Welcome to college, please sign up for the job you want for the rest of your career. It should be easy, pick a career that guarantees money, or maybe happiness?
We come to a university, normally around 18 years old, and are asked what major do you want to be. What career do you want after college? As children, freshly out of high school, there is a pressure to just know. Know what you want to do before you fully know who you are.
For me, attending a university helped me determine what I wanted to do. I took time to navigate the career best for me, I began by investigating being in the College of Business. I got involved in a business fraternity and an organization called Business Week because I wanted to see if I could envision myself in business. Through this, I learned my strengths, weaknesses, and passions. What I discovered was that I gravitated towards opportunities to teach people how to be business professionals. I was pulled towards projects that involved creativity, and I had a love for writing. I then felt a pit in my stomach that I made a mistake picking business. All my experiences left me with evidence that I was in love with teaching and writing. With my discovery, I made the leap towards becoming an English major with the goal of becoming a high school English teacher. Trust me, the fear was intense but sometimes you must lean into fear to find opportunities that make you excited.
Identifying a major that feels right can be difficult, I certainly know it was for me. Today, I want to share with you some things I considered that helped me determine the major best for me.
1.) What are you driven by?
Some people may say money; however, money alone should not be the only thing you are driven by. It can lead to feeling shackled to a job. If you are putting forty or more hours a week into something, let it be a career that you are driven to do. When picking a field to go into, it’s important to understand what you want to get out of the career. What will motivate you to get up each day to go to work. How is a particular field ideal for you?
I noticed I was drawn into helping people and liked teaching people about new skills or ideas. When I did both I slowly realized that what I was doing did not feel like work, I could do it every day. That was a sign for me that education may be right for me.
2.) What are your strengths and weaknesses?
If you want to go into business but can’t do math, accounting may not be right for you. Know where your strengths lie, it can be selling something, creating something, or anything else. If you go into a career that complements these strengths, it may be easier for you to grow in that career. While weakness may be a sign that a career is not for you, contemplate if that weakness is something you want to work on to better align with that major or career. Also note that some skills are learned in a career, not prior to it.
I noticed that I was creative and could articulate ideas. Both will help me when it comes to lessons I want to teach, and actually teaching in front of the classroom.
3. What kind of job do you envision yourself in, does it align with your current major?
While this may sound difficult it is important to be able to see a future in the field you are majoring in. Does the field seem like something you could do each day? Is there a possible job you could see yourself excited to attend each day?
When I was debating a career in business, I noticed that I could not envision myself going to a 9-5 each day. I explored different careers in business but when I saw myself in an office setting, it felt like a career that would make my day to day feel grey. I knew people who got excited about business, liked the structure of the career, and were drawn to it. When comparing their excitement to the lack of mine, I began to realize that something was not clicking.
4. Debate the pros and cons of the career field you are interested in.
Each career has its benefits and drawbacks, being aware of them is important because it can help guide you towards a major right for you. Things like money, work hours, the environment of job, and schooling needed, are all important to consider. If there is a pro or con that sticks with you, it is likely a sign to lean towards a major or steer away from one.
Teaching excites me even though it is not an easy career by any means. The days are long and sometimes lessons don’t go as planned. But the career is also rewarding, getting to help students learn and grow, is something that I can’t wait to witness.
At the end of the day, pick a career you can see yourself in the long term. While it may not be the career you stick with, it can guide you towards a job that is fulfilling for you. While it can be frustrating to be unsure of a career when everyone around you seems to know what they want to do, don’t compare. Much of life is faking till you make it, you don’t know how people truly feel about their career choices. Take your time, it allows you to explore career options and navigate what is best for yourself.