Full Careers

How do I find a career for me?

What choices are there and how do I get the experience out of it? I have a year to think about it before I start the IB program where I can pick subjects that correspond to what I want in the future. I think that learning subjects that I like in the school environment is not enough to prepare me for a career in the real world. I honestly don't know what to do. I have asked my dad how he found it what he wanted... he's a software engineer and is absolutely passionate about it and the only experience he had was working in a computer store and worked in some company during college, I think. I feel so limited and I don't know where to start.. I could use some links and such... like list of careers and descriptions... or what are there some things out there I can volunteer... or I think what would help me mostly if you told me how you found your career and what guided you through it... your experience... I would really appreciate it! Thanks all.

Public Comments

1. you can research or maybe when their are commercials in TV you note the number and dial over there.
2. Seems you need to figure out what you really like to do. So, try this: Pretend you won the world's biggest lottery and would never ever have to work or worry about money forever. If that were true, ask yourself what you would do to keep from becoming bored each day. (write the list on a sheet of paper...but make 3 columns, and make your list in the left column. Then fold up the paper and put it away for a few days. A few days later, take out the list and look at each item carefully. For each thing you like to do, try to figure out A) what is so intellectually/mentally exciting about it for you? (and put those things in the center column)....and then B) what physical activity is associated with the things you like to do (and list those things in the right column). When you are done, you have an inventory of the things you like to do, and why you like to do them (knowledge and skills). Now the grand prize is to figure out what job exists in the world that deals with your areas of interest that requires the knowledge and skills you either have or are interested in....so in essence, you want to find a job that pays you do to do what you would normally want to do anyway. For lists of various jobs and qualifications, try visiting http://www.acinet.org/acinet/ http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/home.htm Once you identify that dream job or some prospective jobs, check them out in two ways...salary/career info, and then do a knowledge/skills inventory. Personal inventory to match job knowledge/skills: Use the US Dept of Labor SCANS lists.. For a free copy of the US Dept of Labor SCANS lists, a knowledge/skills inventory for work, visit http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/public/c... There are a number of ways to use these lists. Start with a self-inventory. Then use it to inventory a job description for any job you might be interested in. You can get job descriptions for these other jobs and inventory them using the SCANS lists to see how close a match your personal inventory comes to the job descriptions. The closer the match, the higher the probability of success and enjoyment in that job. You can also use the lists to inventory what you learned from any classes you take....and to see if the classes are giving you the knowledge and skills needed for the job you want. And then, think about a Plan B. Things have a way of changing on you and through your life. Once you pick a goal, think about what is closely related to your major that you also like, and could easily switch to if your original major or plan didn't quite work out. If you change majors (and I changed mine 7 times in the first 2 years of college....so I can related to your feeling mixed up), you want to be able to change to something that won't require starting all over...something that can make use of some or most of the classes you have already taken. So it all gets back to knowing yourself.
3. you have to search in yourself to know what you want to do in life. i went to school majoring in psychology, minoring in anthropology, and now I am in the freight business because of my job background, and I love what i do. my mom got a degree in architecture, but she is a materials buyer/planner making over six figures a year! she has been in that business for 20 years. my dad majored in child psychology, and now he works for IBM as a senior engineer in his department. my friend went to school for marine biology, and now she is in real estate. It all varies with how we go through life, but if you find that one thing you love, go with it. study hard, and research everything about getting into that career.
4. A couple of things. First of all, look at what passes for writing on this site. You are obviously in the top, what, 1% of people your age in your ability to write. This is going to go a long, long, way at making you successful in whatever you choose to do. Keep your options open by taking all the math you can and you can defer a lot of other decisions. Next, you think you have to figure out now what you want to do with your life? My final year of high school I took 3 maths, physics, chemistry and English, as an undergraduate I took a B.Sc. and I am now...a History professor. Did I waste my time? No actually, because I can teach the History of Science. Calm down, take a deep breathe, keep up your math and writing skills and just don't let it gnaw away at you that you're not sure yet what you want as a career. Good luck (though you probably don't need it).