I can't say for sure, but I think the previous post suggested you take a look at how your parents, or whomever your financial provider made their money and do the same thing.

 

Well, I actually went down the road that you seem to want to turn away from -- political science major in college and then law school. I've been practicing law since 1995.

If you want to discuss why I did what I did, how I got to where I am in my career, what I think of what I do or exactly what I do in the practice of law, please feel free to PM me.

My basic advice is do professionally what makes you happy and what suits your skills best. Not every career is suitable to one's personality and/or skill set.

It speaks well of you that at age 19, you are having these kinds of thoughts rather than first having them after your graduate college or when you are about to graduate. Success in many careers -- or even being able to undertake certain careers -- requires some planning.

 

i'm glad to see someone at your age motivated and ambitious, kinda reminds me of myself
And its really good that you are looking for advice from us 'mature' and the 'been there done that' crowd.

i would say though, that its hard to plan your career out at 19.
You are going to go through so much from now till you are 30, enough so that whatever plan u laid out will change.
At 19, you havent really experienced enough to make good career choices.
Your gonna commit to something, and then change your decision in a heartbeat,
whether becuase its something u are good at, something pays more,
a hot chick is taking that class
But thats what college is all about!

If you want something solid, go to the Medical field, engineering (chemical, mechanical, civil) and IT.

If you want to travel the world at 19, join the Navy
Nothing clears your mind and gives you so much clarity of what to make of your life like the Military!
unfortunately serving Time also has the same effect

Or you can do what i did, I have 3 careers that i enjoy doing. 1st is my day job that pays the bills,
2nd is my weekend job that i would do for free if i had to,
and 3rd is what i'm working on and always wanted to do.
So the lesson here is I didnt have to settle for just one career choice,
but I did have to choose one first to allow me to be able to afford my 2nd and 3rd option. GL buddy!

 

 

Used to be that people were expected to change jobs 4 or 5 times in their chosen career during their work life. Now I hear that people (especially younger people) should expect to change careers 2 or 3 times during their working life. As a young lad, I used to love tinkering with electronics and even built my own radio by age 10. I just love to make electrical things come to life. I still get a thrill out of seeing a row of LEDs flash the sequence that I meant them to flash. I am a hardware engineer and I still can't believe that my company pays me a very decent salary to do something that I would gladly do for free.

My advice is to really look inside yourself and pick the one or two things that you really enjoy doing and pursue those as a career. Do you like playing video games all day? Maybe you can work toward becoming a video game tester. Do you like taking pictures? Maybe you could find out what it takes to become a professional photographer. Good for you for thinking about this at such a young age. This shows that you have a certain level of maturity and that you are thinking about your future. G/L with your career choice; I have a feeling that you will be fine and will be happy with your choice because you are really thinking about it.

 

I would recommend doing as many internships/professional shadowing as you can...

 

You're in a state of mind that isn't all that unusual. I recall my undergraduate days in a Chem Eng track and realizing in my Sophomore year that I didn't want to spend my days in a lab. So I pursued my undergrad and grad degrees in Psych. Intending to follow in the footsteps of friends and relatives (Psychologists, Psychiatrists) I started teaching school to pay the bills and tuition. But in a twist of fate and an unexpected opportunity I took a detour to management at the state and federal level ... all before the age of 25.

When I looked around at the drones in government and realized that by 30 I'd be bored ... soooo along with a couple of buddies we started private treatment centers in NJ, NY, & FL. Sort of my first entrepreneurial venture. Scary but demanding 5 years and 10 years later I migrated to a corporate roles for 25 years ... but enough about me.

Here's the deal ... you're young enough to test the waters in a few venues and see what gets you psyched.

Philosophy #1 - unless you're doing what you like, it's JUST A JOB!! And jobs are everywhere - even in this crappy economy!
#2 - whatever you try to do ... invest yourself 110%
#3 - Don't think you have to do it forever - that only applies to death and taxes! [And maybe marriage]
#4 - Don't think your academic track is the rail you'll ride for the whole trip.
#5 - What you're doing now is great ... but go talk to and hang out with people doing lots of different kinds of things [notice I didn't say jobs!].
#6 - Try to decompress a bit - I often suggest a stint at some volunteer work to clear the brain clutter and focus on something other than YOU.
That's it for tonight!

Keep on keeping on!

 

Twins separated at birth? I remember making a radio about that age too. It fit inside an empty tic-tac box. Same deal with LEDs. I built a Knight-rider row of LEDs that flashed from side to side in sequence. Geeky, yes totally, but it was a hobby that led to a career that's lasted 20+ years without a day out of work, and apart from some annoying management politics sometimes, I've enjoyed it well over 95% of the time. As for the gladly doing it for free, yes again. I was doing it for free before I got a job, and if I retire I expect I'll continue doing it for free just for fun (without deadlines and clients and requirements)

Same thing again back to the OP, don't choose your career based on what's the most lucrative otherwise we'd all be lawyers and doctors. That's not to say that those professions are bad choices, but it's bad to choose them if it's only because they make more money than the average worker. Choose whatever you do because it's something you're very interested in. You can make doctor/lawyer money too if you really excel in your chosen career. I just found out that I'm earning double what the average doctor in the UK makes, which was quite a shock. I'd like to think I'm not an average software engineer though. I don't just do my 37 hours a week and switch off.

 

Just go to school and stop with these thoughts "should I do this?" "should I do that?" every second of your hesitation is a second lost from your life - when you choose something, stick to it. When you leave it behind, don't look back. Always look where you'll go next, never say never. And most importantly, DON'T LISTEN TO ANYONE!!! Or you might actually do something right every now and then Am I confusing you yet? If so, good! Now go forth and be all that you can be

Next case, please

 

"when you choose something, stick to it" ?????
"DON'T LISTEN TO ANYONE" ?????

Were you a presidential advisor for the last 8 years by any chance ?

Oh no, I broke my political rule. Too bad, it's funny, I'm going with it