Figuring Out What I Want To Do

College Confidential Community
1

I have no clue what I want to be.

Okay. No. I have a whole bunch of things I DREAM of becoming. Like a teacher, journalist, author, interior designer, or graphic designer. But in the area I live in…it seems as if everyone HAS to become either a bio-technician or computer engineer.

I live in a highly asian populated city; I know that this part sounds so weird. I don’t know how to word this, and everyone is interconnected in some way or another. All of my friends proudly claim that they want to become a computer engineer or scientist like their parents, and I had my eyes set on those two jobs for a while as well. But all of a sudden, I realized that those two jobs…were not at all in my area of enjoyment.

The career pathways I want to take…are called “useless” “disposable” “dept-creating” careers by my parents, peers, and family friends. Like excuse me. That book you’re reading, your child’s education, your house interior, and the web pages you look at were made possible by the careers I listed. I understand that they are low-pay jobs which is probably why my parents, in their own way of looking out for me, advised me to go into a high-paying job such as a computer engineer.

It could be possibly because both of my parents never went to college, and my dad owns a shipping company that I have a more liberated view on career pathways than my friends since they grew up in a household filled with geniuses who went on to scientific and mathematical careers. It is probably harder for them to suggest another pathway to their family that it is for me,

I want to know what would you count as more important. Being happy with your job or being happy with your salary.

I am not the only one among my friends who wants to break out of this repeating circle of "become an engineer" or "become a doctor" or "become a scientist". Many of my friends enjoy dance, and art and have often privately disclosed to me that if they had been born into a different area or family they would have definitely gone down that path. I want to know what exactly is stopping them or me from following our dreams. (Okay, I know money problems is one thing, But what else.)

People say that it’s best to take some classes in high school to prepare you for your future major which will lead to your future career.

I am all over the place with my classes. Science wise, I look like I want to be a bio-technician. Math wise, I am three years ahead (yes I know that’s not much compared to some people here), which would open up to careers such as engineering. I am also advanced in history and english. I have also been in journalism for 2 years now.

I have no set goal in mind due to the fact that every pathway I suggest is crushed with negative feedback, and constant pushing into a path way I have no interest in. Everyone on this site seems to want to be STEM major or Biology major or something of that sort (I do feel that these people sincerely want to major in these and I envy them) so I feel like a sore thumb on this site. I wonder if there are people out there are who have similar interests as me or people who actually succeeded in those areas. Parental feedback is also appreciated on how they would feel about their child trying to go after what they wanted even if a stable secure future was not insured.

This turned more or less into a rant about my struggle with trying to figure out what I want to do in the limited range of “options” my parents and the society I live in gives me.
Gah.
To sum it up.
Should I go after what I truly want to do, or go for more of a secure path?
Have any of you CCers succeeded in the areas of interests I listed?
Do I need to focus on what I want to do already in high school?
How would you feel if your child wanted to go down a riskier pathway than others?

2

I’m a teacher. In a Catholic School. (so the pay check is less than my public school counterparts.) Married to another Catholic school teacher.

And I’m very happy with the way my life has turned out.

Teaching is something I’m good at. It’s something that I enjoy, tremendously. It’s something that has me enjoying going to work (almost) every day. I work with some remarkable young people. I get to see them transform from hesitant pre-teens to college material, full of promise and ready to take on the world. I work with some brilliant people, some amazing teachers. I’m treated as a professional by my bosses, my coworkers, and the kids I teach.

If I cared enough to argue, I could make a strong case against my career choice being called “useless” “disposable” “dept-creating”. But, to be honest, I don’t care enough to build a case. This is my life, and I’m living in the way I choose.

The only people who matter in this equation are you, and to some extent, your parents. It doesn’t matter what the neighbors, aunts and uncles, cousins, classmates matter.

You’re going to be working for roughly 40 years… 40 YEARS!!! That’s longer than most marriages. You’ve got to find a field that makes you happy, that fulfills you.

Of course, you’ve got to keep your eye on the bottom line, but none of the careers you suggest is incredibly risky.

Some things you can do now: start writing. I’ve done tons of freelance writing, gotten published lots of times. The opportunities are there, online, thanks to google. Start now to build both a portfolio and to plant the idea in your parent’s mind that this is something you can be successful in. As far as teaching goes— can you teach religious ed? Volunteer somewhere? Work over the summer in a camp? Can you find a summer job/internship in interior or graphic design? Anything, just to get a foot in the door, to see whether or not you like it, to show your parents that you have a talent in this area?

At the end of the day, YOU have to be happy with the choices YOU make for YOUR future.

The best of luck to you!

3

You don’t have to know what you want to be in high school or make sure you take classes for that interest in high school. You do have to take a certain number of each type of course to meet you high school graduation requirements and general admission requirements for the colleges you think you are interested in. High school students are more likely to be uncertain than certain about what they think they want to do. Many of the kids posting on this site will change their minds, some more than once, some will even transfer schools even though they seem so certain when they post their intentions. You can go to school without declaring a major and do some exploration of your varied interests before making a commitment.