<p>Lately, I've been feeling confused about my post graduation plans. I know I want to work before heading off to a professional program (law, medical*, or business). I guess I feel like I should've done something like a gap year before heading off for my undergrad. I enjoy my courses, and I'm looking forward to starting my core courses this summer but I just don't know why I'm so confused. I don't want to change my major at this point I just want to graduate within 4 years.</p>
<p>I had this problem when I took the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey, CISS, the very first thing I read was that I had a wide range of interest and skills. It said to explore which is what I did, but I'm still confused. I took this as a Freshman and I'm wondering if I should go to my current Career Services and see if it is possible to take it again.</p>
<p>Anyone else have this problem? If so, can you give some tips on how to get excited and stay excited about a certain path? </p>
<p>I'm interest in the health field both the business side and the provider side. If I could do it over I would get myself in the tech school's nursing, dental hygienist, or radiology technology program. I'm also very interest in law, and I could watch shows like The First 48, and In Session all day. </p>
<p>*By medical I don't mean a MD program as I cannot handle the Chemistry load but I mean Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, etc..</p>
<p>You’re not the only person on this boat. (I feel like one of the reasons I’m applying to grad school is that I’m trying to defer real life) I made a post like this last year on the Parents Forum. Go there … parents who have had years of post-college experience will be very good at helping you out.</p>
<p>I don’t know what year you are, but hopefully there is still enough time to explore these areas. You really need to get some first-hand experience in an area to see if its right for you before you go too far down the road, and I’m disappointed your career center didn’t suggest this to you back when you were a frosh. This doesn’t necessarily mean an internship in an area related to your exact area of work, but more general exposure. </p>
<p>You mention medicine, for example. There are all kinds of jobs, some even paid, that get you inside a hospital or other care facility where you can better gauge what your interest in them is. One month during the summer working as an orderly in a hospital is going to give you a much stronger sense of whether you’d want to be in nursing or other health-related area than just thinking about it or taking interest tests because you see what those people are doing day to day, and get a real feel of the environment. Even in physical therapy, someone has to wipe down the machines and clean up the detritus; for the price of free I bet you could find a clinic that would let you spend a few hours a week doing that. Exploited? Maybe, but you get to see first-hand what the job is like, have conversations with the staff to get their advice and pick their brains, etc. I know people that have got jobs as file clerks and the like in law firms, same general idea there.</p>
<p>Many people are just like you, not really certain what they want to do. A proactive way is to try something, see what you think, then try something else. In practice I think few people do this, and instead fall accidentally into a job based on what is around when they start looking.</p>