Career Dreams

Last week I had the Question of the Day asking what job you wanted to have when you were little.  I loved all of the different answers I heard in response which included everything from working at McDonalds to being a professional athlete to working in a lab and lots of other ideas. Chances are that now that you are in high school you have started re-thinking some of your potential career choices. While there is still a lot of uncertainty and, if the statistics are accurate, you will, in all likelihood, change career paths in the future, it is time to start figuring out what you MIGHT like to be when you grow up.

I *know* you hate it when adults say this, but the reality is that you need to know yourself and what matters to you. If you love what you do and you are willing to work hard then you will be able to find success. Everyone has their own unique gifts and talents and it is imperative that you determine what career will best meet your needs. This means you have to figure out what is important to you and how you can incorporate that into your life. 

For example, for those who love sports it can be hard to imagine life without athletics and, many times, these individuals will pick (at least initially) careers that involve sports - athletic training, sports management, sports marketing, etc. This might be the perfect combination - or maybe not. Knowing yourself and knowing what you have a passion for is important in determining what characteristics of a job will be best suited for you. In this example, the sports minded person might pick a career that involves teamwork where groups of people work closely together to reach a common goal. Or, if you decide that you are not going to be able to fulfill one of your life's passions through your career, then it is important that you still honor that influence in some other way - perhaps playing on an adult recreational team or coaching a youth sport team. While this example deals with sports the same concept applies to any of your interests and passions - art, music, learning.

So, while I am not asking you to abandon your dreams of fame and fortune as the professional athlete, superhero, or yes, even McDonald's employee, I am asking you to start thinking seriously about what will make you happy, what is important to you, and how a career can help meet your needs and goals in life.