The truth is, being able to choose a career path that breaks out of conventional options is by now only privy to a few. So if you are one of the few ones, be grateful for that chance.
The finals are done and you just witnessed all your senior friends graduate from college. You are expected to know your next 40 years in advance. Summer is approaching and because you have to work and time to think, or you are free for the summer and have time to think, you will be stressing about your future life (because why not). If you are a senior, it might be a good time to plan a gap year because applying to grad schools for this fall year is mostly over. Sorry.
Still, no matter where you are in your timeline of being a college student (or anywhere for that matter), the pressing issue of your career is always existent. Even if you have buried it away in your backyard long forgotten, it will crawl its way out of its unmarked grave and bite you in neck when your well-meaning aunt will ask you about your future. It is the "Thriller" music video of your career path, the performance of your lifetime – the do or die. Or at least this is what society wants to tell you.
As someone who has struggled with the question of: What the heck am I supposed to do? I want to offer you my insights. Here is a list of things that I found help a lot when evaluating my future.
The Job Attitude
In a TED talk (which I can’t find the link to; googling "ted talk and job" is not an easy undertaking), a speaker once mentioned that the job doesn’t define him, but rather makes him able to express himself. The job, in his eyes, is only a tool. Admittedly, some career paths do need years of commitment and don’t fall into this category.
Growing up, we are under the impression that choosing our job is what we then become while in reality it is something that we merely do. You are more than your job, you are a human being experiencing life. There are no right or wrongs (except harming other people, things and animals in any way), no one-way streets. The world is your kindergarten.
What pain do you want to solve?
Plain and simple: What are you willing to struggle for?
It is nice to reap the positive effects of a job well done, but too often we forget that with any job or task unpleasant things move in, as well. Are you able to ignore blood and not faint if you want to work with animals? You want to work with animals and help them, but don’t want to be a vet? You could be an animal physiotherapist or a dog trainer. The possibilities never end, like supernatural.
Career or hobby?
The wanna-be inspirational quote of “turn your hobby into your career” seems to still float around. Sometimes it is not feasible to turn your hobby into your career. We have bills to pay, groceries to buy and debit card overdraft fees to settle. You can choose your hobby just as your hobby; there is no shame in that. Becoming professional with your hobby is always a risky endeavor and not everyone wants to take that step.
If you are interested in making your hobby into a career, you have to be careful. Making money from a hobby always takes time. You have to establish a follower base or someone who buys your product; there are thousands of help guides out there in the world wild web. If you want to start a video channel, be prepared. Experts say that it takes up to one year to build a successful YouTube channel. Until you have enough backbone to invest full time in your hobby and finance yourself, don’t quit your job yet.
Be aware of your flow.
Certain tasks just enthrall us. We can spend hours just working on this, forgetting our food and not hearing the fire alarm going off. Good times. Be aware of what these tasks are. I found myself sucked into excel sheets when I want to create a study guide for finals; suddenly, I created a whole four-year-overview of my college classes, with a GPA calculator and everything. Those activities can show you things that you get lost in and that are enjoyable to you.
In the end, there is no time stamp on your life journey or an expiration day.
