Finding The Right Career Path

Like most people in our society I was taught at an early age there is a path to follow. Work hard in high school so you can get into a good college. Decide on a major and work hard to get the grades needed to secure a good job in your field. Work your way up in the field to make more and more money and prestige. It’s the standard path that is laid out before us by influences such as our parents, what we see on TV, successful people, and teachers.

The big question: How can you know at 12 or 18 or 20 years old what the right career path is for you? That’s crazy to think that a decision made at that age can shape the rest of your working life which may very well be 50 more years! But that’s what is expected of us. Just think about the questions you get about college. First question is usually, “where did you go to school?” and that is followed by the second question, “what did you major in?” And people who major in something like History or English are bound to get asked what they plan do with their “useless” major. And if you studied one thing but want to work in another field…. good luck explaining that one!

I saw a study that said people who test as being “fully content” in their career have gone through 5 to 8 different jobs on average before finding the right fit for them. That makes perfect sense. You can’t know exactly what you’re getting yourself into with any given career until your actually trying it out. And if you don’t like it then you’ve learned something and it’s on to the next opportunity. Just like with ice cream favors it’s good to sample before picking a favorite.

Society looks at people changing their careers as rebels and as going against the grain. There will be a lot of naysayers who will point at the “successful people” and show how they followed The Path. But so what? Just because it worked for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you. All the ideas of, “but maybe I won’t be successful”, “I might not make as much money”, or “people will think I’m crazy” are flawed. The one thing that matters in your career is that it’s something you can enjoy doing for 20+ years. If you only do it grudgingly and are just giving your time and not your interests then you are going to be in for a long painful road.

Just because you wanted something in the past doesn’t mean you’re required to want it forever. It’s perfectly normal to change career path and to sample different jobs until you find the one that fits you best. Next time someone asks you what you want to be, give them a sly wink and tell them “Whatever strikes my fancy”.