How did you figure out your career path?

[pokey07]

I'd like to hear how you guys decided on your respective careers. I've been doing a lot of soul searching and trying to find out what I should be doing. I've taken tests, read books, job search, etc. but still have no idea what I'd like to do.

How did you guys figure out what you wanted to do? How many times have you changed jobs/careers?

 

[StephenHero]

One option is to ask people on the internet. http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=222597

 

[rjakapeanut]

i'm still on the path since...well, it's a 7 year path.

i really liked the idea of becoming a lawyer at around age 17, believe it or not. i was pretty cautious about it because the actual profession is, of course, alot different than what you see on television and things like that.

my answer would be "slowly". i figured it out slowly. lots of research. i made tons of contacts, lawyers that do all kinds of work. lawyers that work locally, lawyers in other states, even lawyers in other countries. lots of research. don't ever stop researching your career along the way; the more you know the better.

still on the path, feeling more confident in my decision every day. i would say find something that sounds interesting and do massive amounts of reading on it. talk to people in those fields.

 

[Master-Classter]

I'm in the same boat as you... my advice to date is this. Nothing is permenant. It may take time, money, and energy, but you can literally turn your life around if you want to at any given time. So just get going with something that generally checks the right boxes and sets you up for more options in the future as well as something taht ideally you think you'll enjoy at least a bit. Whatever you do, do it well and earn respect. People don't care what you do/did for a living, they just want to know that you were good at it and are happy about it.

 

[imschatz]

On a trip I read Freakonomics. http://www.amazon.com/Freakonomics-E...0409984&sr=8-1 Signed up for Principles of Micro when I got back, and was relatively good at it, compared to the 3-4 other subjects I tried @ University.

 

[globetrotter]

it was pretty obvious to me from a young age. I tried to do something else, and my natural inclinations started showing. I tweaked it, but it was pretty clear cut

 

[ter1413]

whoever paid da most!

 

[yjeezle]

was on the verge of going to law school and bailed because i realized i didn't want to be a lawyer... i wanted to do something more business oriented.

 

[Eason]

Hard to say, I think master-classer is right-on. You never know when you find the perfect fit, but it's never too late for it. I think different people just have different levels of tolerance for jobs they don't like, some of us have less and some of us have more. I think that will largely determine when you "find" your ideal career.

 

[Fraiche]

Originally Posted by Master-Classter

I'm in the same boat as you... my advice to date is this. Nothing is permenant. It may take time, money, and energy, but you can literally turn your life around if you want to at any given time. So just get going with something that generally checks the right boxes and sets you up for more options in the future as well as something taht ideally you think you'll enjoy at least a bit. Whatever you do, do it well and earn respect. People don't care what you do/did for a living, they just want to know that you were good at it and are happy about it.

+100

Might I also add that doing things usually doesn't get fun until you're good at it. You might hate it now, but it might be a whole lot of fun later.

 

[Yorsch]

Try and Error.

When I got my first job in cool retail store while still in high school, I was impressed and intriqued by whole industry.
I ended up going college to study Fashion Business.
...
...
I dropped year later, after hearing possible salaries.
The irony was I went to wanted to work in fashion, however working there you could never afford designer clothes.

Meanwhile, my girlfriend styding Marketing major at university asked me to help her out with accounting project.
I did the whole project without just on my memories from high school, and she got 91%. The path was set.

It took another year to get into Accounting honours program at University. Adult school, Night school, whole bunch of admissions test, interviews, negotiations....

Sometimes I feel regret about wasted years in college and later.
Then i realized they were not wasted. I needed them to be sure what i want to do.

I think you gotta try to find out what you like.

 

[ImaPro]

Starting selling stuff online and I liked it, then started getting involved and I liked it even more. Its alll about business man .

 

[mm84321]

Originally Posted by pokey07

How did you guys figure out what you wanted to do?
Years of self-imposed solitude coupled with deep and brooding introspection.

 

[Magnas]

Well, I tried to make money online since we got our first computer when I was 13 or something like that. Of course it didn't went to well but I kept at it and in the late teenage-years it started working out for me. Now I just keep at it and try to grow our business every day.