Careers...

• Teaberry wrote on 2011-01-07 23:28
  Two things I want to comment on (but have no time to properly quote) quickly:
  
  1) Not taking a job because of what other people think is stupid. If you like flipping burgers and it pays enough for you to life comfortably, then flip some burgers. There's a number of reasons why you shouldn't be satisfied with certain jobs. Peer criticism isn't one of them.
  
  2) A lot of people who pursue 4-year degrees want to continue into graduate school (and sometimes further). People who get the 2-year degree usually go back for a bachelors after awhile. 8 years seems bad to you because it's a long-term commitment, but a lot of "successful people" (by socioeconomic standards) will spend that amount of time studying before they're done with school.
• Chillax wrote on 2011-01-08 18:26
  If you are really unsure what field you want to go in before you enter college, I would suggest going to a private school, unless it is not economically feasible. It is usually very difficult to change majors in public schools without pretty high grades, and grades tend to be lower the first year of college.
  
  You should consider what subjects you enjoy in high school and work from there. Many of the potential careers you listed contain some form of calculation that you will have to do on a routine basis, so if you do not enjoy math (not saying you don't), you should rethink your options.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-09 05:32
  Most jobs nowadays require a college education so the first step I suppose would be to go to a decent 4 year college and try various general education courses as undecided.
  
  This lets you fill up on GE credits while letting yourself experience college life and explore your options so you know which path you want to take. Then you can pick a major and head that way.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-09 05:41
  Most jobs nowadays require a college education so the first step I suppose would be to go to a decent 4 year college and try various general education courses as undecided.
  
  This lets you fill up on GE credits while letting yourself experience college life and explore your options so you know which path you want to take. Then you can pick a major and head that way.
  
  
  Irony is that hiring standards are just getting too high nowadays.
  
  If you get a 2 year degree in say, medical practice, you won't be a nurse or assistant at a medical center or hospital, you'll be a clerk or desk worker instead.
  If you get a 2 year degree in astronomy, you'll probably get placed on the call line or something at NASA instead of actually help work on something.
  
  And those menial normal looking jobs that you now need a 2 year degree for is far less open to those who don't have an education, unless they have some strong connections or background work experiences.
  
  This is utterly pointless in my opinion, as you don't even need an education for any of these types of jobs.
  
  But yes. A 4 year degree is an absolute must for getting an entry level job anywhere. This isn't for money, though thats all my parents ever talked about in the importance of a college education when they raised me, but rather the idea that without actually GETTING IN THERE, you don't get to do the job you love, and you won't be able to participate to make a difference in the field.
• Chillax wrote on 2011-01-09 06:46

  Quote from Cucurbita;283323:

  Most jobs nowadays require a college education so the first step I suppose would be to go to a decent 4 year college and try various general education courses as undecided.
  
  This lets you fill up on GE credits while letting yourself experience college life and explore your options so you know which path you want to take. Then you can pick a major and head that way.

  
  
  I actually wouldn't recommend this unless you want to graduate in 5 years. The course workload will be way tougher this way.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-09 07:31

  Quote from Chillax;283376:

  I actually wouldn't recommend this unless you want to graduate in 5 years. The course workload will be way tougher this way.

  
  
  I don't see why you can't take a 5 year graduation plan. You can even go a little easy on the class load. Most liberal arts colleges require that you take a pretty solid number of general education courses, on top of every major having some sort of non-major related courses required to graduate. You can compare, find which ones are most common ground for those programs, and take those while you settle into college life and start talking with other students or professors about what directions you want to take your life.
  
  Its a little harder on the finances, but I think people who aren't sure of what they want their future to be should take this route.
  I went straight in head on into a topic I just wasn't sure of and it resulted in a pretty bad motivation crash. Being 18 years old and unknowing of the world and being forced to pick a road often times ends in disaster, hence the high drop out rate for college freshmen.
  
  Now that I have my life sorted out things are going a little smoother.
  
  Also, if you take advantage of summer/winter semester courses, you can grab enough credits to probably graduate in 4 (or at least, 4 and a half) years.
  
  Helps if you have AP credits too. I had Calculus and English credits from the get go.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-01-09 12:42
  The thing is
  people usually find what career what they want to do while they're in college
  but the fact you have to get there in the first place, lol.
• Osayidan wrote on 2011-01-09 13:51
  Don't worry too much about deciding so soon. I was 23 and a half when I decided I'd like to go into IT consulting (and I'm not even 24 yet).
  I spent about 4 years or so in college doing art stuff only to go into something totally unrelated. It'll come to you in time so don't rush it too much, you might regret it. Explore different possibilities and see where it takes you. I find the best careers are those that develop around you, not those you decide on and ignore everything else.
• Tokiko wrote on 2011-01-09 14:08
  Do some after-school programs (They also look good on your college résumé) of those activities to see which one you like better.
  Only advice I got. I used to be madly in love with music but when a photography program came near me I fell in love with that too.
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-01-09 14:14
  she's asking for a career
  which is 99% unrelated with crap you do in high school
• Tokiko wrote on 2011-01-09 14:28

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;283525:

  she's asking for a career
  which is 99% unrelated with crap you do in high school

  
  ...I know she's asking for a career.
  But some after-school programs do give you a good experience of what you'll be working with for the future.
  So you're saying"High school crap" won't look good on your résumé and won't teach you anything?
• Mama wrote on 2011-01-09 15:32

  Quote from Tokiko;283530:

  ...I know she's asking for a career.
  But some after-school programs do give you a good experience of what you'll be working with for the future.
  So you're saying"High school crap" won't look good on your résumé and won't teach you anything?

  
  
  i think it really depends
  i mean, the only after-highschool programs ive done is yearbook, editorials and cross-country, and I don't see how that makes me better suited to a clinical job position. But if i was planning to be a photographer, then doing yearbook would look good. :what:
  it seems hit and miss, with mostly misses when looking at future careers when it comes to things a high school offers.
• Tokiko wrote on 2011-01-09 15:45

  Quote from Mama;283574:

  i think it really depends
  i mean, the only after-highschool programs ive done is yearbook, editorials and cross-country, and I don't see how that makes me better suited to a clinical job position. But if i was planning to be a photographer, then doing yearbook would look good. :what:
  it seems hit and miss, with mostly misses when looking at future careers when it comes to things a high school offers.

  
  By after-school program I don't mean at your school I mean at different places like for me for example there were doing a photography program at an art museum and I signed up.
  Whatever, I guess you people have no idea what I'm talking.
• Mama wrote on 2011-01-09 16:14

  Quote from Tokiko;283590:

  By after-school program I don't mean at your school I mean at different places like for me for example there were doing a photography program at an art museum and I signed up.
  Whatever, I guess you people have no idea what I'm talking.

  
  
  oh okay. just say so then.
  you never mentioned any of them not being provided by the school, and responded angrily when suggested that high school crap wasn't worth it, so that would be the centre of our discussion by assumption.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-09 19:55
  My final suggestion I guess would be to GET OUT THERE and try lots of different things and broaden your options bank.