So I’m in the fourth quarter of my junior year at high school and I have NO CLUE what I want to do. Actually I do have ideas, but I have a LOT of ideas and I don’t know which I would like to do more. I realize that I “have a lot of time” and that “some people don’t know until after college” but I’ve been seriously thinking about this for a while (read: OVER A YEAR) and I’m no closer to making a decision.
My interests:[ul]
[li]Computers (programming or HTML)[/li][li]Music (Vocal, keyboard, perhaps teaching)[/li][li]Religion (Youth minister)[/li][li]Teaching[/li][li]Business (owning my own business or running someone else’s)[/li][li]Numerous other things I can’t think of right now. . .[/li][/ul]
I guess what I’m really looking for in this thread is any experiences anyone has had in any of these fields, your experiences with deciding on a career, maybe questions you can think of to help me narrow the options. I really think I could be happy working in any of those positions, but I don’t know. . .
No matter what your age, there’s no harm in deciding on a direction, so I will avoid the “you’re too young to worry about that” comments. It seems you are already aware that you’ll have lots of time to change your mind.
I’m a computer consultant by trade, which translates to contract programmer 90% of the time, and the rest of the time it’s mentor, teacher, and “really expensive computer guy we call with silly questions so we can say we talked to an expert”
I knew I wanted to be in the computer field from somewhere near 7th grade forward.
Career criteria to think about… income level, how much you want your work to dominate your non-work time, what part of the country/world you might like to live/work in, and of course some independent evaluations on what areas you have talent in.
Is it just me, or does this cry out: “TELEVANGELIST”?
It’s great, you can have your own theme park and everything!
(I’m kidding of course. I’m 30 and still don’t know what I want to do, so don’t take any advice from me. “Rodeo Clown” always had a nice ring to it though, and would look snazzy on a business card.)
Income level. . .sure I’d like to be rich, but it’s really not THAT important to me. Enough to live on. I’d like to own my own house when I get married (or buy one slightly after).
Work dominating non-work time. I’m somewhat used to having little free time. I don’t mind as long as I have a little (hour or two a day, maybe). Plus more time on weekends. . .
Where I want to live/work. I like the big city. Never been to NYC, but I LOVE going to Chicago and Indianapolis. I like living in a smallish town. Commuting is my friend.
Something else I remembered: I love helping people out with things. No matter if it is a HUGE, EARTH-SHATTERING problem or merely helping them find something in the store where I’m working, I really enjoy helping people.
I just really don’t know where I’m going with all this. . .I can see myself doing any one of those things in ten years. . .
(I’m kidding of course. I’m 30 and still don’t know what I want to do, so don’t take any advice from me. “Rodeo Clown” always had a nice ring to it though, and would look snazzy on a business card.)