Career guidance
None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.
If you only read a few
Cease measuring yourself against other people.
Comparing yourself steals joy and wastes time since you are distinct from them.
14 people, independently
Create an Excel sheet with three columns: what you enjoy, what you are good at, and what is a strength.
Fill it in to see where the overlaps are.
one person who lived it
Take a low-prestige job if you need to clarify what you do not want to do for the rest of your life.
It helped one person figure out their best options by realizing they didn't want to do that work all their life.
- This is based on one person's experience; it may not work for everyone.
one person who lived it
Make two columns: one for what you don't want to do and one for what you might want to do, then pick one from the second column and pursue it for a month while earning money.
Action is required.
one person who lived it
One approach that helped: travel alone for several months to put distance between yourself and friends and family.
To actually grow.
one person who lived it
career, time, provides, people27
Set smaller daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals and work toward them.
Separate your vocation from your avocation by seeking a stable career that funds your hobbies rather than trying to make your passion your primary income source.
A utilitarian career provides stability and time to explore passions, which is better than going hungry or working retail.
3 people, independently
Learn to relax, listen, and feel.
You must not act out of haste or avoidance.
one person who lived it
Try things out and make mistakes to discover what you like.
You cannot know what you will like just by seeing it.
one person who lived it
Shift from living for others' expectations to living for yourself.
Discipline becomes easier when it is for you and no one else.
one person who lived it
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Discuss your interests and skills with a guidance counselor, career coach, or trusted friend to clear your head.
Talking to someone can help clear your head.
one person who lived it
If you are unsure about your path, take a semester to try various courses and internships before committing to a major.
It helps determine if the major is a helpful step toward eventual goals.
one person who lived it
Cultivate passion over time rather than expecting it to be innate.
Passion is generally not something you are born with.
2 people, independently
Try career quizzes to suggest potential paths based on your answers.
They provide career suggestions based on your responses.
- Based on one friend's experience.
one person who lived it
Explore your creative side to develop a hobby that connects you with others.
It provides a way to connect with people, even online.
one person who lived it
Start with a small routine change, such as waking up 30 minutes earlier for a walk.
- One specific suggestion among potential habit changes.
one person who lived it
Set a routine of sleeping early, waking early, and batching days by activity type (e.g., business vs. hobbies) to regain control.
One person found this was the secret to regaining control.
one person who lived it
Create two lists: one of desired job attributes and one of undesired ones, to narrow down career options.
Making these lists provides clarity.
one person who lived it
Focus on a high-paying role you tolerate over searching for your passion.
3 people, independently
Gather more information by watching YouTube videos, reading books, meeting people in fields of interest, and doing internships.
You need more info.
one person who lived it
Do not wait for perfect timing or circumstances.
Perfect timing will never happen.
one person who lived it
Treat your career as a means to fund your passions rather than your life's defining work.
one person who lived it
Focus on thematic strengths like problem solver or carer rather than specific job titles like engineer or nurse.
This prevents limiting your brain.
one person who lived it
Avoid forcing yourself into arbitrary financial goals that trap you in a hated job out of necessity.
It is worth taking your time to find work you can relatively enjoy.
one person who lived it
Do not let your internal happiness depend on external conditions.
3 people, independently
View figuring things out as a lifelong process of finding yourself rather than a final destination.
The process is literally never finished.
one person who lived it
Try the Pigment career test to identify work that energizes you based on your strengths.
One person found it helped identify energizing work.
one person who lived it
Learn guitar to gain satisfaction and conversation topics.
It provides satisfaction and is a topic people are interested in.
one person who lived it
Stop trying to impress your parents and identify what you personally want to live for, recognizing that you may not be able to make them proud regardless of your choices.
one person who lived it
Read philosophy, specifically absurdism, postmodernism, and stoicism.
One person reported these help with existential questions.
one person who lived it
Identify potential interests by noticing what topics annoy you when you don't know them or feel bad about being ignorant of them.
one person who lived it
Set smaller daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals and work toward them.
4 people, independently
Pursue a career that complements your personality and skill sets rather than your passion.
one person who lived it
person8
Focus on demonstrating you can do the required work rather than relying solely on a degree.
Employers primarily want to know if you can perform the tasks they need done, and a degree does not convey that ability.
one person who lived it
Consider transferring to Amazon if you have relevant warehouse or grocery store skills.
It might be the same skill set.
one person who lived it
Start with entry-level jobs in a desired field, such as IT help desk, and progress gradually through experience to higher roles.
One person progressed from help desk to desktop support, then systems analyst, and finally IT implementation engineer.
one person who lived it
Take aptitude tests at community colleges to determine what you are strongly inclined to do professionally.
One person found the tests precise and helpful in picking their profession.
one person who lived it
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Develop transferable skills like sales or marketing while figuring out long-term goals.
These skill sets apply to almost every aspect of business and provide income.
one person who lived it
Use university career counselors to seriously explore options and figure out your path.
One person found them essential for taking a career search seriously and identifying options.
one person who lived it
Contact colleges to see if your work counts toward bachelor's degree credits and speak with academic and financial advisors.
Some university programs accept work as credit, and advisors can guide further education options.
one person who lived it
Interview for supervisor positions at different kinds of companies by leveraging your existing supervisory experience.
Your resume will look good.
one person who lived it