careers

[running with pain]

i am having trouble choosing a career. what do i do? how do i choose?

 

[theraab]

Here's what I did. I went to college with no real plan of what I wanted to be. I enjoyed philosophy, so I got a BA in that. After I graduated, I couldn't find a job so I took what was supposed to be temporary work with a local lawyer. 11 years later I'm still there.

Do whatever the opposite of that is.

 

[running with pain]

Here's what I did. I went to college with no real plan of what I wanted to be. I enjoyed philosophy, so I got a BA in that. After I graduated, I couldn't find a job so I took what was supposed to be temporary work with a local lawyer. 11 years later I'm still there.

Do whatever the opposite of that is.

so dont get stuck by being indecisive?
or dont get a job for a temporary amount of time and never quit?

 

[Masque]

I'm no expert, but I'd say to start narrowing it down both by what you're good at and what you think you could be good at with training.

 

[theraab]

Here's what I did. I went to college with no real plan of what I wanted to be. I enjoyed philosophy, so I got a BA in that. After I graduated, I couldn't find a job so I took what was supposed to be temporary work with a local lawyer. 11 years later I'm still there.

Do whatever the opposite of that is.

so dont get stuck by being indecisive?
or dont get a job for a temporary amount of time and never quit?

I meant the opposite of all of it; being indecisive; getting a degree that has no job prospects*; don't take a temp job and then never quit

*-if you find you are interested in a subject with no good job prospects, then get a double major with that and something employable. Frankly, if I could go back to 17 or 18, I probably would have skipped college and gone to a trade school to become an electrician or plumber - I think I would have enjoyed that sort of work more than office work (but that's just me) - and some skilled tradesmen make as much as doctors.

What do you like to do, like hobbies, etc?

 

[ilios]

Find something that makes the time pass really quickly (usually a good indicator that you enjoy that) and then try to see what kind of careers that can be connected to your interest!

Thats how i did it atleast. I love games and storylines in games so i found an education that will allow me to write storylines and design things for games! do something you love!

 

[defenestrate]

What I did was choose my career path first, shadow an actual member of the field for an afternoon, and then pursue the specific education required for the exact job that I wanted.

Definitely look into what hobbies you have and draw some inspiration from there. It's easy to get lost in the big picture so I would just write down possibilities for a job you would either enjoy, or could see yourself doing. From there by all means call/email people and ask to speak with them or shadow with them for a moment. I know none of this is very specific but I hope it helps.

 

[Badjedidude]

OP, it's really hard to advise you about something like this without more information.

How old are you?
What's your highest level of education?
Do you live with parents?
Do you have a job now?

Answers to these questions could help us determine what you're capable of and how much work you might have to do to get where you want to go.

 

[PyramidHead]

What you like can lead you to what you would like to do.
What you are good at can lead to what you can do.
Finding something that fits the best between both is the optimal career.
You may as well want to inform yourself about possible jobs, there are big books about jobs, with descriptions.

Internships may help you to decide if your theory about your best possible job is correct.

If that all want help you to decide, well, then you still have option B)
Do something, just to do something, and if you don't like it in the end, then you can still change jobs... I know a few people, who went strange ways in their lives and still got successful. And people who started as simple workers and now are managers (my father included)
If it really gets to this option, then I would recommend: Pick a job that is needed and pays not too bad. Right now, this could be in industries connected to Health, Beauty and Wellness... Psychology can get you very far very well, if you can complete the studies. At least that's the boom over here ... it can be different, from country to country.

 

[NotSven]

Hey, I'll tell you how I chose mine.

I was in the last year of high school and "had" to choose something for college. Back then I was incredibly good at chemistry, I just understood it and it was very easy for me. My chemistry teacher who was also my mentor pushed me into becoming a chemistry teacher myself, but I knew I didn't enjoy it.

I liked drawing and working with computers, and had a decent spacial sense. This led me to building engineering. I also liked children, and was in doubt of becoming a primary school teacher. I pretty much chose building engineering because of career prospects and because male teachers are somewhat frowned upon due to recent events. I ignored the people saying that you should 'follow your dream' because I've never liked the cliches.

And now 4 years later I enjoy my college courses, have been offered a job at an architect's firm and am happy about the career I chose. I'm still not sure if I was just lucky or made the right choice, just thought I'd share.

 

[MaNavu]

Allow me to paraphrase Alan Watts and pose a question: what would you like to do if money were no object? Whatever the answer, you do that. Doing what makes you happy and becoming a master at that is infinitely better than doing something you dislike to make money in order to continue doing what you dislike.

 

[WildernessWildChild]

Airbrushing Body Art- that's the dream career....

 

[running with pain]

Airbrushing Body Art- that's the dream career....

definitely!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Edward W]

Airbrushing Body Art- that's the dream career....

definitely!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Depends on who you are airbrushing it onto maybe?

 

[running with pain]

Airbrushing Body Art- that's the dream career....

definitely!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Depends on who you are airbrushing it onto maybe?

yeah, that could get nasty

 

[Rosebolt]

Airbrushing Body Art- that's the dream career....

definitely!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Depends on who you are airbrushing it onto maybe?

yeah, that could get nasty

Congratulations! That's pretty good grammar!

 

[running with pain]

Airbrushing Body Art- that's the dream career....

definitely!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Depends on who you are airbrushing it onto maybe?

yeah, that could get nasty

Congratulations! That's pretty good grammar!

y thank u!!!!!!!!!!!!!! maybe i should b a grammer teacher

 

[perfanoff]

Any job other than an office job because most office jobs need a good amount of writing.

Have you looked into pizza delivery?

 

[running with pain]

Any job other than an office job because most office jobs need a good amount of writing.

Have you looked into pizza delivery?

actually, i have never thought of pizza delivery for a job

 

[perfanoff]

It has its perks, except the pay, of course.

Anyway, you need to give us something to work with here. What do you WANT from a job? And what do you absolutely NOT want?