The Future...

I suppose the best idea is just to pick something you really, really want to do, and work towards it no matter how hard it gets. If you want to do it, you have to work for it.
I sort of had the same issue as you, not even knowing what the hell I wanted to do after I finished college (English Highschool). It just made me rather depressed for a long time; not even wanting to continue with college simply because I felt it wasn't getting me anywhere...

I finally decided, there was always one thing I wanted to do, join the Armed Forces; though never thought that I was physically fit enough to push myself that far.
As of late, I finally just decided I was going to push myself as hard as I needed to to get to that stage. And now I finally have a purpose to work towards. At the end of college, I have an idea of a career I want to work in and do.

Heck, if you really want to become a Fire Fighter, push yourself to do it. If you no longer want to do that, find something else that you want to do more than anything else, and do it!

 

I think you are still young and it is ok to not know what you want to do! Many people enter university having no clue what they want to do! I would wait and see once you get to university. Take a few different classes in different areas that interest you and see where it takes you! You are way too young to be worrying about this right now! I know people 10 years older than me who have two degrees and STILL don't know what they want to do in life.

Just one more thing I wanted to say. If you want to go into the arts, you'd be better off doing them on the side and as a hobby and not as a career as the arts are VERY unstable and very very competitive! I have so many friends who majored in the arts and ended up not being able to get jobs and others who just ended up hating what they were doing. Keep it fun and on the side as a hobby! Once you have your career, join a theater group, choir, or orchestra!

 

It may seem a little frightening right now, but I think this is one of the most exciting times in your life!

If there is any lesson I can pass on to you, it's that you really can be whatever you want to be. I know it sounds cliche, but I've discovered it's true! I've seen friends apply themselves to become scientists, designers, psychiatrists, rock stars, social workers and professional sports players, and they are all happy with their choices. If you have the dedication, the commitment and the faith in yourself, you can be pretty much anything.

At 16 you're lucky. You still have a couple of years left to give this some thought. That's exactly what I would do; don't rush your decision. Start really looking around you, at what careers or professions catch your interest. What kind of things excite you?

Take a look at your talents, especially the ones you're proud of or that you really like. If you're good with your hands, a trade (like construction, machining) might be right for you. If you like to use your brain, you could be a researcher or an engineer. If you like helping others, maybe a doctor or a human rights lawyer. If you are highly creative, then you might want to be a graphic designer or a writer. Don't just look at the job itself, look for the type of job as it relates to your talents and your interests. You'll be happiest if you're doing something that you like!

The other truth is that you can always change your mind. Later on if you're studying something or you're in a job and it's not turning out to be what you expected, you can move on to something else. A lot of adults get locked into the idea that their career is part of their identity, and sometimes it makes them forget that we create who we are, and that includes our work life. Trust me, even if you're a characteristically indecisive person, when you finally find something you like doing, you'll know it and you'll stick with it!

Good luck - you'll do great no matter what you choose!

 

Yeah. I know people don't like hearing this, but you are only 16. Give it some time. When I entered college I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be involved in theatre, but than I got sidetracked, put it on hold, tried to do something practical. Than I ended up working at a hotel after college without a clear direction. Now I'm touring with a professional company. You can't always think "safely" to go in a direction. Sometimes thinking practically you really cheat yourself. If I didn't get out of my safe zone, I'd probably still be in a dead end city, being a manager of a hotel. Just assess your skills, its ok to change your major many times in college. Don't just get stuck doing one thing.

 

I am in my senior year of college and I just recently have figured out that I want to go to law school and become a lawyer. I started college wanting to major in nuclear engineering, quickly realized that I hated calculus and was did not enjoy physics, changed my major to economics, and kind of just went through that hoping something would just appear that would give me direction. Luckily, it did. So, don't stress yourself over this. You have plenty of time to figure out where you want to go and what you want to do.

 

College is a place for you to find what you truely want in life. You shouldnt feel pressured to already know exactly what you want. If you LOVE computers and think you would be happy sitting on them every day and doing something you like, then go into that profession. The truth is you can make just about anything a profession. So choose a school that you like and has options (probably a bigger school) and then figure it out when you're there, you can switch majors and stuff as much as you want. Then when you find what you want, and if you discover the program you're school has to offer isnt that great, then transfer to a different school. That's what my brother and I did, and now we're both very happy at our respective schools.

 

It seems people will have you convinced that by age 10, they knew precisely what they wanted to be, and became laser-focused on that career from that point forward. With everything they did, from school to after-school activities, done with the sole purpose of succeeding in that career.

Hardly. Let me just use my college friends as a point of reference, by comparing what they had planned to do when they entered college, and what they now do over twenty years later.

A wanted to be a biologist. He's now a senior editor at a major magazine.
P wanted to do urban planning. He now writes music for TV shows.
B wanted to be a doctor. She now is a bioethicist who works with extended-care places.
D wanted to go into film. He's now a licensed massage therapist.
M wanted to be a rock star. He now builds computer networks for companies.
K was going to be a high school teacher. He works in the record business.
J wanted to be a doctor. He's now a doctor.

J's weird.

The point is - you don't have to KNOW. Sure, if you've always wanted to go into marine biology and study dolphins, sure - set your course. But if you don't, that's no crime. If you find a course that interests you, take it. If you did well in at, and enjoyed it, take the next one. Try things out, talk to people, and eventually you'll find something you want to give a go.

Lex

 

The future is an uncertain subject for me. As for college.. I've never wanted to go, but I got a letter from a popular college here & I mailed them back so they'd send me more information. I don't really know what I'd major/minor in if I attended college. I'm constantly day-dreaming about the future, but in decision-making, I make the decision based on what's happening now.

 

Try not to let the future overwhelm you. You've got time to figure things out. Often people do a general kind of degree in college and figure out what they're going to do afterwards. Many people don't have this figured out at your age.

If you think it would help to talk to someone who has finished university and worked for a while, you can send me a PM.