Brian
Well-known member
The Goal of My Posting: A Brief Soliloquy...
Alright, so I've seen a pretty significant problem faced by many of those on this forum in my age group, around their mid-teens to early twenties: A lot of us seem to have great difficulty choosing something to aim for career-wise, and feel lost when it comes to that path in life. I commonly see questions like 'Where do I start?', 'How do I find my passion?', or the slightly more desparate, 'This is scary! I'm lost! Surely someone has the answer!'.
Well, I think only we ourselves have the answer, truly. But having found it pretty easy myself to find my calling as well as a backup plan, I think maybe I'm qualified to help others. Hopefully I make sense, and hopefully my words can be applied practically in the real world. Because I know how scary it is to be coming on adulthood (or worse, already in to it) and have no solid direction to go. I'm not going to tell you to write a list of your strengths and weaknesses, or likes and dislikes. Because really, I think we all know those things, and that sort of tripe leaves us right where we started. My advice and methods are of a go-out-and-do-it, hands-on variety, because I think that is the best way of discovery.
So I think I've talked enough on why I'm posting. You're probably bored if you even read all that. Let's actually talk about something.
Most of this probably applies to people out of highschool. If you haven't graduated or gotten your GED yet, just pick and choose from all of this based on what you can do now.
You Need Work Experience.
The first thing you need to do, if you aren't pursuing something in college and if you're of working age, is to go find a job. I highly suggest something labor-oriented: you will make more money than at McDonalds, you'll meet some different people, and you'll probably learn something, whether it's a trade or how a certain machine works, or how to differentiate between tree species. This is life experience, and if nothing else it teaches us to observe. Besides this, picking a hard or sometimes miserable job gives us a very important perspective: We learn to endure, and from that point on almost anything else will seem so much better.
I can't count how many days I spent on some steep hillside in the pouring rain dragging brush and tree limbs. It made something as simple as being inside the pickup with the heater on sound beautiful. To go home and strip my clothes off and take a shower was as satisfying as any paycheck. It was a visceral, real experience, and I appreciate my present job 10x more because of it. It's that sort of thing that really helps us grow.
If you have something labor oriented and you're still not thrilled, try and appreciate what it is you're doing. Are you clearing brush and thinning trees? Great. You're protecting homes and wooded acreage from fire, and you're creating a healthier forest. Are you roofing? Great. Someone's going to appreciate that roof for at least ten years. You know **** well they probably can't do it themselves. Are you building fences? It's not easy to just up and build a good fence. I know I suck at it. Good job.
Besides, when the burger jockeys ask if it sucks to be you, just casually mention you're making almost twice their wage. Then punch 'em because you're so buff now.
I Have a Shitty Job. It Sucks. Now What, Genius? YOU TYPE SO MUCH JUST TELL ME HOW TO FIND WHAT I WANNA DO
Woah, calm down. We're getting there.
After that, if you're not in school already, you won't hurt yourself by going to your local Junior College and at least taking some general education classes. It's one more thing to make you a competitive job applicant, and if you decide you need a degree you'll already have the boring part out of the way. And, again, it's a bit more life experience and exposure to the world.
So by this point, you're working as a roofer and taking college courses. You're not complaining at work. If you get this far and you're still doing well, pat yourself on the back. My old boss always believed we should have good self respect, because we worked hard. I've never heard wiser words. At this point, you're ahead of hundreds of people our age who are lazy and don't want to pull their weight or go do anything.
After a while of this and observing the world and society at work around you, you might find something related to your activities catches your interest. If you do, make a note to look in to it. Maybe you worked with a forester and thought it looked cool. Maybe if you're just at Burger King, you're interested in the food supply business or the way a kitchen actually works. Make note of it; this is another part of the practical learning process.
More likely, you still don't know what you want to do. It doesn't usually just magically happen. So we're going to make a list. If nothing else, by now you should hopefully know what you do and don't like to do or see in life. Lets write it down, and make a short note of how you came to decide you like or dislike that particular itemization:
I Like:
-Hands on work (from experience)
-Emergency Services (from experience)
-The ocean, and water vessels (passing interest)
-A structured environment (from experience)
-Writing and discussing ideas (from schooling)
-Working with people, building networks (from experience)
-Adventure (from experience and yearning)
I Dislike:
-Desk jobs
-Construction (from experience)
If you have ideas of specific occupations that catch your interest, write those down too.
I'm also going to direct U.S. citizens to the 'Occupational Outlook Handbook', from the Bureau of Labour Statistics, here: Link. This is a valuable resource because it not only lists just about every job field you could possibly go in to, but it will tell you what the work is like, what you need for training or schooling, and also what the outlook is for employment prospects and job competition. This is an incredibly valuable resource; they've done all the foot work for you! If you are still completely without guidance, just start going through it. Read through the alphabetical listings and click on anything that catches your interest.
Almost There.
Maybe it's taken you four months, maybe a year and a half. But by now, we should be able to look at our likes and dislikes, take from our new experiences, and build a list of several things we think we could be happy doing. I say 'several' things because it's good to have options and backup plans. If we can work towards two or three goals, it'll not only give us options and make us versatile, but it'll gain us that much more diversity and experience, which will indirectly benefit us wherever we wind up.
Recently, after considering my likes and going through the Handbook some (and for the purposes of an example), I've actually added some things to my list.
So. In order of preference, we build our list:
Pursuable Career Paths:
1. Firefighter/Paramedic
2. Paramedic, Ambulance
3. Coast Guardsman
4. Fire Equipment Sales
5. Wildland Fire/Command
6. Merchant Mariner
7. Physicians Aide
The list there contains things that compliment eachother: Experience with #1 and #2 makes me more desirable for #4, #7, and probably #6. #5 could help me get to #1. #3 would help me get to any of them, but is itself difficult to get in to and a huge commitment with its own unique consequences if I fail.
I hope this post helps someone. And I hope this is the last reading you have to do on the internet to try and find guidance in this respect, because ultimately we achieve and discover by doing. Experiencing. And use the Occupational Handbook up there to know what you're up against; don't let it discourage you, but do use that information to prepare and better yourself. If you're like a lot of young people and have yourself dead set on writing, you'll note that competition in that world is very high. Similarly, the competition for my #1 and #3 choices is also very high. #2 would be easier than #1, but I would miss so much of what I like about #1. #7, ironically last on my list, would probably be the easiest to find a job in over the next several years.
And that's that.
Post if this is helpful, or if it's dumb and you have something to make it better. I'd like to build something comprehensive here for us. Tell me what's helpful, or what's no help at all.
Cheers and good luck,
-Brian
Alright, so I've seen a pretty significant problem faced by many of those on this forum in my age group, around their mid-teens to early twenties: A lot of us seem to have great difficulty choosing something to aim for career-wise, and feel lost when it comes to that path in life. I commonly see questions like 'Where do I start?', 'How do I find my passion?', or the slightly more desparate, 'This is scary! I'm lost! Surely someone has the answer!'.
Well, I think only we ourselves have the answer, truly. But having found it pretty easy myself to find my calling as well as a backup plan, I think maybe I'm qualified to help others. Hopefully I make sense, and hopefully my words can be applied practically in the real world. Because I know how scary it is to be coming on adulthood (or worse, already in to it) and have no solid direction to go. I'm not going to tell you to write a list of your strengths and weaknesses, or likes and dislikes. Because really, I think we all know those things, and that sort of tripe leaves us right where we started. My advice and methods are of a go-out-and-do-it, hands-on variety, because I think that is the best way of discovery.
So I think I've talked enough on why I'm posting. You're probably bored if you even read all that. Let's actually talk about something.
Most of this probably applies to people out of highschool. If you haven't graduated or gotten your GED yet, just pick and choose from all of this based on what you can do now.
You Need Work Experience.
The first thing you need to do, if you aren't pursuing something in college and if you're of working age, is to go find a job. I highly suggest something labor-oriented: you will make more money than at McDonalds, you'll meet some different people, and you'll probably learn something, whether it's a trade or how a certain machine works, or how to differentiate between tree species. This is life experience, and if nothing else it teaches us to observe. Besides this, picking a hard or sometimes miserable job gives us a very important perspective: We learn to endure, and from that point on almost anything else will seem so much better.
I can't count how many days I spent on some steep hillside in the pouring rain dragging brush and tree limbs. It made something as simple as being inside the pickup with the heater on sound beautiful. To go home and strip my clothes off and take a shower was as satisfying as any paycheck. It was a visceral, real experience, and I appreciate my present job 10x more because of it. It's that sort of thing that really helps us grow.
If you have something labor oriented and you're still not thrilled, try and appreciate what it is you're doing. Are you clearing brush and thinning trees? Great. You're protecting homes and wooded acreage from fire, and you're creating a healthier forest. Are you roofing? Great. Someone's going to appreciate that roof for at least ten years. You know **** well they probably can't do it themselves. Are you building fences? It's not easy to just up and build a good fence. I know I suck at it. Good job.
Besides, when the burger jockeys ask if it sucks to be you, just casually mention you're making almost twice their wage. Then punch 'em because you're so buff now.
I Have a Shitty Job. It Sucks. Now What, Genius? YOU TYPE SO MUCH JUST TELL ME HOW TO FIND WHAT I WANNA DO
Woah, calm down. We're getting there.
After that, if you're not in school already, you won't hurt yourself by going to your local Junior College and at least taking some general education classes. It's one more thing to make you a competitive job applicant, and if you decide you need a degree you'll already have the boring part out of the way. And, again, it's a bit more life experience and exposure to the world.
So by this point, you're working as a roofer and taking college courses. You're not complaining at work. If you get this far and you're still doing well, pat yourself on the back. My old boss always believed we should have good self respect, because we worked hard. I've never heard wiser words. At this point, you're ahead of hundreds of people our age who are lazy and don't want to pull their weight or go do anything.
After a while of this and observing the world and society at work around you, you might find something related to your activities catches your interest. If you do, make a note to look in to it. Maybe you worked with a forester and thought it looked cool. Maybe if you're just at Burger King, you're interested in the food supply business or the way a kitchen actually works. Make note of it; this is another part of the practical learning process.
More likely, you still don't know what you want to do. It doesn't usually just magically happen. So we're going to make a list. If nothing else, by now you should hopefully know what you do and don't like to do or see in life. Lets write it down, and make a short note of how you came to decide you like or dislike that particular itemization:
I Like:
-Hands on work (from experience)
-Emergency Services (from experience)
-The ocean, and water vessels (passing interest)
-A structured environment (from experience)
-Writing and discussing ideas (from schooling)
-Working with people, building networks (from experience)
-Adventure (from experience and yearning)
I Dislike:
-Desk jobs
-Construction (from experience)
If you have ideas of specific occupations that catch your interest, write those down too.
I'm also going to direct U.S. citizens to the 'Occupational Outlook Handbook', from the Bureau of Labour Statistics, here: Link. This is a valuable resource because it not only lists just about every job field you could possibly go in to, but it will tell you what the work is like, what you need for training or schooling, and also what the outlook is for employment prospects and job competition. This is an incredibly valuable resource; they've done all the foot work for you! If you are still completely without guidance, just start going through it. Read through the alphabetical listings and click on anything that catches your interest.
Almost There.
Maybe it's taken you four months, maybe a year and a half. But by now, we should be able to look at our likes and dislikes, take from our new experiences, and build a list of several things we think we could be happy doing. I say 'several' things because it's good to have options and backup plans. If we can work towards two or three goals, it'll not only give us options and make us versatile, but it'll gain us that much more diversity and experience, which will indirectly benefit us wherever we wind up.
Recently, after considering my likes and going through the Handbook some (and for the purposes of an example), I've actually added some things to my list.
So. In order of preference, we build our list:
Pursuable Career Paths:
1. Firefighter/Paramedic
2. Paramedic, Ambulance
3. Coast Guardsman
4. Fire Equipment Sales
5. Wildland Fire/Command
6. Merchant Mariner
7. Physicians Aide
The list there contains things that compliment eachother: Experience with #1 and #2 makes me more desirable for #4, #7, and probably #6. #5 could help me get to #1. #3 would help me get to any of them, but is itself difficult to get in to and a huge commitment with its own unique consequences if I fail.
I hope this post helps someone. And I hope this is the last reading you have to do on the internet to try and find guidance in this respect, because ultimately we achieve and discover by doing. Experiencing. And use the Occupational Handbook up there to know what you're up against; don't let it discourage you, but do use that information to prepare and better yourself. If you're like a lot of young people and have yourself dead set on writing, you'll note that competition in that world is very high. Similarly, the competition for my #1 and #3 choices is also very high. #2 would be easier than #1, but I would miss so much of what I like about #1. #7, ironically last on my list, would probably be the easiest to find a job in over the next several years.
And that's that.
Post if this is helpful, or if it's dumb and you have something to make it better. I'd like to build something comprehensive here for us. Tell me what's helpful, or what's no help at all.
Cheers and good luck,
-Brian
I'd like to know if it's helpful or if I'm just blowing smoke.
