them to do (like eat, sleep in a nice house, etc.)

 

Jobs that pay well are either dirty, difficult, or dangerous, or better yet a mix of two or even three.  A really fun, easy, and safe job will have a lot of applications, and may not pay enough for you. 

 

You don't have to be a SCUBA-diving underwater welder (my favorite combination of dirty, difficult, and dangerous), but getting a degree in something easy and fun may not be as useful as you would like. 

 

I have a 4 year bachelors that was fun but did not lead to a promising career.  I got a two year masters, which taught me real skills but showed me that I was in the wrong field for my personality.  I managed to find a good job that is occasionally rewarding and pays well enough that my spouse does not have to work full time as well.  There is always hope.

[crosenblum]

I too struggled with this most of my life.

 

What you really need are life experiences, volunteer or intern at different jobs or career's, or go audit them.

 

Or ask to interview people in different fields, you sometimes really need to get hands-on dirty to see if a career

fit's who you are, and will make you happy.

 

And oh btw it's perfectly normal to change career's many times.

 

So do not feel your job title limits you and labels you, it's who you are inside that matters!

[yacob555]

Explore a lot of things, try to understand the job markets (not having a job isn't fun, luckily I've not been there but it's pretty common sense).  I'm 2 years into my career and I've found that the absolute best thing for me finding career paths is just talking to people.  You can learn a ton, and ya never know - they may be able to set you up with a job at some point.

[El Exorcisto]

Necrophiliac!

[lolavictrola]

Hah... I've changed my path several times in this life. I went from music education to opera performance in college... Then I realized that I didn't want to wait tables for the rest of my life, no matter how talented I was or how much I enjoyed singing... I got a master's in English Education and taught middle school for 2 years... Then I had a horrible experience that resulted in me leaving and now I have a great job in marketing at a cool tech company.

 

Find something that interests you. Find something that you could imagine yourself living in, because your job really is a major part of your day, persona, and life. Find something that will consistently challenge and engage you. 

 

I've never had a job that bores me, and I am so grateful for that.