Many of us often wonder “what is it I really want to be doing?” I know that I’ve had a fun time trying to determine what I’m good at, what I’m not, what I enjoy doing, and what I don’t. A little background: I’ve never had just one job at a time since the end of high school. Go look at my LinkedIn profile; even during my senior year of college I had five separate employers.
So what, hot shot?
I’ve had a chance to weed out the B.S. while I earned a B.S. I’ve tried a small company, a startup, a huge corporation. I’ve seen the differences and I’ve had that head-start for a while now.
When it comes down to it, in college you really only understand a handful of occupations and what they require. I only understood the garbage man’s job, the barista at Starbucks’ job, and maybe a few more (I didn’t even really understand what your parents did).
So why are we expected to know what career we want right out of college?
Here’s my advice, start with width, then depth to help find your calling. I tried to branch out and determine what I wanted to do. I took on the odd projects, volunteered, tried something new all the time. Five years ago I was convinced I was going to be a computer science major, three years ago I was going to get a masters in accounting, two years ago I was going to get my information systems degree. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of jobs and experiences that have told me, “You know what? Maybe you’d rather go this way…”
Isn’t college there to give you diversity through classes?
If I had simply gone to class every day and studied, I never would’ve realized any of this by now. I’d still be thinking I’d have a blast doing system networking, programming, and database administration. The best part about having all those jobs? I have a network of people I can get feedback from (what was I best at, where was I lacking?). That extra perspective can help you see your forest through the trees.
Once you’ve found something you enjoy that’s when you work on depth. I’ve started taking on all extra opportunities so that I can at my current job so that I can become the best at something. This may be something you do in your career, with a company you create or something in your spare time. Either way, the ultimate feeling of fulfillment and enjoyment is invaluable.
I feel like I’m so close to that point… I can almost taste it.
Resources:
The Chief Happiness Officer
FastComany: Find Your Calling
FastCompany: 25 Top Jobs for 2005-2009
Well put.
I can’t agree more with your approach to using your college time to weed out the BS. I’ve myself been constantly employed by at least two places over the last few years and it’s given me this same sense of understanding of what I actually am good at and want to do.
The networking and people interaction the University has provided is amazing. The classes I have taken have been great but the greatest thing they have done for me is given me a taste of different possible directions I could go — not to teach me in depth in a subject.
Problem now is I’m stuck at school for another quarter waiting to graduate to get on with what I really want to do.
Volunteering can give you a unique vantage point of elastic walls for positions with a university degree. Usually people think ‘volunteering’ means coaching a Little League team or deliverings meals to the elderly but even that concept can be more flexibly defined to include several areas you’ve already identified. For instance, an After School program could use your skills developing a web site. A general funding place in a community like United Way would give you a bird’s eye view of the community resources that might very well need your skills to reach their target audience. The best thing about this proposal is that a particular degree or license is not necessary. It also looks extremely good on a resume.
@Zach: I felt the same way my last semester of college: I already had a job lined up, I had learned everything I thought I could. My advice is to keep making the most of it: go make new friends and find events and things you can keep yourself busy with… because you won’t always have that freedom.
@Cheryl: What a perfect recommendation! Some of my fondest memories have been volunteering with my friends. During college I also volunteered my time to student groups to help with their websites; in no time I had people coming to me and I didn’t have to go far to find work!
Ah, the pressure. As if graduating wasn’t enough of a stressful experience we’re supposed to have it all figured out as well. I will spare you the details of the craziness that was my first year out of college, but if I learned anything it’s that good god we’re young and that is not a bad thing.
There are mistakes to be made, meltdowns to bounce back from and lots of weeding out to do. It is absolutely refreshing to be working for people that i get and who get me.
But while I absolutely love my job and the unconventional opportunity that it is, I’ve now embarked on the whole “i want more, but why can’t i
just be content?” thought process.
do you ever think that sometimes we’re greedy or is it just that we have so many opportunities that we don’t know when to just stop?
I think many people will go through life wanting more.. which is good. I’m not sure if it’s greed, opportunities, or just a constant desire to improve and contribute.
Or maybe I’m kidding myself and just being self-centered and disloyal. Hmm…