How To Decide What To Do For The Rest of Your Life

By Elana Goodwin on November 11, 2013

In society today, we are asked from a very young age, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” When we're little the answer is usually simple; a doctor, policeman, veterinarian, ballerina, singer, actor, etc. It's when we're older and faced with this question that we begin to panic.

How do you decide what you want to do for the rest of your life?

According to founder of MyMajors.com Dr. Fritz Grupe, 80% of students heading to college have yet to decide on a major. The majority of college students (50-70%) will also change their major during their time at university and often when one's major changes, so do the opportunities that will be available after graduation as well as one's overall goals. Changing from Poli Sci to English is quite a leap and will affect who will hire you when job hunting.

Making a list for yourself that spells out potential interests can help you decide what you want to major in and what you want to do for the rest of your life. Writing down things you like and enjoy, things you're good at, and things you could see yourself doing long term can all help you figure out what you want to do as a career.

While parental pressures, general uncertainty about one's skills, and financial worries can all be factors that affect what major you choose to declare and what job you ultimately pursue, don't let these dictate your path. Your parents may try to steer you toward majoring in something that will lead to a higher paying job–and if that's something you end up liking and succeeding in, great. But don't let them steamroll you into doing something that you don't like because you'll eventually find yourself wondering how you got there and why you let them push you into it.

Reaching out to friends and family members that are working in fields you think you'd like to consider can also help you better understand a job. Think you may want to be a professional baker? Event planner? Biochemist? Reporter? Find someone with the job you want and ask them about how they got their job, what they majored in, why they decided to go into that field. Shadowing a professional will also help you get a personal look at what goes into that kind of job and you'll get a better feel for whether or not it would be a good fit for you.

Obviously money will play a part in what you decide to do and how you steer yourself, but seriously, you should choose something you love to do because it'll be a heck of a lot easier to wake up in the morning if you actually look forward to going to work.

Ultimately, the best piece of advice on how to decide what to do for the rest of you life is this: major in something that you like or find interesting and that you can excel in and pursue a job in a field you love. Do what you love, love what you do– because even if you're not rolling in the dough, at least you're enjoying yourself.

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