It looks like I'm gonna have to go to college and be a person soon.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

I haven't really been on here that much lately. I guess it has a lot to do with me spending time thinking about my future.

I start my senior year of high school this year and I don't have any more than a general idea of what I want to do. And the big problem is, I have some options. I scored an 1870 on my SAT, a 28 on my ACT, I've passed my AP exams for US History and English so I'll be receiving college credit, I have a certificate of completion of a Public Safety ROP class, and the first two years of my college will be paid for by the military thanks to both my parents' service.

I don't know what college I want to go to but I know that I want to have a career doing something helpful, something that can maybe better the world in a meaningful way no matter how small. Whether that's a career as a teacher, a lawyer, maybe even as a doctor, etc. I don't know. I have no clue what to do.

So... What I'm asking is, how did you guys deal with all of this? What should I study and what kind of careers can I pursue that will both support me and make a difference?

[mauve]

If you plan on going to college, remember that you don't have to choose a major right away-- in fact a lot of freshmen don't! Many liberal arts universities will let you claim "undecided" as a major when you first start out.

Get some of the basic requirements out of the way your freshman year and start exploring classes that sound interesting to you as electives. You might surprise yourself! Talk to on-campus advisors for help. It's totally fine to not know exactly what you want to do right away... Hell, I graduated 4 years ago and I STILL don't know what I want to do. XD

If you're not enrolled in a university yet, take a look at a college's online course catalog to see what sounds cool to you. (Also, if you haven't already, fill out a FAFSA.)

[Bells]

I had a crappy basic education, the first half of my School years were in a private school, a Catholic school, run by Nuns. The whole nine yards... it was some of the best years i ever had in school and the best part of my basic education.

Then, i had to go to Public school for my Highschool years, and things weren't all so great... just to put it short, at one point i spent 4 months without Math class for lack of teachers.

So, as you can imagine... i wasn't super prepared to beat the best when it came to enter college. Unless i wanted to go to a private college... basically, if you can pay, you can go... but it's quite expensive, at least was for me at the time...

I also wanted to do something that would make a difference, that would matter. I wanted to be a history teacher, but simply put... that wouldn't pay the bills at the time. Then, i turned my eyes to Psychology... but later understood that what i really wanted to do was Psychiatry, and i just didn't have the A game needed for that.

Then, it comes to look around, understand where i was... i couldn't simply put a backpack on my back and go on the world (i tried that... 4 months, living in a house with no electricity, eating sitting on the floor with my dish served over a box i picked up on the street was enough to break me). So i had to adapt...

Where i live, it's basically the country's capital related to Oil and the Oil industry. It was booming. If you weren't working for the industry directly, you were working for it indirectly. No middle ground...

So, i saw myself stuck and had to make a call... Screw myself while young, live my dreams freely once i become truly independent. That means finding work in a industry i never cared much about, and still look for a way to be fulfilled and satisfied with myself.

That's when i learned about what a Safety Technician does. essentialy, when done right, i'm keeping people safe and healthy, saving the company tons of cash and i can work in the Oil industry today, and in Mining or Steel tomorrow... same skill set.

Pay is ok (once you get some experience) the job is not so mechanical, you do need to keep facing new situations and learning new things... and i was free to work anywhere where the pay was good... so i took that route and now i don't want to look back.

I would still LOVE to pay my bills with some art. with the books i'm working on, i would love to do voice acting or just acting. Make success online with videos... something in that vein... but it just wasn't the reality i was living in. But by doing what i could with the options i had, adapting to the place i was... slowly i'm putting money in my pocket and maybe one day i'll get to enjoy my life doing just stuff i like... if that doesn't come through, i have a plan B that is fairly decent and pays the bills...

So, if you are open minded enough to explore and find the thing you want to do... take a look around you. Put money in your pocket, get a house with your name in the contract... create your foundations while you are still young and full of options, even if it kinda sucks and isn't exactly what you would rather do... then, a bit further down the lane, you can do pretty much anything you want and always have something solid to fall back to.

You should check your area... what careers are booming in your city and state, where is the money? Then, you narrow down your choices and you can see if any of those fulfill your personal needs for satisfaction ...

As for helping people, changing the world... anything you do can have that effect. You never know what's gonna happen next... maybe today you're working in a bakery and just out of the blue you create a new product that turns your into a Baking Sensation and you open your own franchise with an attached Charity that feed orphans... who knows? As long as you are good doing it you are doing good.

[Krylo]

Originally Posted by The Sevenshot Kid

So... What I'm asking is, how did you guys deal with all of this?

Dropped out, got a GED, and never did anything with my life.

[Nikose Tyris]

We don't have any of those fancy things like SAT and ACT in Canada. I picked the college I wanted, paid the fees, got accepted, paid more fees, and started studying.

And I picked a field that I enjoyed studying. Right now it's Business Admin, Financial Planning. I'm literally studying to be one of the "Bad Guys" as they're cast right now. Because it's what I'm good at, and I enjoy my studies. I guess that's the big thing?

I'll focus doing side certifications for getting some more contract law and real estate law under my belt too, and that way I can offer help to anyone who comes to me regarding how to save/invest what money you have, and where to best invest it/spend it, and hell I can help you with that shitty mortgage you have too.

(Sigma Variables can go fuck themselves forever though)

[Magus]

Don't be a teacher.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Originally Posted by Magus

Don't be a teacher.

Iono, man. A good teacher or two can make a huge difference in someone's life. It is a pretty noble cause, really. Without dragging the direction of the thread in undesired directions too much my big beef is with the bureaucracies, red-tape, and other bullshit stacked up against teachers preventing to do their job of..y'know..teaching. So, just watch this instead.

But that's all a topic for a different thread.

Go to college, seventhshot. Just don't waste your time piddling between undecided majors for too long. Have at least a general idea or two of what you're interested in. Shop around for what colleges/universities/technical colleges/whatever give you the warm fuzzies in your happy place. Talk to professors about career choices, ask them questions and listen to their input. Talk, talk, talk with people. Network like your goddamn life depended on it. Make connections, get shit moving forward. Who knows, after graduating a classmate might could maybe very well be end up being the deciding factor on getting hired on at X job. I've seen that very thing happen at least a half-dozen times since I started my network security degree.

[Satan's Onion]

Originally Posted by Magus

Don't be a teacher.

slightly more nuanced answer: don't be a teacher unless you are absolutely, positively, truly madly deeply crazy in love with teaching, because the system is fucked, and will not stop shitting on you in every conceivable way it can dream up and several ways it technically shouldn't even be physically possible to. Both my grandparents were teachers and they warned me to not be a teacher, like, when I was five, because they saw this shit happening even then.

Incidentally, I don't think there is a set point at which you throw the switch and become A Grown Adult--it's a journey, all of it, and college is one part of that. Just look around for something that appeals to you for now.

Also, like Mauve Mage said: FAFSA. Get to that, if you haven't already. Like, now.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

FAFSA, got it.

[Magus]

I'll take pity on Grandmaster Skweeb instead of reaming him out: I am a teacher.