So how did you decide what you wanted to do in life?

[usillypenguin]

I'm in a rut. I'm a sophomore in college right now with literally no idea where and how I want my future to end up career-wise. All the classes I've taken don't really interest me and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what DOES interest me. I've originally intended to become a business major, and took a bunch of pre-requisites for this major, which didn't turn out so great since I got my rejection letter to the business school in the mail today. But I wasn't so sure I fit into the field anyways. I never had a really strong interest in it; I was always just following the footsteps of my brother and his career decisions.

I'm taking a law class right now which is semi-interesting and I might want to pursue or at least take classes next quarter that relate to the subject but I'm not sure if I can see myself doing that in the future either.

So how did you find out? What made you realize that the career you have now is what you wanted to do?

[gro3602]

Maybe you just aren't ready to make that decision yet.

How about a liberal arts degree and then perhaps by senior year you might have an idea of what field you might want to pursue.

My son changed his major 3 times, had to do summers and an extra semester to catch up, graduated, took year off, and was hired in a field that he really likes now. Now he's going to grad school to pursue this. He never would have figured this out as a sophomore.

[gro3602]

And I'm almost 50 and made a career choice (when I was your age ) that I regret!

[cbetht]

I'm finished with college and still have no clue what I want to do. I feel like I too am in a rut and totally lost. My mom is on my case about finding a job or going back to school but I just can't decide. I have no advice for you but you aren't alone!

[lilian]

When I was in high school and college, I worked a lot in jobs that I thought I might find interesting and rejected all of them until I found one I lied. I had this vague idea that I liked marketing (the data side), so I worked for a market research company (as a surveyor) and tried to keep an eye on what the managers/people were doing and decided it wasn't really for me. Then I got this amazing job setting up a library for a school (thought I might see what it was light to be a library) where I got to work with a librarian directly to organize a lot of materials, and again decided I couldn't take it. Then I interned at a law firm and really liked it, so that's where I am right now. I also took a lot of different classes in undergrad..I was an English major but I took classes in math, business, politics, and a bunch of other things to see if anything would stick. Good luck!

[gro3602]

Stay in school as long as you can!!

[rainyjewels]

you definitely shouldn't make any decision based on what others in your family have done or tell you to do, nor on what you think you may be interested in. interest doesn't emerge out of a vacuum. for me, i tried to take a broad range of classes my first and 2nd year in college, even took classes i never expected to take that didn't fit into the standard law/med/business tracks. you never know what you may find interesting. in all the different classes, you should constantly keep an eye/ear open on what aspects of topics/subjects you find interesting or you may be good at, even if the topic/subject may not interest you as a whole. you should also join clubs and activities - there are always so many clubs and orgs for everything you can think of in college - and see if anything there is of interest to you. then when you have a few ideas throughout the year on what you may be interested in, go for internships during the summer and spend 3 months really delving into that interest to see if it really pans out for you in the real world. chances are, either way, you'll learn a ton about yourself and your interests/talents through such real world experience. after 4 years of trying diverse experiences and learning more about yourself from them, you should have a good idea of at least what field you want to start out in when you graduate. chances are that will be another experience in which you learn which aspects you like and are good at, and you will continuously be moving onto positions that suit you more and more until you find the career that is best suited for you. don't think that you have to decide what field you want to be in right now and then that's it for the rest of your life. your career will be a huge learning experience and is a process.

[gro3602]

Rainyjewels, good post!!

My son started w/ electrical engineering (I think my husband and I pushed that), then wanted to switch to music, tried to transfer to Berkee Music School - would have had to start over there, then took music classes at his school. He took some philosophy electives, really like that so stuck w/ it and graduated w/ a degree in philosophy not knowing where that would take him.

He looked into teaching, but decided to take a year off and work. He works w/ autistic young adults and decided that was his calling.... Now working on masters in occupational therapy.

My point is don't worry! You aren't ready to make your decision yet!

[irishlass1029]

I agree with the others. You are still a soph. so you have time. It's good that you are thinking seriously about it and it's right to want you choose the right thing. You are right on track where you should be. Not everyone knows at the age of 5 what they want to "be when they grow up."

I'm 42 and trying to decide the same thing! So take heart - it could be worse! LOL!

[ash14vwb]

Hey usillypenguin! The best advice I can give is to not put pressure on yourself and just go with the flow. I graduated from college in May and was always stressing out about my future. I don't even like the job I'm doing now, but I'm glad I tried it because I wouldn't have known otherwise. However, I do NOT regret my majors. Do what you love & what interests you- no matter what majors they are. The job will follow. You may not know what you want to do right away (I still dont!), but things do always work out one way or another, and the right job will come up on you. You don't have to pressure yourself to "know what you want to do for the rest of your life." Very few people know that, and those who do don't always love what they end up doing once they actually get in the profession! (like me!)

If nothing is really piqueing your interest, think of what you like to do outside of school - what shows do you watch? what do you do in your free time? does helping others make you feel good? or is it reading and picking apart a mystery story? believe it or not, the major for you is somewhere in there. Good luck!!!!!

[gypsumrose]

Are you picking classes / majors based on career tracks? It is good to do this (I wouldn't recommend psychology unless you have a good idea of what you want to do or else you'll get stuck in this again when you graduate; just my personal opinion, I'm sure there are stories otherwise).

I was in this exact position during my sophomore year and didn't get it completely resolved until 1.5 yrs later. I graduated in 5 years but had a double major (and 210 hrs) to show for it. Majors I have previously pursued include Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Accounting, Classical Archaeology, Sociology, Anthropology, Linguistics, and Geology.

I just sat down one day and looked through every single major that my university offered and narrowed it down to three that I thought looked interesting to me: anthropology, classical archaeology, and sociology. I actually ended up somewhere different in the end (geology & anthropology; now grad school for geology), but I think it was one of those things where I had to shake all other preconceived notions & impressions (I was in Computer Engineering then Physics) to find something I really loved.

I agree with not putting too much pressure on yourself, but I know that it seems like by sophomore year everyone already knows what they're doing. I would say to do some research every day or week looking into different options but don't stress about it too much. It really WILL get resolved. I know part of my decision making process involved a little growing up and maturing on my part too. Stuff like that takes time.

[killerstrawbery]

well......

since i was a wee lil girl , i knew i wanted to be a violinist
nothing else mattered much to me except violin, and thats what i loved most in life
i could never imagine myself doing anything else! i would rather not live ... it was that dramatic.. lol!

then i graduated high school and went to a music conservatory, and i saw some things and had some things happen that made me reevaluate ...
there must be more to life than just music?

so i switched schools, switched majors to the science and math field and begrudgingly began to see how much i loved physics

so then i was just positive i would be doing physics and music the rest of my life,

but, then i started evalutating my financial situation and started realizing how important money is!

and my SO decided he wanted to buy a business, and now we have 2!

now im realizing, in the end of my school, how much i hate the egomaniacal attitudes of the people in my field ...

so really, i dont know what the hell i want i guess

lol!

i just know what interests me and makes me happy, and i try to find paths that allow me to do that

just dont have your heart set completely on ONE thing, because it can change so easily, as i realized ... and life becomes easier if you just become flexible and open to change i guess

[candypants1100]

i think the key is finding something that you love to do and see where it could take you.

i loved spanish, and loved school as a little kid, so i knew i wanted to be a teacher from a young age.

[usillypenguin]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful encouragement! I guess the most difficult and stressful thing for me right now is the fact that there seems to be so much pressure placed on deciding what I want to do. I'm suppose to declare my major next year, when I don't have the slightest idea what I should major in. All the classes I have taken in the past year have been geared towards business and I don't want to have to start over from scratch to still search for what I want to do. I do plan on trying something different next quarter and hopefully I can go from there.

[shoulderache]

My advice: look at what you decide to do for fun and then try and find a job similar!

I've suffered from that same problem for a very long time. I went to college as a physics major and changed to an international studies major and got my BA in that. Only, I had no idea what on earth I wanted to do, so I went to law school, thinking that I would probably make a decent lawyer. I hated it, but I finished anyway. After I graduated, I was invited to show a fashion collection at a regional fashion week, but decided not to because I just didn't feel as passionate about it as other designers do. I've tried just about everything and until probably last week I didn't have anything figured out. And, now I'm a stock broker and I LOVE it. It is what I was made to do! Business stuff has always been something I've loved to the point that I used to go home during highschool to eat my lunch in front of the tv so I could watch business news and in law school I got a very high grade in business law without ever even opening the book. I don't know why it never dawned on me to do that for a living, I just always considered it something I just was interested in, but wasn't good enough at it to do it for a living. Apparently, that isn't true and I've never had a job I was so excited about as this one. So, my advice isn't to look at what makes you tons of money or that you feel the best at, look at what you spend your time doing when no one is watching and see if you can find a job like that!

Best wishes and I really hope that you are able to find your passion!