How did you decide on a career path?

Question

I just read through a "top post" on people's annual household salary and so many people were talking about their jobs and different schooling they went in to and it just made me feel.... I don't know. Longing maybe.

I've wanted to go to college forever, but I've never been willing to take out loans. I could pay for my community college myself for a while but eventually had to move and got into debt and couldn't catch up.

Now I'm in debt from unexpected events combined with poor choices slowly making headway but I would love to go to school. I want to be challenged and I love to learn. I've always loved school and at one time considered becoming a teacher. But now I'm not sure if the amount of loans I would have to take out would be worth it. I don't want to be in debt forever.

And then when I think I've finally decided to accept the debt and go for college, I start feeling guilty because I'm not sure what I even want to go to school for leading me to back out of college altogether.

How did you choose what to go to school for?

Do I need to just suck it up and start and find myself along the way?

Answer

Go with what makes you happy, and know that you can literally ALWAYS change your career path , no matter your age. 
I'm actually all over the place. I'm going to college to be an ultrasound tech, and I plan on working my way to prenatal ultrasound. I figure if I like that, I might work on becoming a prenatal nurse or doctor. Once I retire I plan on being a foster home for either animals or kids 😂

Answer

Honestly I believe I was just born with a personality meant for math and science.

My mother told me that when other kids picked out books like Harry Potter to have read to them, I lugged out this giant encyclopedia called The Big Book of Knowledge and not only made my mom read me a chapter, but quiz me at the end of it. I loved the chapter on dinosaurs, plants, space, planets, and the reproductive system/ fetal growth in the womb. It was full of giant pictures and the quizzes were pre-made at the end of each chapter.

She said when I was like 5 I was working on puzzles and Lego models that said ages 8 and up.

My favorite video game was Math Blasters on the PC.

My mom was a stay at home mom and my dad was a car mechanic. I didn't have them influencing me that much on academics. It was something I always loved.

My mom turned me into the educated individual feminist that I am today by just letting me be me and teaching me things at a young age that most parents find taboo or lie to their kids about or just try to not talk about.

She pushed me to go forward with what I loved despite what anybody told me. And I, on my own, researched. I knew from day 1 I wanted to be a scientist. And it wasn't until high school that I was introduced to Engineering.

I'm now a senior at UConn working towards a BS in Material Science and Engineering focused in Nanotechnology.

I chose UConn because I pretty much go there for free.

Answer

I used to draw dragons on people's arms in primary school with glitter gel pens and make them pay me a few dollars for it so I could buy candy from the canteen 😂 that sorta led to me thinking I might like being a tattoo artist sometime in the future.
Also I've always been into drawing and painting but I hate to sell my work because of the personal aspects of it and the value I have for it, so I figure tattoos are other people's idea usually, they're not personal to me, they're personal to the person getting them, so I much prefer the idea of selling artwork like that, especially knowing they'll most likely have it on them for the rest o their life (ego booster aha)

Answer

I am a registered nurse (RN) but grew up HATING hospitals lol! I was a "bad kid" and got my GED at 16. So I started doing HVACR then went to school for cosmetology then took basic classes bc I wanted to be a lawyer then switched to English to be a teacher but through seeing the care nurses have to my man for his asthma I finally decided I should be a nurse. It took me almost 10 years in different colleges along the way but was SO worth it! I qualified for financial aid so that helped a lot! It only cost me $10,000 in loans to become a RN BSN. Best of luck with whatever you decide! My man's been a union sheet metal worker since he was 17. He's 38 now. So, there's no "right" path. :)

Answer

Let's see...I was pressured from the day I was born to go to college, so the following semester after graduating HS I did just that under the impression the VA was paying for everything as they assured us they would. I was going for graphic design because I was a teen with no drive or interest in school and it sounded good. Then I got screwed by a professor, the dean said I shouldn't take it to student court because it was me against him, and the VA jumped on the opportunity to drop me. So I left after one semester with $2000+ in debt they didn't tell me about and said fuck it.

Two years later my eldest sister pressured me into going again, so I picked a school *I* liked this time and she paid off the debt before I knew I had it. I'm fortunate. I was going for a Gen Ed degree this time, I still had no drive and wasn't ready for school. Then right as I was near graduation, life slapped me in the face and I knew I was going no where fast. I couldn't support my wife, child, home and it was no longer about picking something I would be happy doing, rather what I could make good money doing with more days off to do whatever. It was about supporting my family, while accomplishing life goals like travel and my wife's transition.

I saw my middle sister with her job as a RT, how much she hated it but the money she made... her accomplishments. I again said fuck it and changed my degree yet again and spent 3 more years in school. I hate my job, but I can't complain with the hours I work and being able to not only feed my family, but allow us to live comfortably. I'm sorry I'm not all "follow your heart!" about it but I'll pick something I like in another 12 years when my child is out of the house.

Answer

Well I have always had a love of helping people! So first I thought I would be a GAL and go to law school, when I was in high school. I had became a rower my junior year of high school to get a scholarship to go. Long story short I ended up loving it way more then I ever expected!! I unfortunately got very very sick went to 12 doctors, 2 surgeries, until finally nothing was working. I finally had to quit. I mean my body would literally just quite on me...i went to so many doctors and some many physical therapist and different coaches! All sorts of different test! Nobody could figure out what was wrong with me! It was so incredibly frustrating! Until finally my mom started working with this amazing supplement company and she made comment to the Co CEO about me and the problems I was having. He made the comment that he knew of someone who had a lot of the same problems as me and he gave my mom her number and then he was like the doctor who helped formulate this specific supplement owes me a favor, so I'm going to call that favor and maybe he can help her. So that dr sent in for me to have these certain test and rule out the Myoshi myopathy that we were considering. He met us at a conference free of charge with my test results that he delicately went through. He figured it out! This man tell this date is one of the most amazing people I know! He literally gave me my life back! He has the wholeness about him that when he looks you in the eyes and gives you his pep talk, it brings you to tears and you literally feel like you can take over the world! This man is the reason I decided to become a doctor. To be able to do what he did for me for someone else is the most amazing job I could ever ask for! Yes I will be in tons of debt by the end! Yes it will be hard! But it will be soo worth it! I see it as my gift to the world, not just my career! It is literally my heart and soul!  That's how I chose what I wanted to be! 😊

Answer

I went to school but ended up getting a job while I was completing my degree and took that path instead. I finished my schooling but don't work in anything related. I just got "bottom" jobs and worked my way up. A lot of employers will consider years of experience as equivalents of schooling these days. Obviously that depends on what you're doing, to be a surgeon you need specific schooling etc but lots of fields like business, human resources, several types of management will accept experience over schooling

Answer

Get into sales! You can make so much money if you work hard

Answer

I was fortunate enough to have options open to me. My parents and grandfather and scholarships paid for my undergrad. I chose to major in violin knowing that I would go on to grad school and become a Suzuki teacher. It's not a high paying career, which I knew, but I love it and I figured with frugality, I could make it work. (Honestly didn't think too hard).

I had to pay for my grad school and I chose a program that was prestigious (and I was accepted to) even though I had a full ride elsewhere. It was a hard decision. I got a job, liquidated my savings bonds, and then got lucky to get an assistantship after one semester. The gamble paid off because I got a good job out of grad school and I've always made enough to pay my loans.

I'm glad I took the leap of faith, but it was one of the hardest things I ever did. I was also always fortunate to have a good safety net of it ever came to it. In someone else's shoes I may not have chosen the same way.

How did you decide on a career path?

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