What do you want to be when you grow up?
I bet there are not many people who say they haven’t thought about this question. There are some people who immediately know the answer, but only due to the fact they know what they want to pursue in while they were young. It also depends on several factors in every individual’s life. There are many today, me included that, if asked that question wouldn’t know what to say. I do have some ideas of what I would like to try to do.
I learned through social media that there is a better question “What are you most proud of doing?” The video talked about students talked about working with wood, helping a friend with homework and etc. If someone asked me that question, I would like to think my younger self would say I am proud I wrote or finished a writing project of some kind. What I like about learning is that anyone has the opportunity to learn anything if it interest them. They just have to read, research, study, and apply it it interest them. In my profession, I learn new information weekly.
Today is seems that many students continuing their education follow their passion without figuring out what is going to fund that passion. I am all for following your dreams, but dreams have limits. There are many majors that have limited application in the real world and they end up in jobs they didn’t study for or thought they wanted.
The Class of 2023 is now facing the real world and having to make decisions for their future. What I know is that the future is uncertain. We will never know what we are going to do from day to day or what path we are going to take to get there. It is a journey. It isn’t easy on those starting out. There are some who have already started down the road of life found a stopping point and will decide stay where they are or continue traveling.
So here is some advice for those at the starting line from https://www.ontocollege.com/choosing-a-major/ for current and soon to be college students. As I was looking up this information, it also sounded like sound advice for anyone looking to make a life changing decision.
According to bestcolleges.com, “Before you commit to a major, you should consider several factors, including the program cost, your salary expectations, and the employment rates in that field of study. In addition, you should think about your personality, your academic and professional goals, and your interests.”
College students have been known to change their majors throughout their college careers for only reasons they know. The website suggests before selecting a major the individual need to self evaluate to determine what motivates them; explore different careers by taking time to learn about other careers and interest; think about what you field of study might earn, right after graduation and in the long run; understand the path to your end goal by taking into account what you will need to do to get there, figure out your career and major goals and to consider a minor when choosing a major.
With today’s ever changing world, we don’t know what tomorrow will be bring with the world changing a little or a lot everyday. We just have to learn how to keep up.
