At what point should you know what you want to do with your life?

[city_data91]

Originally Posted by sheena12

I think that there is no magical age at which people should know "what to do with their lives."
There may be several points at which we know - and they all are valid for the time.

That is why I remain, despite the trend, a champion of a good liberal arts education.
At the very least for the first two years of college.

Choosing a major too early on may result in greater cost later - if a student decides that a major is not right for them. Career specific courses do not tranfer well to other majors. That is a fact.

I have said it before and I will say it again - Do not go to college to get a job
Go to college to get an education!

Follow your bliss - do what makes you happy!
Money will then follow you!

A very wise man told this to me. He was unfortunatly, not one of my parents.
However he was very very wealthy, incidentally as he would want me to put it. :-)

You go to college to get an education, but a job is also an important reason to go to college. A lot of people go to college because they want to make more money. The bills have to get paid somehow. Unless your parents support you for the rest of your life, you have to get a job at some point. The truth is just about everyone needs to work eventually. They might as well study something they like in college. That way, they can get a job they enjoy that pays a decent income.

[starhawk18]

Originally Posted by 11thHour

I'm 34 and on my second career and don't know what I want to do with my life. I know I don't want to work, but that isn't an option

LOL, I agree. I'm only 25 and I thought when I was in high school at 16 and 17 that I had it all figured out. Oh boy was I wrong. Life in general along with circumstances, trials, and tribulations have a way of changing your life.
I don't have a degree yet although I've completed some course work but I definitely want to go back.

[bentstrider]

I guess some of us change our minds later due to finding out we're unqualified for some reason or another.
All throughout high-school, I had my mind set on either flying a Harrier jump jet in the Marine Corps, or joining a police force.
But, after finding out my eye-sight was beginning to rapidly deteriorate in one eye and that you pretty much have to know someone to get onto an agency around here, that kind of messed me up for awhile and I slowly got it back together and settled upon driving a semi-truck.

Then, a rollover accident occurred back in '07 with that one and now I somewhat blackballed from there.

Back to the drawing board, seeing what job/career I'll be able to tolerate next.

[TKramar]

Originally Posted by city_data91

I remember in middle school and early high school, teachers expected us to know exactly what we wanted to do with our life. But later on in high school and now in college, people are saying it's ok if we don't know what we want to do. Some people even go as far as expecting us to not know what we want to do.

I think something is wrong with this picture. It should be the other way around.

Teachers should not expect an 8th grader to know what they want to do. Just for an example, I remember my 8th grade math teacher asked a student what she wanted to do and she said lawyer. She ended up going to college for nursing. That just shows how people change their mind. When I was in 8th grade, I didn't even think I was college material. Now I am 19 and I am succeeding in college. I'm a semester ahead and I have a 3.7 GPA. I'm taking upper division classes as a sophomore, while quite a few of my peers are still taking general eds. I have 46 credits after 1 year, while some of my peers are still classified as freshmen. But enough bragging about me.

If a college student or college bound high school senior doesn't know what they want to do, I think people should be honest with them. They should tell them that it might be in their best interest to figure out what they want to do. Not saying everyone knows what they want to do, but a 17 year old should be more likely than a 13 year to know what they want to do. Yet, in my experience, people were more accepting of a 17 year old not knowing what they want to do. They were more likely to expect a 13 year old to know what they want to do. Once again, something is wrong with this picture.

When I was a freshman in high school, I gave thought to the major I ended up choosing. But I also thought about other options. By the time senior year came around and I applied to colleges, I knew what I wanted to major in. Now that I'm in college, a lot of people have changed their majors. Some people are surprised that I'm sticking with my major. I even remember someone on city data telling me I should ask myself if my major is really what I like or if it's just the infatuation of the moment.

Am I supposed to change my major? Is it wrong that I still have passion for my original major? Just because other people lost interest in their original major doesn't mean I have to. Why do some people think I'm crazy for entering college with a major and sticking with it?

I think the reason so many people drop out is because they enter college without a major and don't have much guidance. You can end up being behind quickly if you enter college undecided. Some of my general eds counted toward general ed and my major, so I was able to meet 2 requirements at once. From day one, it was advantageous that I entered college with a major.

Your interests should be explored at an earlier age so that your education can be tailored specifically towards those interests.