How did you figure out what you want to do?

[Reiper]

As per the title, how did you figure out what you wanted to do when you "grew up".

I am currently facing this quandary, but the problem for me is that I am "grown up". I am about to graduate from my undergrad, with an ever so useful arts degree that I didn't really love, and I still have no clue what I want to do.

Life has always been so structured, there has always been an obvious "next-step" and path to follow, be it school, summer jobs or university. Now though, I realize I am about to go "off-road", and it seems like a terrifying prospect.

I have one more semester of school and then I am done, just drifting with no clue how to proceed. I considered post-grad stuff, but I never took school seriously like an idiot, so my marks are mediocre. In addition I didn't even really do an undergrad I loved, so how could I trust myself to choose a profession or graduate program.

Anyway, I have rambled a bit, how did you figure it out? What can I do to figure it out?

 

[Terminate421]

I saw the concept art from Metroid Prime 1.

From that point on, I knew I wanted to do animation and concept art for games.

 

[Heronblade]

It really is not as complex as it first appears. Decide what you want out of this life, and find out what you are capable of doing in order to achieve it.

In my case:

#1. Decided I wanted to leave a lasting positive impact on the world. Furthermore decided that great wealth, power, and fame were not worth pursuing. If anything fame was to be avoided.

#2. Decided that of the careers my skill set was highly suited for, Engineering carried my best shot of achieving #1

#3. Found that I not only had a knack for the primary aspects of Engineering, I greatly enjoyed the work, thereby confirming the suspicions I had with 1 and 2.

 

[BQE]

My life couldn't of felt any more railroaded short of arranged marriage.

Without the slightest bit of arrogance, I was always lauded in school by the teachers; I labled an intellectual and it stands today that I find it pretty difficulty to be perceived of anything to the contrary. The truth is that I was a fool then, and I'm hardly better off now. I neglected studies and didn't give the slightest bit of cares towards a future beyond the initial 18 years or so of my life.

The second-order effects of these foolhardy notions led to the elimination of any possibility of attending a serious school. I had an interest in Game Design in the time and even visited Full Sail and grew incredibly interested in attending. However, these wishes were buried by my own indolence and apathy. My brother was a 3-4 year veteran of the Marine Corps at the time, and I figured the only logical way to salvage the situation was joining the armed forces as well.

I tested quite well on the ASVAB and was sent to the intelligence corps (Oh ho, the trend here). After five years, a calvacade of bad decisions, and a kneejerk marriage and subsequent divorce later, I elected to conclude my time in the service.

The work and training I received paved the way toward an unending life in bed with big government in ways I'm loathe to expound upon. So here is where I work, making a comely salary, and not much else. I'm in school (GI Bill) to further my education and training in the area I ended up working in and wishing there was an actual way to make a similar living being involved in rhetoric and philosophy rather than what I do now.

All in all, it's a story of the road diverging between passion and contentment. I chose contentment, and subsist off of plenty in a life devoid of passion, glamour, and higher meaning.

That's the first and last time BQE will ever get personal, take note.

Villainess and all that.

 

[TWRule]

I have one more semester of school and then I am done, just drifting with no clue how to proceed. I considered post-grad stuff, but I never took school seriously like an idiot, so my marks are mediocre. In addition I didn't even really do an undergrad I loved, so how could I trust myself to choose a profession or graduate program.

I made the same mistake - though for me it was a way of sort of rebelling against the system, and in that vein I don't regret it (even though it made my career path more difficult).

I strongly recommend that you avoid returning to school unless or until you have strong convictions about a particular path and plan to help you fulfill it which that schooling is a necessary part of - even then you will suffer crises of motivation along the way, if you're anything like me at least.

Anyway, I have rambled a bit, how did you figure it out? What can I do to figure it out?

Well, truth be told I haven't truly figured it out yet - I ended up going to grad school in philosophy with the goal of becoming a professor in the field, so I have a definite career plan, but one of the main reasons I chose this was because I didn't really know what to do with my life, and I decided that instead of just choosing from the (career) options made available to me, all of which I would ultimately become dissatisfied with, I wanted to reach out to others to open a dialogue about this very problem: that nobody really knows why they are doing what they are doing with their lives, nor what they should be doing, and people are forced to make arbitrary choices about it (usually only thinking as far as a career that will bring them comfort), if it's not decided for them somehow. I am still leveraging my career path to seek others who will willingly engage me on this.

All this began when I gave myself time to sit down and really reflect on my life; I looked back on the past and resolved not to give up/lose confidence in doing so. After a good deal of this, I came to an epiphany where my memories began to line up with a (still rather vague) notion of the sort of life and future I wanted. That combined with a little internet research to learn about my options gave my larger goal more specific and immediate form. Once I had the greater - if less specific - goal in mind, it was easier to plan concrete actions to take toward it in the form of a career.

So it really does come down to reflecting on what you want out of life, understanding strongly why you want it, and then learning about your options and evaluating them in light of that greater goal. Talking with others you trust can be important too - though I would be careful about distinguishing your goal from their values; they might be quick to dismiss a path that would otherwise be promising or quick to encourage you down a path you don't really want for yourself - just keep that in mind.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

When I was in college I didn't know what I wanted to do either. I took a bunch of different classes in things I thought I might be interested in. Took classes in history, mythology, art history, physics, chemistry, economics, business, psychology, sociology, etc. Eventually I found out that I really enjoyed law, and it was completely by accident.

I was a year and a half into college, a business major but not really loving it. I took a class in business law (an elective for my business major), and realized that I really enjoyed it, not for the business part, but because I found law fascinating. Ended up changing majors to criminal justice.

At first I started out wanting to be a lawyer, but as I interacted with lawyers more and more I realized that a lot of them were slimy people who I didn't really want anything to do with, and I realized that to be a lawyer I would have to compromise way more of my ideals than I originally thought. However, a few of my professors were former police officers, and the more I interacted with them the more I liked the idea of police work and what they were saying about it. Ended up taking a bunch of classes in policing, and forensics, got a certificate in applied forensics and criminalistics, and am currently going through the hiring process for a couple of different police agencies in my state trying to get a job.

So you could say that me finding out what I wanted to do with my life came down to a few lucky accidents that occurred because I was interested in experiencing as many different academic fields and job possibilities as I could. I feel like a lot of people go into college with an idea of what other people want from them, and just kind of roll with it, without ever questioning whether they're going to be happy in the field they're going into, or whether they might be more interested in something else, and I feel like everyone should take a year or two in college to find out what kinds of other opportunities they might have (if they're financially able).

As far as what you can do to find a career path you're interested in, I'm not sure. You could delay your graduation and spend a semester doing what I did, and just taking a bunch of classes you might be interested in, seeing if anything catches your interest. Problem here is, since you're so close to graduating, even if you do find another major that you're interested in, would you be willing to start over again from scratch on a new path?

Then again, just the fact that you have a degree might be good enough. Most people don't end up working in their field after graduating from college, so you could very well use your art degree as a stepping stone to a completely different career. All in all, I would say that you won't find something that you enjoy doing and are passionate about unless you look around and see what kind of careers are out there, until you try a little bit of everything you can.

 

[Esotera]

I don't think most people ever find out, but they still manage to find themselves in careers/jobs somehow. The best thing to do is assess all your options, pick a few that you like or would hate the least, and attempt to go down that road. That's my plan at least...

 

[FalloutJack]

Ah, well, you see...


...and then they made me their chief.

Wait, what was the question again?

 

[HannesPascal]

Ever since elementary school I've been interested in physics and chemistry, so when I was going to choose a high school (I think the high school are different in Sweden than in the US) I chose a natural science program (where around three quarters of the courses were in math, chemistry, physics and biology and the rest was courses that everyone had to take like Swedish, English, one history course and such). During my high school years I was certain that I wanted to continue to study at the university in Lund and I either wanted to study chemical engineering or technical physics. Since the chemistry course were more interesting than the physics courses (that seemed little more than math problem after math problem) I chose to study chemical engineering. Currently I've studied two years of chemical engineering (three years left) and I really enjoy it but I've no idea what I'm going to do when I'm done.

Also I don't really think I've "grown up" yet.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I haven't the foggiest idea what I'm doing or what I'm going to do.

At the moment, I'm in the first staging of getting into the gaming industry as a programmer. After doing the research, school I'm attending basically guarantees some kind of job in coding or design.

But how did I choose that? It was really just a mix of a pastime I enjoy, plus a decently high starting salary, plus a skill that can apply to virtually any industry in the world.

So basically the extent of my advice is "Good Luck"

 

[Guffe]

I said when I was 4 in an interview in kindergarten what I wanted to do.
Found said map with info and pictures of my first 6 years on this planet when I was 21.
Was already doing what I had said I wanted to do 17 years ago.
So yeah, always had a target, always aimed for that target and went for it. Loving it.

Many of my friends are facing the same problem you're though

 

[Naeras]

I figured it out by pure accident about five years ago. Or, not quite. I always had an idea that I wanted to study something related to natural sciences, whether it be engineering(like my parents) or otherwise, but it took quite a bit of time before I found out exactly what I wanted to do.

When I was 18, I was on a trip to London with some friends of mine. We ended up in a massive bookstore at some point(at the corner of Denmark Street, I believe), and I ended up in the natural science-part of the bookstore. At that point, I decided that "okay, screw it, I'm going to look at all the subjects I can imagine that I could be interested in, and see if something really hits me". After looking through stuff in several different departments, I found a university-level book on bacteriology that I ended up buying on the spot.

Aaaand that's the background for how I ended up studying molecular biology. I probably won't be doing specifically bacteriology -- I think cancer is a more interesting subject -- but I ended up studying something I find to be incredibly interesting regardless. I imagine I'll be working for some kind of pharmaceutical company or as a scientist at the national health institute when I'm done, but that's still a couple of years off. In the meantime, I'm just enjoying the fact that I've apparently done a couple of really sound life decisions.

 

[Lawnmooer]

I didn't really put much thought into it for the most part.

I grew up with one of those "Things kids want to be when they grow up" as my goal (You know the ones, Police Officer, Firefighter, Astronaut etc) and so whenever I was asked what I wanted to be, I'd tell people I wanted to be in the Police, to which I'd get people saying that was a really good thing to do and a job they could be proud of.

After finishing school (With grades much lower than I could have achieved, I slacked off big time) I went to college to study Public Services (Leads directly into uniformed public services such as the Police, Fire Service, Paramedics and Military) and during these 2 years as I learned about all the different aspects of the public services that I came to realise that I really enjoyed Science (You'd have thought I'd have realised that earlier, what with the amount of time I spent doing science-y stuff and having already done many years of science lessons, but then again I REALLY slacked off in school)

This ended up in me thinking about jobs I wanted and such, and also made me think about really having backup options (In case I slack off again or decide that a job isn't right for me) so I thought about which aspect of Science I found most interesting and went to a new college and enrolled for A-Levels (Chemistry/Biology/Physics) with the intention of becoming either a Forensic Pathologist or a Surgeon (I'm aware I need better grades than what I got in high school, so I really need to buckle down)

In doing those A-Levels, it really reinforced in me that this was what I wanted, as I was really interested with what I was being taught and doing and was actually rather good at it (Was top in my classes, except for Physics, which I only did because Medical Schools look for 3 science A-Levels...)

So yeah... That's how I figured it out... Basically I stumbled around a bit and accidentally figured it out...

I really don't know what to suggest to help you figure it out other than maybe look at some of your hobbies and activities you do in your spare time and see if there's anything there that you're interested in and could find a career for.

 

[BabuNu]

I'm almost 25, currently living in London and I think I've just about decided that I want to go into game design. It's almost ridiculous that it's taken me so long to come to this conclusion because games have been my only consistent hobby/passion since I was 3.

I did really well in school and was always quite financially driven. I never thought massively about what I wanted to do but just assumed that I'd end up in some generic, well-payed office job like an accountant. I basically put off the decision for as long as I could by studying academic subjects rather than ones specific to certain careers. I ended up with a joint degree in Maths and Physics. Still with no real idea what I wanted to do, I signed up with a bunch of recruitment agencies who basically just send applications on your behalf to a bunch of companies. I had an interview, it went well and I got an offer for a job in London (the other side of the country to me, and not where I thought I'd end up).

My first thought was to reject the job because I didn't really want to move so far away from home, but the reason I took it was because of a girl. Not the usual 'fell in love, moved to be closer to her and lived happily ever after', my story was more of a retreat than a pursuit. Just before getting the job offer I found that my girlfriend of 3 years had been sleeping with my best friend. This was enough to make me decide to dash off to the big city at the other end of the country and try to get away from everything that happened. At the time I was angry with them both, but looking back on it I can see it was for the best. We weren't right for each other but we were stuck in a situation where something dramatic needed to happen for us to actually end the relationship. As far as the friend goes, it wasn't necessarily out of character for him; he always thought with this dick. We had a talk, he apologised, I broke his nose, now things are ok between us.

But yea, the job! I ended up working for a company that writes computer programs to combat organised crime in banks/insurance companies etc. My role was more of a hybrid one between consultancy and software development, but this was my first real introduction to programming! After a few months working there, I had a bit of an epiphany and decided to put my newly learned programming skills to good use; making a game! I've been working on an RPG for the past 2 years in my spare time and it's been a great experience. I have no idea why I never thought about the video games industry before now but now it seems like the obvious choice so I wanna make games! Still working on the details...

TLDR: Made almost no choices, ended up in a job with programming, currently making a game, want to make many more games!

 

[Yopaz]

Well, the path is kinda rocky for me.

I wanted to be a teacher. Then when I took biology in high school I realized I wanted to teach biology and chemistry so I decided to get an integrated master's degree in biology. After some time with that I realized I was more interested in biology than teaching so I decided to get a master's degree in molecular biology and see where that would take me. I am currently working on getting that degree, who knows where I'll end up?

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

I'm 22 and stuck in exactly the same mud as you. Similar story too.

After I finished high school I studied advertising, I thought of journalism at first but the kind of knowledge and passion required as described at the open day just sounded so unappealing to me, despite the fact that I love writing. So after a year of studying I earned a diploma in advertising. Originally I hoped to fall into the creative and conceptual part of marketing but I found it all way too business oriented for my tastes combined with lots of compromise.

That was a one year course back in 2010, I've done nothing since then and my life is pretty dull. I'm positive things can change from within as soon as I take the first steps and make the effort, but I don't know where I'm going. At all. I want to make friends and find a relationship but I have literally nothing to talk about with people except for games and wrestling, and there's nothing I'm motivated to do. But the advice you get when you reach out for solutions is vague (some people on forums can get really aggressive at those who admit to depression sometimes, for some reason) and I'm very aware it's a thing I alone have to get over.

Sorry I got all "woe is me" about it, but I get the strong sense that once whatever's holding me back is gone or I figure out what it is I want or can enjoy doing, then I can finally be a bit happy with myself. Sounds morbid, but this subject has gotta be the source of all my deepest worries. I did start my second job this week which is good and entails a lot more responsibility than my current job; handling cash, opening the shop and generally just being sharper when it comes to customer interactions. Retail, in other words. If this doesn't me insane then maybe it'll be kinda good for me, hopefully.

 

[Karoshi]

I chose a job that felt acceptable spending my working hours on. It means, choosing something that you are at least moderately good at and then rolling with it. My job is hardly something that defines me and I don't feel strongly about it one way or another.

Let's face it, very few people do their job out of passion. Pick something that looks alright and try it out, either through intern work or by asking people who work there.

 

[Simple Bluff]

It kind of occurred to me one day when I was a teenager. There was no hours - long meditation on what I wanted to accomplish, no massive bout of philosophically charged self assessments; it just hit me one day.

I was sitting in Maths class one day, nice and content doing my sums. I always found Maths to be rewarding and satisfying, even relaxing during times of hardship and stress. I was always aware of that, but I don't think I properly noticed until that day. The bell went off, signaling the end of class and the start of the next one - Irish class. My exact thought was "Bloody Irish. I just wish I could keep doing Maths. How great would it be if school just let me do Maths all day?" and I think that's the moment I suddenly realized what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Obviously, school doesn't let you do "just maths", for good reason I suppose. But imagine my surprise when I found out there were entire courses dedicated to maths in colleges! In fact, there are people out there who GET PAID to do maths and absolutely nothing else all day! I so desperately wanted to be one of those people.

I never did that good in school, because I was stupid and lazy, but I worked pretty hard and *just* managed to get enough points to secure a place in a pretty good college, which I've been attending ever since. And honestly, my academic life has been pretty easy since. Maths is tough, even frustratingly so, but I enjoy it so much that studying is not just easy - it's a pleasure.

I'm currently in Final (fourth) year, but I plan on pursuing a Masters and possibly a PhD afterwards. The only problem is choosing a field - I've managed to study a fairly broad range of topics up until now, but I'll have to pick a specific field for my postgrad studies. I'm thinking about Statistics, but who knows.

Anyway, I know I'm very lucky to be one of the few who figured out his place in the world very early in life, and I'm thankful for it every day. I honestly don't have an answer for those who don't though, beyond clichéd platitudes. As I said above, I always enjoyed maths, but I lacked the self awareness to realize it for a few years. Maybe you have the same problem OP? Everyone discovers in their own way, and some unfortunately never discover at all. Just listen to your emotions I guess.

That was a lot more long winded than I intended it to be.

TLDR: I was very lucky, plain and simple. Hopefully you will be someday soon too.

 

[shootthebandit]

I wanted to be a pilot (like pretty much any other kid) i then realised that i was actually more interested in how planes work. I applied for the airforce as an engineer but while i was waiting to get through their application system (which takes ages) i was looking for a job in the interim and found the job im in now as an aircraft engineer

My advice to OP: just find something you want to do. Find a job that would benefit from your arts degree or even use the skills you learned in your arts degree (not quite sure what it involves so forgive me if im wrong) to go self employed and make custom pieces of furniture or something similar. With services like ebay and paypal this is so much easier

Failing that you are never to young to retrain. Try going to a local college (i think they call it community college in the US) and taking a few different classes, most courses are subsidised (in the UK) if you are not in full time employment

 

[shootthebandit]

Irish class

Please explain this to me. This seems like the stupidest idea for a class ever. Does it just involve learning how to eat potatoes and riverdance?