I know there are a few VGC members here in college/university, and I'm sure they're on their way to grad school or just knowing where they want to go or what they want to be in general. I'm 17 now and it seems like everyone around me knows just what they want to be, and I don't. I feel really bad too, because I can see the potential that I have and I feel like with no goal yet I'm wasting all this hard work I've put into school
My question to you VGC, is how did you know what you wanted to be, or if you don't yet, how do you think you'll figure it out?
It was easy for me, but that could be due to there being so many things that I wanted to do. It was more of a matter of organizing them and trying to mediate them and fit them in together somehow. Finding the opportunity, money, and motivation to do everything is another challenge. Lots of your life will be spent working towards what you want to do with your life. School, for example, takes the first 2-something years of your life. It's difficult to do much else during the school years. I've been lucky and was able to skip out on school until it was time for college.
You probably already know what you want to do, you just don't believe you could do them. It was like that for me for a long time. I'm always amazing myself by doing things I've always wanted to do, reaching places I never thought I could reach, and getting them and finding myself there, then moving on towards my next goal. I never thought I would be making the money I am currently making, which enables me to go on trips and see places I've always wanted to see and meet people that are special to me.
When it comes to what I want to do professionally, I never really worried about that. It sort of hit me once I got into college the most, or at least other ideas besides the one I had in mind when I entered hit me. There are many things I'd like to do, the problem is choosing between them. I have a strong desire to work on children's literature in the future, so I am currently progressing towards an English degree. Somehow, the goal of receiving that English degree has become something I want to do in my life, making it more enjoyable and meaningful instead of feeling like it is a waste of my time and energy.
Not sure if this helps...
I dunno - it just came to me one day. I went from being a Anthropologist, lawyer, Neurologist to Architect/Civil Enginer. I am just a really random person so how I came up with it won't help you must at all, but I feel as if its a job with some significances. To be honest, I think money is the platform on which I can stand on to achieve my real goals [which deal with altruism]. I really have to think hoslistically, and, to be honest, I think architect is just right for me. I would really like to implement this certain style and hope that it popularizes since I feel that in the future, surely people look back on certain things like medical improvements, raw science, economics, etc. but amongst the things most remember is the art [buildings, paintings, etc.]. I don't want to be an artist, I don't think I am talented enough to make a difference, also there is very little monetary value with it ... Architecture, on the other, is a perfect combination of art, math and certain sciences. I like to think on a very long term scale, most people don't - which is perfectly fine, don't get me wrong, since some of what I want to do are rather idealistic.
I enjoy building computers and working with hardware. Also I really liked math and stuff. So somewhere into an engineer career, preferably with computers.
Let's just put it this way: I had no clue what I wanted to do until two weeks ago when I got my job. I got the job by pure coincidence and nothing more. Now I kind of have a set path I want to take, which will make things a lot easier. So yeah, I had no clue, no goals, nothing really. But hey, it all worked out for me.
MGS2. I'm dead serious. I fell in love with the way the game was done in terms of gameplay, story, graphics, emotion, etc. I decided that I wanted to be part of something epic like that. It made me want to be in computer animation.
I used to want to be a political scientist and a forensic scientist up until Metal Gear.
Not everyone actually knows. F*ck, I still don't. Imagine letting a 17 year old kid make all your life decisions... university is at least 40% about putting off any dangerously irreversible life choices for as long as possible.
Personally, I'm doing a Bachelor of International Studies, which means I just took the path of least resistance, picked something my grades got me into, and chose to do a degree with a built-in year abroad. Employability can SUCK IT.
About a year ago, I started to think about how my mind worked and analyse the reasoning and conversational structure of my peers.
I'm going to be a psychologist.
i have always been told that i am a good judge of character and i get way to deep into stuff like symbolism. But rather than take the career of a psychlogist like klarth i am an artist by nature, I have always loved art,every form of it, so I really plan to go to a great graphic art school,probably in japan, and (I know it sounds strange) become a manga-ka writer and artist. With a psychoanalyst personality I think I could make some very good manga. even now I am learning japanese so that I am fluent in the language when I leave for japan.
Because too many games suck and I honestly think I can do better.
That was my reasoning at the time, anyway.
*For the abridged version, just scroll down to the last paragraph*
I've always loved science and medicine, but I didn't want to spend the first half of my life sitting in school and developing an overwhelming debt by becoming a doctor. When I first started college I was majoring in athletic training since I loved playing sports at the time and it combined a little bit of medicine/science to that. But after the first semester and looking at my fellow students in that major, I knew it wasn't for me. I was surrounded by lesbians and giant football players who barely knew how to add 2+2 and were just there to play sports; schooling was secondary (or a third/fourth priority if you count social activities and the like). Not to sound snooty, but I felt like I was too smart to waste my time with that particular career track.
So I looked into what other programs my school offered, and found the medical technology program. Did some research because I had never really heard of it before (after researching it I realized I did know about it, just never knew the name they gave to those scientist types), and realized it was perfect for me. After looking at the course requirements I was actually excited and interested in taking them, unlike my roommate who dreaded registering for classes each year as an elementary ed. major. So my second semester I switched majors and was happy as flies on poop.
When it came time to do my clinical rotation, I found out that not only did I enjoy this stuff, but I was pretty good at it too. The hospital I was doing my internship at actually offered me a job before I was even finished with the program and officially graduated. I was working there on Sundays and then returning during the week for my school requirements. Once I officially graduated they gave me a full time position. It was good money ($20/hr) for someone right out of college, and it was a job related to what I had earned my degree in (unlike a lot of my other friends who had difficulty finding jobs after school), but it wasn't challenging enough to me. After two years at the hospital I had become the senior tech that everyone ran to with questions or problems. I had learned all four areas of the laboratory (five if you count the computer room/sample accessioning area) and was becoming complacent. That's when I figured it was time to go back to school for my masters.
So again, I did some research to see what programs were available to me that were somewhat related to what I was already doing yet expanded upon them with something new. Came across the program of Biomedical Engineering and again fell in love with the idea. Left my job at the hospital, left my apartment, and started the process of going back to school. Things didn't work out (long story), so I ended up putting the school idea on hold and found my current job in research. Again, after doing it for just a short while I knew it was right for me and what I was sort of meant to be doing. In the 3 years I've been with this company I've gotten 4 promotions and over a 20K raise. If I had stayed at the hospital the only promotion I would ever be eligible for is department manager, and that would only be if one of the dinosaurs currently doing it was finally going to retire, and even then there would be 20 people in line ahead of me vying for the position. So my current job recognizes my accomplishments and abilities, and lets me continually challenge myself so I don't become bored and complacent again. And now I'm finally able to go back to school (or start the process again), which will help me advance even further.
So all in all, you just need to figure out what you enjoy doing and can see yourself doing for the rest of your life, but also make sure it's something you're somewhat good at too. I love photography, but I'm not nearly good enough at it to make a profession of it. Same with video games, I love to play them but wouldn't have the skill or ability to design or create them myself. So those stay as hobbies. My niche is with science. Listen to your gut; if your decisions feel right and impassions you then you can
[COLOR="Cyan"]Because my parents took me, my sister and four brothers to church, helping one another - like helping the supervisor at work when one of the staff is on sick or holiday leave, or worse, sacked or resigned - is my mission in this world. This highly spiritual person we call our Father has opened my mind and wants me to inspect companies, factories where people of different races respect each other. Whenever staff individuals see me they wonder if this 'tall, dark and handsome man' happens to be related to, or a friend of, someone they despise or hate in the workplace. They may even suppose I could be an anti-bomb terrorist spy because, being a labourer temp for three years, I never apply for permanent work where it's available. Lord Jesus will guide and make decisions for me. If Jesus wants me to go to Australia to live and work there then I will. My mission, my goal is be present where people are. Sometimes I wonder if people see me if I am bigger than the Prime Minister that looks after the country. [/COLOR]
[COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]So far, I'm still in high school. At first, I wanted to be a dentist, but I kinda figured out that science wasen't my bag. Although I dislike sciences, I'm in a science profile right now so I can go in whatever I want. It's simply a tool for later on ;). Now, I'm still not quite sure on where I'd like to be. I'm thinking about the computer domain or the music domain. I love doing stuff on a computer and I also love music. One of the 2. I'll figure it out. :) [/COLOR]
because I want to throw people in jail
I've yet to figure it out. I know a multitude of things I'm good at, which include singing, writing, drawing, playing music, and doing all those for D&D (save for playing music), but there's a multitude of things that are more practical (Math, science, etc) that I'm horrible at. Currently, I'd like to be a writer, but everything it totally subject to change.
I've always distasted evil. So being a power ranger was the obvious career choice. I'm the yellow one. $2.99!
I actually don't have a clue what I want to be. I always tell everyone I want to go into computers or something. Maybe computer repair, etc. But in all honesty, I have no clue. Not going to college either. :) You can imagine how ****ed my parents were to hear about that one.
Realistically, I'll probably work at a normal job for a year or two until I start my own internet business. Yeah yeah, I know, "that's soooo 90s." But I really do. And I've had that dream since I was... 13? Yeah, 13. Anytime before that and I wanted to do the power ranger thing.
Ever since I first saw a red Ferrari (308GTSi, I think it was) I knew I wanted to do something with cars, and after getting my license and the chance to drive awful cars and some rather good ones, I knew I wanted to make good cars. Global warming is a problem that needs solving by our generation, so that has influenced my interest in hydrogen electric technology, and my families entrepenurial history really put it all together for me: start my own electric car company.
I have a friend who's in University doing Accounting and Business Management simply because he didn't know what he wanted to do, and he was fairly good at maths. I've switched my major this year because I wanted to further specialise - I knew I wanted to go into games, but didn't know about whether it would be designor programming.
Don't go into the field of the thing you like doing best. Think of the thing you like doing second best, and that's a better career - if it ends up meaning that you then hate the thing you based it on because it's work, you've not destroyed your main hobby. :) I almost quit playing games last year because I was so tangled up in analysing how they were made that I couldn't enjoy them for the end product.
If you really have no idea what you want to do, then my soundest advice would be to take a gap year. It's something that I wanted to do and never did, but I think that if I'd spent some time travelling the world, trying new things, I'd be a lot surer that first year at university of what I was going on to do.
There are basically two options - one, you can look at what you've done and what seems to be the easiest field to get into based on what's happened so far - your family business, or a course that's generic, like my friend. Or you can really think about what you want to do, and set the wheels in motion to enable you to do it. My old headmaster used to liken it to a stretched rubber band - if you're at one end, and you can visualise the other as your destination, it's just a matter of progressing along everything that's on the way as the band contracts.
Ultimately, it's up to you. We can't tell you what you like to do or what you're going to be.
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]I'm surprised that I'm the only one who was pushed into choosing a profession by his/her parents. They want me to be a doctor and help people, basically because they feel that healing people makes you both closer to *** and to the people around you, despite my evident lack of religious fervor and sense of community. That, and the pay seems high.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]Other than that, I really don't seem to care what career I end up in. I guess I lack ambition and purpose. I suppose I'll follow the doctor path until it becomes too hard, or I'll try to get some other high-paying job. As long as I can live in a house with a meal every day, I really don't mind any job.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=black] lol prostitute[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=black]I guess you should really look at what you want to achieve from your job before you look at what you want in the job, y'know?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
You should never feel forced into any profession. It's going to be your life for a significant amount of time after. If you don't have enough drive to keep going when it's hard you need to reevaluate your thinking.
How can you be forced into a profession anyway? I question your strength.
You can't expect to know exactly what you want to do with your life when you're only 17 years old. I'm 24, and I still only have a few good ideas. Don't rush yourself, and don't let anyone convince you that you have to choose one particular profession to focus on by the time you're 18. From the moment you are born, life is about trial and error, and the same still holds true when searching for careers and finding something you are good at and enjoy doing with your life. Those around you may have a very good idea of what they want to be, but that doesn't mean that's what they'll end up being, ultimately.
There are skills and aptitudes tests out there which can be surprisingly useful in helping you determine what sort of careers would be right for you. You can also compile a list of careers/occupations that you are interested in and research them further, and maybe looking around for some volunteer activities or organisations which directly relate to one or more of them. Doing hands-on work within your area of interest is an excellent way to get a good sense of what you actually do and do not want to do. I don't feel this is something to stress over too much, though. You have plenty of time, and you should try to take things a step at a time, rather than constantly look at the big picture off in the distance and become overwhelmed as you try in vain to focus in on its blurry details.
As I recall, the only goals I had in high school were to graduate and attend college somewhere afterwards. I put off joining the work force as long as possible. I screwed around in my first two or three years of college, for the most part, and only got serious when I transferred to University of Hawaii. I changed my major two times and actually attended three different institutions. When all was said and done, it took me six years, but I earned my degree, one that would certainly help me in the fields of wildlife protection and environmental/natural resources conservation. Though, I could very well end up doing something else. For the moment, I'm in the pet care business, but that is very subject to change. Maybe I'll feel motivated enough to work my way up to professional photography someday.
Considering I'm 14 I have idea's about what I want to be. I remember when I was 6 I wanted to be a gazillionaire, when I was 8 a police man, when I was 10 in the army. But now I'm maturing. And am actually thinking about my future. I know that next year going into high school I will have to think about what I am going to do. Because I have to select the proper courses. My cousin is in grade 12. And I was talking to her. She sort of knows where she wants to go. She wants to be an engineer. What kind? She doesn't really know yet. She still has time I suppose. I really want to choose 2 careers. The one that I want to be in. And another, fall-back one. Two of my brothers are truck drivers, and my Dad is too. My Dad and my mom used to have a small truck company. I am going to get my class one no matter what. But I don't know if I will make a career of it. I love trucks, I grew up with them. My parents own a 1998 peterbilt, and might be buying a 2007 soon. So of course I'm going to take part in that. I am also going to be working for my uncle. As an apprentice in wood work. I will be making $25 an hour plus 10% of the pay from the orders we fill. I would love to be a psychologist too. At my age I ahve so many chances. And I should start looking into some of them. Serious ones. Don't get me wrong. I would love to play my music profressionally. But I don't think that could happen. I'd love to play in the NHL but lets be serious I'd never be on the Dallas Stars, or the Edmonton Oilers, hell I'd play for New York(I hate NY just so you know). I guess in the next year opr so something will grab my attention. And I will want to do it as a real career. I will suicide if I'm a burger flipper when I'm 65.
Actually, when I was 13, I knew that I wanted to be Jesse Smith when I grew up. Him or Raptor.