I don't know what to do with my life

High school is soon getting to an end. And I still don’t know what should I do after high school. Like I would join a college but what after? I’m between liking every work field and hating all of them. Help me please.

Life is not a race, and you are still very young.

To me it sounds as if you are not ready to attend university, and you do not currently know whether or not university will be the right path for you at some point in the future. University is expensive, and for most of us is a “once in a lifetime” opportunity. As such it is a good idea to have some idea what you want to study, or at least why you are there, before you start university.

As long as you are in high school, you should do as well as you can. Take your classes seriously and try to get good grades. In the long run this will help you.

If you do not know what you want to do after high school, then your best choice is very likely to get a job. Work at whatever job you can get that makes sense to you. See a bit of the world. If you change jobs once or twice that is okay. You are young and are finding your way.

If there are specific classes that you want to take, then you might want to consider taking a class or two at a local community college.

Over time you are likely to figure out what you want to do. If you decide that you want to be a software engineer then you can start looking into appropriate universities. If you want to work in IT then you might find programs at a community college. If you want to be an electrician or a plumber then there are probably good programs at a trade school in your area. There are many options. You do not need to decide between them any time soon.

Thanks, I really want to get into University, I’m doing great in high school. It’s just that there’s so many things I like and I can choose only one. I thought about med school but I don’t want to waste my life on books. Finance, but I don’t want to deal with math every day, and the list is infinite. And I already work at McDonald’s, and with an high school diploma I won’t have many doors open. So there’s no way that I wouldn’t get into Uni.

Certainly many students start university undecided.

Both of my daughters changed their majors at the end of their freshman year of university, with no significant problems. One had to take four lab classes all at once during their sophomore year to catch up, but handled the four lab classes very well and has completed them with good grades. She said that it was a lot of work.

There are some majors such as Nursing or Computer Science that lead to a specific job after graduating. There are many other majors such as Mathematics (which was my major) which are potentially useful in a wide range of careers, but which do not point to one clear career immediately after graduation.

One issue might be: Do you know approximately what you might want to take during your first year of university? As one example I knew that math, physics, mechanical engineering, and computer science were things that I would want to start off taking right away. Which major this would lead to I did not know when I started.

In university you will be exposed to a number of subjects that you might not even know exist. You can take a class in mechanical engineering and a class in economics and a class in psychology and figure out what you like. Part of the point of university is to explore different things.

If you are undecided between languages, versus music, versus mechanical engineering, versus finance, versus premed, then it might be a bit tough to know where to start.

Also, if you do end up changing your major after several years of university, depending upon the details this can in some cases cause it to take more than 4 years to graduate. Changes in majors is a big reason (not the only reason) that the majority of students in the US do not graduate in 4 years. As such, it might not be a bad idea to start at a university that you could afford to attend for five years if it were to come to that. One daughter did exactly that, but then caught up (with four lab courses at once) during sophomore year and so will graduate with some college money left in the bank. This is not a bad thing.

In which school subjects have good grades come most easily for you? Which subjects have held your interest? Are you more of a hands-on “doer” or an analytical “thinker” or a creative type of person? What do you like to do when you’re not in school?

All of these questions can give you clues where to start. Unless you want to be an engineer or a nurse, for most majors, you don’t have to make a decision during your first year or so of college. It can be helpful if you identify a possible direction before you set off (such as humanities, social sciences, STEM or business) based on wht you most enjoy studying/doing.

Some colleges/universities are known for being more pre-professional (geared toward specific jobs/careers right afer school) and others have a more "learning-for-learning’s sake atmosphere. But both kinds of schools have opportunities for internships to help you bridge your school studies to work environments.

Many people work in fields not directly related to their college major, and do fine in life. Many different majors teach skill such as logic, critical thinking and effective written/ spoken communication that can translate to many workplaces.

By the way, you can go to medical school with any undergraduate major, as long as you take the prerequisite courses and keep up a very high GPA. Yes, even music majors go on to med school! Same for other fields…you can go on to get an MBA with any major, though it’s probably helpful to have some math and economics classes under your belt. You don’t have to have your whole life planned…the MOST important thing is to do as well as you can, every day, at whatever task is before you. The road unfolds from there.

Your post made me smile. You are young. Very young. There is no need to decide right now, or even in four years time, what you must do for the rest of your life. I know a lot of people, myself included, who didn’t find their calling until they were married and/or had kids. A good friend, after having two kids, decided she wanted to become a horse vet. So that’s what she did, and she’s amazingly successful at it. There is no time limit on choosing what you want to do with life. Go to college, discover what interests you, and let things happen naturally.