career help
 

hi im a 17 year old student in grade 12. I'm taking an extra year just to take some extra courses and try to figure out what i enjoy. I don't know what I want to do after highschool. after deciding i wanted to be a nurse, a teacher, a biologist, a police officer, a pharmacist... I'm stuck! I've tried career tests online, thinking about what i like to do, what i want to do, research, but it doesn't help. i'm not doing very well in school and i dont have any real motivation. i'd appreciate some feedback + comments, books, websites, personal experiences etc. thanks

This article by Steve helped me a lot:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...-self-be-true/

At the risk of repeating what many have said, 1) take an inventory at what your are naturally good at - what gives you the greatest pleasure in life - what interests you; what can you do with little effort that is harder for others? And 2) decide that you will find what you want to do. Look for clues that will confirm what feels right. Problem we all face is that we often don't know what direction to take because we think about it so much. If you trust yourself, the direction will become evident if you let go. In the interim, use your time productively by going on to college or technical school. This will stimulate growth and help give you more experiences to guide you.

Go to a 4 year college and use that experience to figure out what you want to do. I didn't figure out what I wanted to do until I was 30. You can't be expected to figure out what you want to do with your life at age 17. You just have to make sure that you are productive and moving in the right general direction. Think about what you would enjoy studying in college for the next 4 years and then worry about a job when you graduate.

My father told me to always make sure I was opening doors rather than closing them. If you go to school you will be opening doors because your education will allow you to do all sorts of things. If you become paralyzed by indecision and don't go to school you will be closing doors.

One word of warning: if you live in the US don't borrow a ridiculous amount of money to pay for school. If you graduate with $100k of loans you will have fewer options when you graduate because you will be forced to take the highest paying job.

Good luck and don't worry. You are way ahead of the game by asking these questions at an early age.

This is so true....you are so far ahead of your peers!

If you see a career or profession that is of interest to you...don't be afraid to talk with someone in that field.

Ask them if you can spend the day with them....or at least stop in to visit and ask some questions. They will be excited that you have taken an interest in what they do and will be happy to help you.

In one of Brian Tracy's books (author of goal setting and sales motivational books) he mentioned reflecting back on what we enjoyed when we were 8 years old? At that age we were not influenced by status or income...just what made us happy.

The example he gave was of a young entrepreneur that owned a few businesses. All of his businesses revolved around building and chartering airplanes - which was his passion growing up. This entrepreneur was millionaire many times over and commented that he felt as though he had never "worked" a day in his life by doing what he loved.

Wish you the best!

Robert

thanks! I really appreciate all your help :)