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I have been struggling for many years figuring out what type of job I like best but I have failed.
I study MIS and I didn't like it because programing give me headache.
So I switched to Accounting, and I'm struggling in Accounting too.
Separating job from career, there have been some jobs I've disliked.
But my career I love. For me I don't know if there ever was any "finding out" it always was. Much like my dad, even though we went totally different paths -- he in sports and myself in science -- both of us just always knew.
What really fires you up? If not something academic, then what? Sports? Cars? Working with your hands? Seek that out first and then the rest will follow.
You keep trying crappy jobs until you find one that doesn't totally make you depressed. Outside of celebrity, athlete, or musician, you aren't going to be 100% happy spending the ONLY life you have on Earth doing some job because we need money.
Internships are amazing way to figure out what industry/career you enjoy. Everyone should have at least 2 different internship before they graduate.
Also, try to do some volunteer work in the industries you may like or think that you may consider. For example, I have an bachelor in engineering and work in healthcare. However, I really miss engineering so I work in volunteer engineering jobs. I still keep in touch with other engineers and have networks if I want to change my industry.
Internships, volunteering, and self-reflection/self-inventorying of skills and interests.
I've shifted in career a few times, and each time, the shift was precipitated by noting that a particular PART of the job I was doing was really appealing to me, and it made me want to look into how to go about making that one particular part a larger part of my career. A lot of it, like a lot of life, is trial and error.
You keep trying crappy jobs until you find one that doesn't totally make you depressed. Outside of celebrity, athlete, or musician, you aren't going to be 100% happy spending the ONLY life you have on Earth doing some job because we need money.
Just as a caveat...
Don't make the mistake of thinking "career you truly love" = never having any days, any hours, any minutes, etc. where you aren't 100% thrilled with what you're doing. I have loved several different careers. But I sure didn't love every single part about them. And some days, work sucks and you don't want to do it...even if it's a career you love. I feel like there is a tendency, especially among people who are newer to the workforce, to think that if you don't love everything you are doing at work, every second, it's not the right fit. In my experience, every job I've had has elements I love and elements I'm not so fond of. That's just reality.
I think internships are pretty impossible to get unless you are in a program - college or technical. Most companies don't have internships for people that don't already have some part of a skill set they need.
Volunteering however, really does help. I remember when my SIL volunteered at her local library and then decided to go back to school and get her MIS and became a school librarian.
One of my sons had a similar self realization after taking programming classes and decided that while he liked working with computers, he didn't like programming. He took three programming classes in HS, did very well in them but knew that was not what he wanted to do as a career. He knew that he had a knack for fixing computers and liked working with people, which seemed to point to an IT or networking field. That made his focus more narrow when looking at colleges - he wanted a networking/IT major that didn't have a lot of programming. Every college has their curriculum on-line. Another thing that we both wanted for him was an internship or co-op experience. Job outcome was another item to explore. Each college on his final list had those things, but it wasn't as easy as just looking at the majors. He visited each college, some more than once, and talked to several department heads. It was in one of those conversations that made him decide to go with the cyber security focus, instead of just networking. When it came time to choosing a college we knew that wherever he ended up would be a good choice.
Don't beat yourself up over the paths you've taken so far. It's just as important to know what you don't want as it is to figure out what you do want. I would however, encourage you to dig in and do as well as you possibly can in the classes you are taking now. Your GPA is going to stick with you.
I'm in exactly the same boat! I might be a little younger however as I just graduated last summer. I'm currently interning for a early-stage tech startup doing mostly research, but have an unyielding passion for sports.
Just trying to stay patient and work hard until I figure out how to get into the industry I truly love. Like its been said in the above posts, just figure out what fires you up and utilize your social network to see how you can get involved. Who you know is almost as important as what you know.
You should try your best to find work you like to do. But at the end of the day, you should realize there are lots of jobs noone would ever enjoy doing and yet they still have to be done. Some people will be doing those jobs.
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