I'm a junior and I still don't know what I want to do :(

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I know… it’s bad. I have interests, but it’s so stressful because my [Asian] parents are obsessed with me making six digits and having a stable future, and I need to help support them when they retire. :(( Obviously I want to make money too, but I also don’t want to regret choosing the wrong career later on.

All I know is that I’m the more artsy, creative type, and I want to help / have an impact on people. I can’t spend the rest of my life sitting in a cubicle counting numbers.

I’ve thought about journalism, art, and psychology, but I’ve decided not to for several reasons (bleak outlook/pay, type of education, etc.).

Like any Asian parents, my parents want me to go into medical school or law school, but:
-1. I forget how to breathe at the sight of blood or thinking about the human body.
-2. I’m truly horrible at speech&debate :’)

And partly because I don’t know what career I want to go into, I haven’t done any meaningful ECs :frowning: I only have a good GPA, am expecting NM, and good SATs/ACTs. :\

I’m just so stressed out, I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown and just giving up on society.

TL;DR: Should I choose happiness or money/stability with my job, because based on my interests, I can’t have both.

I kind of want to start my own business, but I want to wait until college to find partners.

If you actually read this, internet hug >:D<

Advice? Suggestions? :frowning:

2

OK, here’s the speech from a high school teacher and a mom. (Coincidentally. my son is also Asian, though his adoption has nothing to do with anything.) And, for what it’s worth, I also coached Speech and Debate for 18 years :slight_smile:

You’re only 16 years old. It’s absolutely OK not to have any idea of what you want to do with your life. The vast majority of the Juniors I teach are in the same position as you. They don’t know what they want; they’re only starting to realize some of what they don’t want.

You’re going to spend many, many, many years working. Don’t settle for something you don’t love.

Dabble. Cast a wide net, and learn what interests you. There are lots and lots of stable jobs that require creativity. Speak to your guidance counselor. And to your favorite teacher. Look into marketing and advertising and communication (nope, it’s not all about giving speeches.)

But, above all, relax. You’re only 16.

3

Are you good at math? Have you ever thought about being an actuary? It’s a somewhat boring and mathematical job, I’ve heard, but I think they are commonly in demand and can be paid pretty highly. I’ve heard that some can even work from home after awhile. You might want to look into the aspects of that career.

I would have to agree that an interest like art would would be a bit impractical for a lifetime career, but maybe you could pursue something like that as a minor in college so that you don’t have to completely shut out your own interests.

Also, like @bjkmom said, you can relax a bit. You’re not over the hill yet - you still have time. Congratulations on your accomplishments!

4

My daughter went to college for Art History, got a masters in Art history and is a gallery director at a college and loves it. She is making a pretty decent salary. She also adjuncts and teaches a class every so often which gives her more $. If she went for a Phd, she could teach full-time, be a department head, etc. Also, great hours, holidays off, paid. There are other careers out there. Making $60-$80,000/year and being happy is probably better than making $150,000 and being miserable.

5

I’m a senior and I don’t know what I want to do. You’ll be okay, things tend to work out in the end.

Just some fun facts to show you are certainly not alone in the “I don’t know what I want to do with my life” phase:

About 80 percent of students in the United States end up changing their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. On average, college students change their major at least three times over the course of their college career.

This is another edit because I figured, well, what the heck - my older brother attended SUNY UB for some business related major. He dropped out, went to a local CC and then decided he would follow his passion: the culinary arts. After 2 years at UB and 2 at the CC, he was ready to make the big decision. He got into the CIA (Culinary Institute, not the real agency :P). The future is unpredictable, just hop on and hang on tight!

6

For my entire high school career I’ve been interested in engineering.

Recently, I decided I would like to be an internet fraud investigator/analyst (Sort of like Ben Edelman, except without the threatening emails).

It’s okay, no one should have to know what they will major in/have a career in in 11th grade.

And break away from your parents’ expectations of you. My parents were extremely biased towards a science/STEM focused career. However, even though STEM is my strongest subject (and I love it dearly), I’m leaning towards an interdisciplinary focus to prepare me for my career.

People change, and not knowing what you’re going to do at 11th grade is good. Keep an open mind, and just do your best in everything in life. Experience new things, meet new ppl etc. and you may soon find your passion.

7

http://www.middlebury.edu/admissions/apply/gapyear/bibliography

It’s ok. Maybe you can explore some gap year opportunities. You can help people and find out more about yourself and what kind of career you might like.

8

I don’t know your interests in math/science, but maybe engineering (the more hands-on types, not electrical but maybe civil, environmental, or mechanical) or architecture? You’d get to design and build things, and you’d earn quite a bit.

I’m in a similar boat, except I’m pretty much going to be forced to study Electrical Engineering or Computer Science (if I’m going to do engineering, I’d rather do chemical, which is more interesting and hands on, and it pays more as well) since I’ve expressed my objections to becoming a doctor since a young age. I want to go into physics research or creative writing, but I’m probably just going to double-major + minor. And hopefully I’ll convince my parents about ChemE, because I find that (mainly if I went into planetary rover design, like the chemical tests onboard, or environmental aspects) far more interesting.

9

@topax1116 Ironically, math is my best subject but I hate it, so that’s out.

And my parents tried to force me to do EE / Comp Sci too. Coding looks like a nightmare. Chemistry can be fun though, so hopefully that works out for you :slight_smile:

10

Have you thought about going into marketing or communications? You can use your creative side there.

Coding is not as terrible as it looks. It actually requires a lot of creativity; it’s like creating a board game.

11

@sumobats I have, but I’m trying to look for a major that will directly lead to a stable career. Picky with the limited options I have, yes :\ sigh

and I’ve actually tried coding in school but I can’t imagine myself doing that for the rest of my life. But I’d be down to creating an android app, just to try things out!

12

Like the others have said, many do not know what they want to do even when they are in college. College is a time for self-growth, and you will become much more self-aware. I am currently a senior in high school, and this time last year my situation was very similar to yours. In fact, I wasn’t even considering the school that I will now be attending, and I hadn’t even heard of my intended major. I know it’s hard not to worry, but try your best to be aware of your journey without too much stress. Try new things, keep an open mind, and allow yourself to be you. Your passion will follow.

13

You don’t need to choose your major right now, and you don’t need to choose your career when you choose your major (although you should research your options). For example, you can major in any subject—like psychology, journalism, or art—and still meet the requirements to apply to medical or law school.

14

^ to all of the above post. Most schools typically have you declare at the end of your sophomore year because they know that teenagers aren’t thinking 10-30 years into the future while in HS.

It’d be nice if you could post a few of your hobbies/favorite ideas so we could help give you an idea of what you might want to be.

But from your post, have you considered Biomedical Engineering? It definitely requires a lot of a creativity and you’d be definitely be helping a lot of people, generally the people you’d speak with would probably be people you could consider to be your friends so I don’t think communication would be a problem. You can choose what you want to work on(I’d assume you’d want to focus on the medicine to avoid seeing blood/human body parts).

Below is video giving a general overview of BM Engineering(you may need to replace ***** with youtube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNXY6TfaUO4

15

@QuadMaster Yea totally, I just didn’t want to overwhelm with the already wordy post.

Math: I hate it, but ironically my best subject :
Science: Never really connected with it
English: I love writing! Was in the school newspaper
History: hahaha no

Pretty handy with technology and I like to photoshop

It would be cool to get involved in the news, or current events. Or working in the government sounds cool

Any suggestions?

Thank you so much :slight_smile:

16

Love writing? Are you good at putting down ideas (yours, or a group’s) on paper, or screen, i.e.? Can you work with others, including those that do not have the same ideas as yours? What about international policy, economics?

17

@DiffMom Those sound interesting, I’ll definitely have to look into international policy! Thanks!

18

Writing skills should help when you write all those college essays.

19

Agreed @DiffMom

20

OMG. You are EXACTLY ME. Asian, no idea for future, like the arts/writing/etc, can’t do math or any doctor/lawyer stuff like my parents want, and barely any extracurricular but nice grades. I’m a sophomore w/ no aim in life at the moment because I’m debating between a stable job/dream job, but thank you so much for posting this thread! I hope you (and I) find what we want to do :slight_smile: