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Dogenzaka

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Killing is easy once you forget the taste of sugar
I graduate next month as a chemical engineer. I've specialized in bioengineering and I've done two years of undergraduate research on biological applications of chemical engineering. When I graduate I start my job as a research engineer for a Fortune 50 company, and then I may go back to graduate school for either medical school or a master's degree in business depending on the route I want to take my career (either more technical, or more management-focused).

I studied it because I like a challenge and I like to help people and I like to learn about the world around me. In chemical engineering you learn the physics and chemistry behind how the world works, and then how to use that knowledge to make things people need.

In high school, I did a lot of graphic design. I loved it. I even briefly studied at an art school for a summer program. But, I ultimately decided not to major in it because art school is excruciatingly expensive and simply doesn't make sense from a financial standpoint unless your parents are paying your $35,000-50,000 tuition so you can graduate and get a job that nets you MAYBE $30-45k/year in a saturated field. So, I decided to keep it as a hobby and cultivate it in my spare time.

My advice to you is to do what you love and what you're good at, i.e. what will get you out of bed in the morning other than money. However, do NOT get into major debt for a degree and career that won't pay for itself in the future. Like a fancy art school or private liberal arts college, for example, that is too expensive for you or your parents to afford. Take loans with caution. I am in a lot of debt, but I can handle it because my field's starting salary is very high.
 

ok sunny

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In high school, I did a lot of graphic design. I loved it. I even briefly studied at an art school for a summer program. But, I ultimately decided not to major in it because art school is excruciatingly expensive and simply doesn't make sense from a financial standpoint unless your parents are paying your $35,000-50,000 tuition so you can graduate and get a job that nets you MAYBE $30-45k/year in a saturated field. So, I decided to keep it as a hobby and cultivate it in my spare time.

My advice to you is to do what you love and what you're good at, i.e. what will get you out of bed in the morning other than money. However, do NOT get into major debt for a degree and career that won't pay for itself in the future. Like a fancy art school or private liberal arts college, for example, that is too expensive for you or your parents to afford. Take loans with caution. I am in a lot of debt, but I can handle it because my field's starting salary is very high.
Alright I see. Thank you very much.
I want to go to a Community College for my first two years, though. I save money and get certain classes out of the way first.
I have heard that CalArts is a great Art School out West, but it will take a lot of money to even just travel there and a house/dorm/apartment.

I see what you're getting at, though and I'll take it into consideration!
 

Nutari

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Well, I am entering my Junior year in college, and I am majoring in English Communications with a minor in Graphic Design. Eng/Comm is basically a dual degree, but more of a degree and a half. It's a full English degree, with a modified communications path. This allows me to function as a journalist, editor, PR person, etc. I am qualified to work in the media basically. My aim is to end up at the Chicago Tribune. I want to build a name for myself, ultimately to lend some weight to my voice in the future. I added the graphic design minor since some of my prereqs for Eng/Comm overlap with the minor, so I only have to take a few more classes to get it. Plus, I love design. And art. And I have to fight with my minor advisor about not switching to Graphic Design major (for the same reasons as Dogenzaka).

My heart is with journalism. But I also want to get into the entertainment realm, with writing and whatnot. Dad and I are going to start a comic company soon, so we have some connections with Hasbro and other larger comic companies to help us get off the ground. I'm much too creative to just do journalism, but also, the business is losing its footing a bit, and is much less lucrative than it once was. So, I guess I'll have to do more than just write for the Tribune :p
 
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I'm not very confident about leaving such decisions to internet quizzes.

You don't have to go with what they tell you but they do help... and many of the sites are developed by people with PhDs that know what they're doing. It's not like some kid who made a Playbuzz lol. One of these is from the US Department of Labor.
 

Annoyance

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Those quizzes aren't an end all be all, but more to give you something to think about, a path to gravitate towards, to think about what you like personally. It isn't a thing to decide your future. It's to help you do that with presenting ideas.

I'm going to say this now, though:
Be flexible with yourself, OP. :eek: Don't put too much pressure on yourself to figure it all out now, because you probably won't right away.



That said, personally, it took me a while to get to this point, but I want to be an editor. I want to work with writers, either freelance and with self-published works, or with a publishing firm. Currently, I'm going to start school soon towards an Associates majoring in English, and going from there. I'm nervous, but I think this is the right way for me to go. I've also considered working for manga publishing places with editing since I've done that before and all that. But that's whatever, I'd just like to work on stuff.

I'm also going to take some Japanese classes in community college as well. I wouldn't get anywhere near a "translator" or "English teacher in Japan" like I was suggested in school, but would do so because Japanese makes me personally happy and if I go the path of manga editing, Japanese knowledge can make some things easier at least in my history.
 
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I strongly recommend attending Community College to get your Associate's Degree before pursuing your Bachelor's at a 4 year school. Entering college is a very weird part of everyone's life. Everything changes so quickly, there is a lot more pressure put on you through newly acquired responsibilities and required decision making. It's 'expected' that you choose what you want to do for the rest of your life at the young age of 18, while some people are capable of doing this (I am one of them, thankfully), many people can not or are simply unsure.

Take the time in Community College to figure yourself out, who you are as an adult and a person. Can you actually handle the new work load? Or do you need a semester or two (maybe more) to get used to it get into the groove before you can reach your potential? Maybe you think you really want to be a scientist but after a few courses you realize that diligent note taking, attention to detail and the occasional painstakingly slow methodology is just not for you. Maybe you take a Sociology course and it inspires you to change the world. I could go on and on, there are a lot of maybes in the future for you as you enter this new chapter in your life.
 

Hero

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Software Development.

Originally, I wanted to be an animator because I loved the pain staking detail that went into Pixar movies and video games. Unfortunately, the school's were either too far away or too expensive so I gave up on that dream. I wound up choosing Computer Science instead because of my mild interest in technology. The rest of my interests (history, psychology, English) were also far too niche to be of any use.

It took a while before I realized what I wanted to do with the degree. I bought a smartphone and started participating in the "hacking" community. It made me realize just how simple it was to make and publish my own app. I absolutely love coding and programming and can't imagine doing anything else.

Job security and pay are also a nice bonus.
 
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Dogenzaka

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Killing is easy once you forget the taste of sugar
But what do you do if you dont have anything like that?

Some people are naturally more ambitious than others, but if you keep looking, it's hopeful that you will eventually find something that interests you and that you can improve at. You don't even have to be good at it first, just have an interest in what it might be to learn about that. Taking community college classics in basics is a great way to start general and then get a feel about what might interest you. A cooking class, a math class, a literature class, a history class, a science class, a music class, anything, even if it's just 1 at a time, is a neat way to see what might work for you.

You can also take tests that will tell you what career might be good for you.

Ultimately, being passionate about your job is ideal, but also you don't have to overthink it if there's nothing you're crazy passionate about. Even the glamorous jobs have dull sides and downfalls. I often read even medical doctors get crazy cynical and uninspired by the end of their road of study. In the end, it's a means to put food on your table. I mean, I doubt most accountants are riveted by the daily highs and lows of their job, but hey, it's stable income that will keep you off the streets and able to provide for a family. If you can't find something you're passionate about, then at least look for something that you can tolerate.
 

Anagram

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Some people are naturally more ambitious than others, but if you keep looking, it's hopeful that you will eventually find something that interests you and that you can improve at. You don't even have to be good at it first, just have an interest in what it might be to learn about that. Taking community college classics in basics is a great way to start general and then get a feel about what might interest you. A cooking class, a math class, a literature class, a history class, a science class, a music class, anything, even if it's just 1 at a time, is a neat way to see what might work for you.

You can also take tests that will tell you what career might be good for you.

Ultimately, being passionate about your job is ideal, but also you don't have to overthink it if there's nothing you're crazy passionate about. Even the glamorous jobs have dull sides and downfalls. I often read even medical doctors get crazy cynical and uninspired by the end of their road of study. In the end, it's a means to put food on your table. I mean, I doubt most accountants are riveted by the daily highs and lows of their job, but hey, it's stable income that will keep you off the streets and able to provide for a family. If you can't find something you're passionate about, then at least look for something that you can tolerate.
I'm sad to say that I'm 24 and have never found anything I'm truly good at or love that can lead to a career. I have things I like but not in ways I can use it (like a game or series). I've tried things but never did good at it or well enough to live on. And I also dont have money or school grades from back in the day to take even basic classes without having some sort of direction in mind since I dont have the money to do such things. I'd need an idea of where to head towards so I can build a dept I could eventually pay.

I'm sure there's things I can tolerate, I do my current job, but my area also has little options. The town is literally two miles wide. Stated by it's own wiki page.
I just feel lost and stuck most days to be honest.
 

Grono

KH ☼ D&D ☼ Music ☼ Wack.
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I'm studying to be a music teacher, but what I want to do most is coach a Marching Band or DCI group and conduct/play in a professional traveling jazz band. I play tuba and trombone, and live for jazz music and marching band! The prime reason why i'm going the education route is to be able to start out conducting a high school marching band, and possibly the school jazz band as a result. Also, playing in pit orchestras, such as the ones playing in musicals, is a thing I want to do again ever since I did it in high school <3
 

Alpha Baymax

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I am a psychology major, preparing to write my research thesis this year. When I first decided on psychology, it was because I "wanted to help people" and the expectation was that I would become a clinician and help people with their life problems. It was not long into my first year that I realized I don't want to help people, not in that much of a direct way at least.

For years I flip-flopped on my interests and what I wanted my major to really be, all the while continuing my studies in psychology. One day I realized I spend hours just doing research into media and all of the information surrounding how people internalize media, how media influences people, how people influence media and so on and yet the lack of research in certain areas disappointed me. Sometimes the research is so biased that it makes me want to scream when I find overwhelming conflicting data in other studies. My frustration made me realize I want to fill those gaps, and become a researcher myself.

If not into media research as a psychologist, in gender & sexuality or neuropsychology which are my other two (three if you want to split gender and sexuality into two fields) strong areas.

Have you ever considered Sociology? from everything I've read here, that seems to be your forte. But who am I to suggest. :wink:

Personally, I had a rocky experience in terms of an ideal career. When I was little, I wanted to be a Biologist. Unfortunately, I wasn't even intelligent enough to pass GCSE so I gave up on that. Later on, I decided I wanted to get into the computing industry as I was digitally adept... turns out, my Mild Dyspraxia made programming impossible for me to comprehend. So, I had an epiphany and decided that I was going to get myself into the business industry and aim to be an executive. The business industry is ever changing and I believe that I have the mindset and mentality to dive into the unpredictability with open arms and really make the most of it.

Currently, as far as jobs go, I've worked as a technician in a computer center (which had a god-awful boss), Oxfam (which was so much fun, I recommend anybody to get themselves involved in charity) and am currently a Brand Ambassador for companies like Samsung, Microsoft, EPSON to sell their premium products. Recently, I've dabbled in door to door sales too. All this practical experience just made me realise that the business industry really is for me. I just need to be fearless with my approach.
 

ThePumpkinQueen

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I really wanted to work with kids . Their smiles make my day and I love teaching them when I help babysit, and visit my friends and they all have kids. I practically raised my younger cousins. (I have two younger cousins and 10 Second cousins via my two older cousins. five each. the last of them before she got her tubes tied. is only a few months old) I love watching the kids for them and teaching them all I know. Can't wait to have my own one day. poor kid will probably be named after a KH or FF character, if I decide none of the Romanov names suit them. (i'm a bit of a history nut. I particularly love Russian history. Peter the great and ivan the terrible being my favorites. but there are a lot of peter's in my family. and i'm not naming a kid after Ivan lol.

Woops went on an unrelated rant there sorry!

I have anxiety though, even though i'm working through it. It's just not possible for me right now. I can look into it later though. So I went with my second love. Library Science. Hoping to earn a masters degree! I start online classes in January. I'm so excited. I wish I could go to campus but I can't do to having spinal surgery. I can't sit in the chairs or walk around campus without getting pains. I have to wait tell i'm strong enough.

So boring compared to other interests and jos I've seen on here. and here I am perfectly happy to be a glorified librarian. I don't really have many talents except to remember every thing I read and being able to organize data (Which is funny cause I can't even organize my own room lol) yet I can organize and file pretty well.
 
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Emperor

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I'm trying to work toward becoming a Television Writer. As a kid, I would always make up stories to entertain myself or my friends. I would also re-watch movies repeatedly, and imagine them with new endings, beginnings, or a new adventure overall. I would find myself taking television shows and reimagining their story lines going in different directions. I just love storytelling.

Lately though, I've been really harsh on my own work, criticizing that it's not good enough to be anything special. It's one of the worst feelings ever to have only one goal in life and think your not worthy of it, so that's one of the mindsets I'm currently trying to break. Still, I'm working towards it. I just recently graduated with my BFA in Creative Writing and at the moment, I'm looking for a job or internship in my desired field, anything to get my resume and writing skills built-up.
 

KingdomKey

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I've recently discovered how much I like programming and learning how to use code. (Frankly speaking, I've only learned a little bit so far.) I think that's going to be my career in life along with being a computer technician or computer software person. I haven't fully figured it out completely but, its something I can see myself doing and its enjoyable to me thus far. Therefore, I feel good about it and trying not to let anyone else talk me out of it.

For the better part of the year, I've wanted to be multiple things in life: Landscaper, Police Officer, Office Worker, Cater, Chef, and Forensic Scientist. I grew stressed because, I didn't know what I really wanted to do in life and my parents were less than helpful about it. And when I was a kid, I wanted to be a Novelist. (xD) However, I learned I'm not selling my soul to be one thing for the rest of my life and I can always change my job in the future. My mother is doing that right now because, she hates nursing and rather do something she's passionate about after all these years. C:

And if it's true, I can try other classes besides my newly found major in college.
 

Annoyance

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I've recently discovered how much I like programming and learning how to use code. (Frankly speaking, I've only learned a little bit so far.) I think that's going to be my career in life along with being a computer technician or computer software person. I haven't fully figured it out completely but, its something I can see myself doing and its enjoyable to me thus far. Therefore, I feel good about it and trying not to let anyone else talk me out of it.

For the better part of the year, I've wanted to be multiple things in life: Landscaper, Police Officer, Office Worker, Cater, Chef, and Forensic Scientist. I grew stressed because, I didn't know what I really wanted to do in life and my parents were less than helpful about it. And when I was a kid, I wanted to be a Novelist. (xD) However, I learned I'm not selling my soul to be one thing for the rest of my life and I can always change my job in the future. My mother is doing that right now because, she hates nursing and rather do something she's passionate about after all these years. C:

And if it's true, I can try other classes besides my newly found major in college.

Some classes may even fall into your graduation requirements like a language is required for my associates in English, so I'm taking Japanese. You'll figure it out. I'm glad you have a lot of ambitions though! A lot of people struggle to find one.
 

aqualight

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Oh in this god forsaken life deciding on a career seems honestly so terrifying.

As a kid i was just dead set on wanting to be famous, i mean i think a lot of people would've thought this way. But the biggest things i was interested in was singing and acting, not that i necessarily did anything to be those things. Now? i haven't sung in so long, i mean, it would be great if i could sing more and train it up. I like to think that i might have had a chance with singing, the only thing i have to my name is being apart of a national youth choir when i was younger which i quit after the first concert because the uniform was hideous. I didn't really do anything in regards to acting as a kid, but since i'm doing drama in my final year of highschool i'm still doing it at least. For some unknown reason i was cast as the main character for our production this year, god help me.

But since i freaked out when i was 11 that i had to start working at becoming an actor/whatever straight away because everyone who acted in things i enjoyed begun when they where really young. I got scared and lost of a lot of confidence to ever really be ambitious at all. Still really unmotivated :/ i am a hermit. And this idea of 'starting young' feels really hindering, as i've gotten interested in Kpop as well which training to be one begins early/mid teens, i would probably be considered 'too old'. Not that i necessarily want to be an idol, there's lots of aspects of their lives that are completely shit, but in my head it just reinforces the idea i am wasting my time and ugh. :/

In more recent years because i have enjoyed learning Japanese and i want to learn Korean as well, that i'd be a translator. I really don't want to be an english teacher overseas though, i just know that i don't want to be a teacher and i don't think i am the right type of person to teach, especially younger people, anyway. But now i am struggling because there isn't really anywhere to learn Korean where i live, and the ideal place to learn it would obviously be Korea and i would love to go, but the idea of going on my own is terrifying. Money isn't even a problem for me in this regard, it's just up to whether or not i can bring myself to go :/ I don't even go out much, let alone by myself. Public transport is terrifying to me unless i am with somebody else. so ugh, who knows what's going to happen with that.

I have done a lot of art in school too, which i am not bad at. But i grew up with a single mother who works as an artist. But over the years she's had to do so much other work she has very little time do actual art, and about how much we've had to stress about money and have very little to spend on ourselves. So even if art is nice i can't see myself doing it because i don't want to have those same woes as my mother, if it can be helped.
 
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