Hmm, maybe I am just worrying.

[AutumnDae]

I'm almost halfway through my freshman year in high school. Is it bad that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life? I know for sure that I want to go to school. For what? Couldn't tell you.

Shouldn't I have at least some sort of an idea as to where I want go in my future?

[byee]

well, yes, you are worrying, but I prefer to call it being conscientious. You ARE that, right? So, it's not surprising that you'd be future oriented. That's not a bad thing, b/c it focuses you on your goals, it helps clarify them.

I think you're not giving yourself enough credit here, too, in saying that you're clueless. I'd bet for sure that being a fast food worker, or a bagger at a grocery store aren't even in the running, right? And, being one of those Highway Dept. chicas isn't either. Nor a manicurist or beautician. So, eventhough you cannot say for sure what it is that you want to do, you know what you don't want to do. It's a start.

I think clarifying exactly what it is you're cut out for is an ongoing process, but you can gain some awareness thru extra curriculars, maybe some internships, volunteering positions, etc., that get you some direct hands on exposure to various things. And they look great for college.

[Burnthecity]

Im half way through my grade 11 year, and im in the same boat, ive gone through 100 different things i could be when i grow older, we have a class called careers basicly you do alot of online quizzes about yourself and it helps you pick what you should be. well let me tell you it just confussed me more, so i went to my guidance cousaler, he hellped alot, we sat and just talked about all my options and what not, turns out that photography is the best path for me to go, so i think you should go see your guidance counsler, helpped me mabye itll help you :)

[MisterAndrews]

Hi,
Do you have a careers agency working with your school? They can help

In england we have one called connexions.... that helped me alot!
Have a look at their website and see if you have anything similar.
http://www.connexions-direct.com/?gclid=CPi7vNic5pcCFYsh3god0nMyDQ
Who knows.... you might even find something on there even though you dont live here.


Try making a list of jobs you can see your self in, or just areas that you'd like to try.
E.g. Childcare
Education
Nursing etc.
Then see if you can get a bit of experience in them to help you decide. Thats what I did, and you find that if you tell people what youd like to do, experience comes to you. For example, If i tell people id like a be a teacher, normally they said "really? why not come into our school if you want some experience?"

Anyway, if thats too advanced yet, just keep your subject areas broad. Science, Maths, English, a language and an Art are good for loads of jobs!

Im sure the perfect career will just hit you one day, when you are doing something random and it inspires you!

Good Luck! :-)

[Halibut]

I think it is diffrent for everyone. Buts thats commin. You might not know what you want to do for a year or so ..but then again something could happen tommorow and you will know instantly what you want to do. just give it time :)

[IBeRunnin]

Dude, I've changed my mind so many times about what I want to do with my life. I've went from Author to Rapper to Motivational Speaker to God knows what. And I'm in the 11th grade. I now am feelin bein a psychiartrist, but even that's not set in stone. Don't worry about it too much, it'll come to you. Plus, nobody really knows anything anyway, and the ones who claim to know it all are just lying, lolz. :D

[Serenity]

Don't stress. Most colleges don't require you to officially state a major till Junior year and even then, you might end up doing something completely different with your life. Is it a good idea to start thinking about it? Of course. But leaving your options open and exploring different things until you find the right fit is totally fine. My geometry teacher freshman year had been everything from a construction worker to a semi-pro trumpet player and everything in between before settling down as a teacher less than a decade ago. He teaches chem now lol. You've got plenty of time to figure it out. If we had to know what we were gonna do with the REST OF OUR LIVES by age 15, the world's population would probably be in serious trouble lol.

[thiscityisdead]

im halfway done with my sophmore year of high school and am torn between veteranarian n a animal cop, close in relation (they both help aminals) as long as i get a job with aminals i think ill be fine in any job out there, just choosing wich one is a pain in my ass...btw to answer your question lol you are worrying but you still got time, talk to your conselors, and think hard about what you wanna be, and make sure your willing to work that job for a long time, so pick something you think you will have a lot of fun in and not get bored, thats why i picked the above,


hope i helped a little =]]

[Capote]

Your fine!

Try this site: http://www.collegeboard.com/

[MoveAlong]

I'm almost halfway through my freshman year in high school. Is it bad that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life?

NO. Some people don't know what they want to do when they're in their freshman year in college. That's what I heard the first two years of college are for - finding out what classes you need to take and deciding what you want to major in. At least you've noticed that you don't know what you want to do yet, so now you can start thinking about it.

*Think about what you like doing most in your spare time or what you like getting better at.

*Try exploring electives in high school and take some new classes. see what you gravitate toward.

*Visit your school's career center (if they have one) and talk to one of the people there, they are sure to help you out.

*Talk to a counselor about electives + careers, that's what they're for.

*See if you can take one of those tests that asks questions about your interests and gives you options of what jobs your interests fit into the most.

Also, collegeboard is a good site.

[AutumnDae]

I will be taking a test next year to help place me in a career field. I was just hoping that I could maybe try and figure something out beforehand, so I had an idea.

I'm not sure I am too keen on a test telling me what I should do.

In my spare time I kind of....watch tv? Go on the computer? Read a book? None of which are really jobs.

I will talk to my guidance counselor probably by the end of year about electives. We don't have too many of them in my school, and plus I am already taking a lot of other classes. But I will see what we can do. My guidance counselor likes to give students at least one study hall, especially those who are in the Advanced program, which I am. But I will talk to her, and consider my options.

Thanks for your ideas everyone!

[MoveAlong]

I'm not sure I am too keen on a test telling me what I should do.
A test does not tell you what to do. A test helps measure what interests you most and gives you suggestions as to what you may be interested in doing.

In my spare time I kind of....watch tv? Go on the computer? Read a book? None of which are really jobs.
In my spare time I do the same things. Basically, what you do in your spare time isn't necessarily what you are interested in as far as jobs because spare time is for pure relaxation.

[AutumnDae]

Yea.

I don't know why I was worried about this. Maybe because most of the people in my grades and around me know exactly what they want to be, and are already taking classes about in school. Some of them even know what school they want to go to. I have absolutely no idea!

[Underground_Network]

Heh, I don't do anything useful in my spare time, I'm in no clubs, I don't do any extracurricular activities, I'm too lazy to do volunteer work, etc... And I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up... Thus my suggestion is (sort of) do what I do:

Take all different types of classes so you can get a feel of all the different things out there. You'll discover you like certain things and you dislike others. After awhile one specific thing may catch your interest, but if not, you'll have experienced so many different things that you'll be able to go anywhere from there. I'm taking almost every type of class there is in my school, and my goal is to take at least one AP class in every core class and at least one AP elective by the time I graduate.

I want colleges to look at me and see that although I'm not one of those people that is firmly set on one career path, I'm someone who is open to multiple career paths and has the potential to be successful in any of them. Of course joining lots of clubs would help my cause, but I'm way too lazy to dedicate any time outside of school to, well, school...

If you could follow any of that; kudos. ;)

[AutumnDae]

Alright, so I'm back. I've had a meeting with my guidance counselor since this thread, and she asked me "Any idea where you want to go after high school?" And my answer was "College." "Have any idea for what?" "Nope." I still had no idea.

I took a little survey online, that I had taken last year for a report at school, and there were 5 options. "Dislike very much, dislike, does not matter, like, like very much" and different scenarios I guess, were given such as: Organizing or supervising other people and things of that sort.

Well, there were....40? questions. And every single one of my answers were "Like" or "Does not matter" I had one "Dislike very much" and that was for "Working outside in any weather condition"

So what I'm saying is, I still have no sense of direction. And I know it's not that big of a deal, I'm only 15, I still have time, yadda yadda. But I like to know where things are going, how things are going to work out.

Oh, the number one job on my list after taking that, was........Director of Photography, followed by Photographer and Recreation Therapist, then Art/Music Therapist, and School Superintendent. Blech. None of those are appealing.

[The Batman]

High School IMO is for you to discover who you are and what you want to do in life. I wasn't sure about what i wanted to go to school for until I applied. Just do alittle bit of everything, volunteer, maybe some internship at places, or anything that can get you to find something you like. I'm thinking modeling though :P

[AllThatIsLeft]

Career Cruising. Thats the website.
it helped me a lot.
but as i think you already took that. i recommend you take general courses that you can brunch off into many things later on... ur still in freshman year dont worry.. when i was at that level i thought i wanted to be a construction lady. the next year i thought i wanted to be a director, the next year i thought i wanted to be a writer, this year i was still going for writting but i mainly applied for acting at uni... and now i'm gonna be a cop.

you got time.. dont worry.

[AutumnDae]

Career Cruising. Thats the website.
it helped me a lot.
but as i think you already took that. i recommend you take general courses that you can brunch off into many things later on... ur still in freshman year dont worry.. when i was at that level i thought i wanted to be a construction lady. the next year i thought i wanted to be a director, the next year i thought i wanted to be a writer, this year i was still going for writting but i mainly applied for acting at uni... and now i'm gonna be a cop.

you got time.. dont worry.

I was using Career cruising actually!

[AllThatIsLeft]

lol i know xD

[Jean Poutine]

I'm in college and I don't know.

Either French teacher, or lawyer, or linguist, or interpreter, or, or, or...

So I'd say you're normal.

I just did a quiz on the Canadian government website for fun, and it came up with :

Forestry Professionals
Arrangers
Composers
Translators
Copywriters
Creative Writers
Customs Officers and Inspectors
Interpreters
Lawyers and Quebec Notaries
Occupational Therapists

Best advice I can give you is take your time, don't end up in a job you hate because you feel pressed.

[Gumleaf]

Alright, so I'm back. I've had a meeting with my guidance counselor since this thread, and she asked me "Any idea where you want to go after high school?" And my answer was "College." "Have any idea for what?" "Nope." I still had no idea.

I took a little survey online, that I had taken last year for a report at school, and there were 5 options. "Dislike very much, dislike, does not matter, like, like very much" and different scenarios I guess, were given such as: Organizing or supervising other people and things of that sort.

Well, there were....40? questions. And every single one of my answers were "Like" or "Does not matter" I had one "Dislike very much" and that was for "Working outside in any weather condition"

So what I'm saying is, I still have no sense of direction. And I know it's not that big of a deal, I'm only 15, I still have time, yadda yadda. But I like to know where things are going, how things are going to work out.

Oh, the number one job on my list after taking that, was........Director of Photography, followed by Photographer and Recreation Therapist, then Art/Music Therapist, and School Superintendent. Blech. None of those are appealing.


well, you're in year 9. a lot of people i know in my school are in the same boat as you so don't feel like you're alone here and don't think there is a rush to figure things out. but here is an idea. people have probably told you this before but this is a thought i had. just think about when you are older and think about something you could do that would make you happy. whats something you could do that would make you excited and enthusiastic when you wake up in the morning? something that you have a passion for? something that would make you happy to go to work for?
write down all the things you have an interest in, then think about the types of jobs you could do that involves those interests. you don't need just one thing in mind, leave your options open and come up with a few ideas. but make sure that they revolve around things you are interested in. you will spend a lot of time in your life working so its great if its something that you have an interest in already. really at this point, narrowing things down is probably the best you can do anyways. i want to be a travel agent, but there is no guarentee that will happen and i need to keep my options open. and the same applies to you. so autumn, don't panic ok.

[Nihilus]

I'm the same as you. I don't know what to do with my life. I have basic ideas. High school is basicly when you find what you want to do.

[Antares]

Okay, Autumn, I was stressing over this soo much last year it was ridiculous. Even early 10th grade (until about..3 months ago?) I was stressing out a lot because I had NO idea what I wanted to do.
I like to do a lot of things and I had soo many interests. I eventually decided that some of the jobs I wanted to pursue was going to be boring and I wouldn't last more than 10 years.
However, the one job that I always knew I owuld be happy with, my mom has just "accecpted". So I plan to Double Major and minor. In what exactly, im not exactly sure :P

Anywyas, back to you lol. I have learned that you do not need to know what your career is going to be. In fact, most people don't declare majors until sophomore year. So I say just take it easy. Find some careers that interest you, think about some possible majors. Then find a school that has good programs and just go there. Take the generals and do some more soul searching and then just declare your major and it iwll take off from there.

So in short, no. You do not need to know what you want to do

[Reality]

I'm in the same situation as you, more or less. I'm in Year 11 (10th Grade) and I don't know what I want to do for a career, at all. But I'm taking subjects at school, and then eventually University that I'm interested in. So it's not a big deal.

If you can't think of a career, think of school subjects you're interested in, and just follow them. I.E. if you're into English and History, you might want to study to become a Journalist or Lawyer eventually because they're jobs related to your interests.

[INFERNO]

I'll be in 3rd year university soon (I'll turn 20 part-way through then =( ), and in 1st year and parts of 2nd year, I was flip-flopping back and forth. I did the silly career tests in high school but take the results with a grain of salt, more for entertainment if anything. I chose neuroscience/neurology and/or forensic psychology because it's what I love, I'm good at those subjects needed, good job demand (especially for neuroscience), good pay and I can see myself doing it for years and years in the future.

I don't remember what the silly tests said, I think they pointed to something in science, I think it was a mathematician, scientists, doctor, chemist or something along those lines. At that time, I was considering those anyways, so it was more or less a waste of time. However, one of my friends got the result of a janitor =/... yet he's going for aerospace engineering and brilliant at mathematics and physics.

Take the tests if required but don't dwell on the results.

High school is mostly about learning to read, write, think a bit and have some fun. The senior year is more about being ready for university or college but in comparison to what you learn in university, high school is a drama-filled joke.