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As children grow up and mature, they will answer the
question more along the lines of their interests. A typical
preteen will answer “jet pilot, NFL star, or movie star” as
their chosen career field. A high school student will start
to consider the career question in a realistic manner but
usually from the point of view of what career is popular or
what career pays well such as “physical therapist, doctor,
or lawyer”. The career choices have changed as they have
grown and experienced more of the world but are still
idealistic to some degree.
As
college students, these recent-high school students are
required to decide at the beginning of their college careers
what career path they want to pursue. When naming a major
course of study, a college student usually is still in the
“doctor, lawyer, chief operating officer” mode and decides
to select a career path based on career popularity and
income potential. Interest starts to play a role at this
stage, but many students find it difficult to translate
interests into careers or employment. The choice they make
will determine the course of the next four years of college
study and set their investment toward a specific career
path.
Is it
possible to successfully make a career choice and plan an
education to achieve that goal at the tender age of 19?
Obviously, it is because many people go straight through
college to become physicians, engineers, and other
professions with never a hesitation. It is interesting to
note, however, that 80 percent of college graduates never
work in a career related to their major field of study. The
average American will also change complete career fields at
least three times during his lifetime. Such statistics bring
into question the value of choosing a career path as a
freshman in college.
June
Rankin* grew up confident that she was going to have a
career as a veterinary surgeon. As soon as she was old
enough to legally work, she gained a part-time position as a
veterinary assistant for a local veterinarian. She took the
ACT in her junior year and scored a composite of 29. Offers
of scholarships started to arrive. She was confident of her
chosen career path – four years of pre-vet and then
acceptance into the very competitive veterinary medicine
school of her choice.
What
June did not take into consideration was her natural
abilities. She had an IQ that put her in the “gifted” range
and had worked for five years in a hands-on veterinary
practice where she had seen nearly every type of procedure
and participated in most of them. What she couldn’t do was
balance a chemical equation, work the trigonometric equation
for a hyperbole, or understand derivatives in calculus. Her
natural abilities were simply not math-oriented.
June
ended up failing miserably at the beginning of her college
career, finishing up on probation status with the university
and very frustrated with her studies. She considered hiring
a tutor but realized at best she would achieve a C average,
not good enough to be competitive in the race for veterinary
school admission. In the end, she changed her major and the
following semester made the Dean’s List – she had found her
natural abilities. She went on to success in a career field
in which she loves to work.
June
learned a good lesson early on – do what you do well and
career success will come. Unfortunately, many invest large
sums of money and time in education only to discover after
graduation they hate what their new career. An investment up
front in career assessment, ability testing, and research of
careers would be an investment that brings huge returns
while saving a great deal in wasted time and funds.
All
successful people, however they define career success, all
say they chose their careers because they love the job and
because they are good at doing it. It is impossible to be
truly successful in a career and hate it. (If you hate your
career, you are not successful.) The key is to find
activities you like to perform, find out in what tasks you
are naturally skilled, and then find a career that combines
the two.
Research, introspection, testing, and investigation into
career options can help you achieve career happiness. A
career coach or career counselor can lead you through the
process of finding your career niche. If you find yourself
past college and in a career you do not like, it is time to
start planning a career change. A career coach can support
you through the process of career transition without career
upheaval. Invest in professional coaching or counseling now
for your career and bask in job happiness in the future.
*not
her real name.
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