High school goes fast. The time in between your first time getting lost in the hallways to the time for filling out college applications goes by like the blink of an eye, and the decisions you make during your High School journey can shape the rest of your life. While there is a lot of external pressure on students to go certain routes when looking at careers, it’s important to know that this is your life, and you should spend your time in high school exploring a variety of subjects that can turn into potential careers if you decide to go with them.
Exploring a Variety of Subjects is Good for You
At the start of high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future, and looking back at it, rather than scrutinizing the time I spent exploring a variety of subjects, I fondly recall everything I learned and experienced. The ideology that you should have already decided what you want to do in life by the time you’re in high school is extremely inaccurate. While some people know what they want to do from when they’re little kids, the majority of people, (like me), have absolutely no idea what they want. And not knowing, contrary to popular belief, isn’t a bad thing. It gives students the opportunity to explore a wide range of subjects. By taking classes like Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Psychology, I delved into a sea of possibility that had me explore the science behind people. By taking Graphic Design, Dance Conditioning, and Journalism, I came upon an oasis of creativity that even I didn’t know I possess. Exploring all these subjects led me to understand and analyze my likes and dislikes, and use them to my advantage. This thus brought me to selecting what career path I think would suit me the best.
How I Used My Experiences to Select a Future Career
After looking at so many different subjects and potential future careers, I realized I liked the STEM field, and my strive for a collaborative work environment where I could utilize my compassion and attention to detail would be the best for me. I want to work directly with people, patients and colleagues alike, but also to have some independence. All these factors led me to making the decision of pursuing a career as a physician’s assistant. To be frank, I wouldn’t have been able to come to this important decision were it not for all the time I spent exploring career options in various classes. Branching out and stepping out of your comfort zone to discover new things sounds so cliché, but it really does work. In the beginning, I took classes like Dance Conditioning and Journalism mainly because I thought they would be fun, but they provided me with so much more than short term enjoyment. They helped me analyze my strengths and weaknesses as a person as well as my preferences. Taking a single class doesn’t necessarily mean you’re interested in pursuing a career path directly related to that subject. For example, dance taught me that I love to balance working with a team as well as independently, so I can showcase my strengths. Journalism taught me that I enjoy carefully forming an opinion and supporting it using as many details as possible. And lastly, my core science classes taught me that I really am interested in a field related to STEM and Arts & Sciences. Personal interests are what matter the most. You want to be happy in whichever field you decided to pursue.
My Goals for the Future
Now that I’ve decided on what I want to do for a career, I have to start the journey of working towards that career path. I’ve already decided on what programs I’m interested in applying to, which just takes a little bit of research. The hardest part, finding out what I want to do in the first place, is now over and now I’m going to work towards my goal. I’m hoping to finalize my exploration of career paths by exploring being a physician’s assistant in the STEM field, and I’ve really geared my schedule around that. In order to maximize what I can take from my high school experience, I want to take some intense physiology and biology related courses to try and best prepare myself for college. I also plan to volunteer as much as possible relating to the field I would like to pursue in order to gain knowledge and experience. Then, in undergraduate school, in addition to majoring in a future physician’s assistant related major I plan on shadowing actual physician’s assistants to help gain more experience in the field. The journey to selecting a good career path may be difficult, but it’s very rewarding and really grew my knowledge on just what’s out there.
To conclude, if I could give any future high schooler a tip on selecting a career, as stated previously, it would be to explore every option available to you. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and don’t let anyone else’s opinion cloud your judgement on what you are going to do. This is your life, and at the end of the day, pick something that you’ll be happy in. Hard work and dedication go a long way, and I’m confident that you can discover the perfect career for yourself the same way I did for me.
- By Kristine Lacap
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