Choosing a Career

So you graduated high school. You got good grades, passed all your classes, and you’re going to college. Mayve you’re taking your generals, and you need to decide what you’re going to with your life. Or maybe you’re trying to think ahead in high school.  Basically, you need to choose a career.

Senior Sarah Canning has some advice on the issue: “Just try a little bit of everything.” College is a great place for you to both find out who you are as a person and to find out what you want to do with a career. There are so many options at college, from history and art, to math and science. Taking your generals is really meant to help you gain basic knowledge and learn what you want to do. So keep your options open while you are taking generals and who knows, you might find something you want to do.

Similar to taking your generals, there’s always the option of internships and shadowing other people in their careers. If you aren’t sure that you absolutely want to pursue a career in a certain field, try to get an internship in the field. You might find out if you actually want to dedicate your life to that career, or you might find out that you don’t want to go into that field.

Another good option is always to talk to people older than you, because they might have some ideas. Mr. Barton said, “Don’t discount the older generation because you think they don’t understand, or they don’t know anything and they’re too old.” Your parents might have ideas of what exactly they want you to do, so it’s usually a good idea to at least pay attention to what they have to say. And then you can completely ignore it if you so choose. Your teachers, though, usually have a good idea of what your skills are because they get to know you through school, so they observe your behavior and might know what your interests are. And if you don’t have any teachers that you can talk to, talk to a school counselor. It’s     their job to help you figure out what you want to do and help you plan your future.

And you know, no one knows what you want to do more than you do. So this advice might sound overused, but follow your heart. Generals, teachers, internships, and counselors are able to give good advice, and don’t discount this because of the source, but ultimately, you know what you want to do best.