<p>Hi, I thought that this forum would be the best pace to post this. I'm looking for the perspectives of professionals in these fields to better help me decide what I want to do for a living. I'm only a junior in high school so there is still a lot of time for me to decide, I just would love to hear thoughts from actual professionals. </p>
<p>I'm interested in hearing about these jobs:</p>
<p>Speech-Language Pathologist</p>
<p>Physical Therapist</p>
<p>Surgeon (specialty doesn't exactly matter)</p>
<p>Anesthesiologist</p>
<p>Optometrist</p>
<p>Chemical Engineer</p>
<p>Biomedical Engineer</p>
<p>Petroleum Engineer</p>
<p>Civil Engineer</p>
<p>High School Principal</p>
<p>Orthodontist</p>
<p>Meteorologist</p>
<p>Public Policy related careers</p>
<p>I know this is a very wide assortment that is sort of all over the place but these are just the careers I've considered. I have researched them online but I would just like to hear thoughts from actual professionals. I would like to hear about the job prospects, salary, settings, day to day duties, job satisfaction, and any other information you would like to share. Thanks in advance, and if you have a career that is similar to one of these but not on the list, I would love to hear about it as well. </p>
<p>I am a speech pathologist. Go to the American Speech Language Hearing Association website. There is a section for the public. You will find every kind of information you can think of about this profession.</p>
<p>Here are a few things to know:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>To get state licensure, and ASHA certification, your entry job degree is a masters degree. You cannot practice speech pathology with a bachelors.</p></li>
<li><p>Speech pathology masters programs are very competitive. There are not enough seats in all of the programs for all of the qualified applicants. So…you need to do well in undergrad school. And make sure you take all of the requisite courses for grad school admission.</p></li>
<li><p>It’s a wonderful career with huge variety. You can work with adults, children, seniors. You can work part time or full time. You can work in clinics, hospitals, schools, private practice, lots of choices.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It’s hard to give you the details of the job because a lot would depend on the setting.</p>
<ol>
<li>Right now…excellent job prospects. This is a shortage field almost everywhere.</li>
</ol>
<p>I hope you can relax about career and enjoy junior year of high school. Apply to schools you like, next year, and try to study things that interest you. It is fine to enter college undecided, and many change their majors anyway. While you are in college, volunteering, interning or part-time work may help clarify your goals, but you do not need to decide on a career now or even during college.</p>
<p>Many of the careers on your list involve grad/professional school and you can major in whatever you want as an undergrad. They are a bit varied so again, try to go by your interests as they develop rather than randomly picking a “good job.”</p>
<p>If you do want a career-focused major, perhaps you can volunteer and get some exposure to various options. For instance, physical therapy clinics often need volunteers, as do hospitals. Visit engineering schools on open house days or college tours and ask questions: you will get a feel for the field, or perhaps you can shadow someone.</p>
<p>Many of these kinds of professionals can (obviously) be found in your hometown, and many of them would be happy to sit down with an interested young person for a short “information interview” about their career choice. (Some won’t or can’t, but don’t be put off by that!) Summer could be a good time to try to connect with some of them, and might even open up possibilities for internship/shadowing/part time work etc (common’s post is right on target!).</p>
<p>Another good source of information might be the professional organization associated with each career. Most of these type websites have an “education” or “career” tab that could be useful. For example, if you google “professional meterological association” you get the National Weather Association, which has a “careers” option <a href=“http://www.nwas.org/links/career_info.php[/url]”>http://www.nwas.org/links/career_info.php</a></p>
<p>Ditto on talking to a hometown professional. Look up the educational requirements for those professions on your list and note which ones require undergraduate study before entering the school.</p>
<p>Note that all medical specialties require the medical degree after college with a major of your choice so lump them all together at this stage in life. </p>
<p>Combine any engineering fields and research the requirements for those. See the core courses required for all engineers.</p>
<p>Note that you favor the sciences- plan the rest of your HS classes around this. Plan on a college with science and engineering. Most college freshmen either don’t have a major or change theirs by the time they get a degree. </p>
<p>School principals generally are teachers first. Does the field of education interest you?</p>
<p>Check your public library references for careers.</p>