<p>I'm a new member to this forum - thank you for keeping it alive and engaging. </p>
<p>I spoke to a friend the other day that expressed to me the difficulty of deciding on a career path. Then I thought about it some more, and came to this conclusion: it seems that students these days don't really know what careers are actually like, and instead, hope that the types of projects they do in college under their major will look like the job they're going into. Although this would be ideal, it is almost never the case, and the best examples of this gap between perception/reality exist in the lawyer profession, as it looks so glamorous on TV to be a lawyer, but in real life, most are actually buried in dry legal documents and operate on gallons of caffeine. </p>
<p>Now my questions: Is this issue or "pain" in deciding on a career actually prevalent? Are there any tools out there to show people what various careers are like on a day-to-day basis (to help facilitate better career decisions)? If not, would a tool like that be useful?</p>
<p>In my opinion, the “tool” to see what a career is like is to intern, job shadow, work, or volunteer in the field of interest. If you’re interested in being a lawyer, try to get a job in a law office. Even if you’re just making copies or not doing anything else particularly exciting, it can put you in a position to be in that environment, to chat with people who work in the field, and to get a better sense of what it’s like in that type of environment. If you can’t get an internship or something similar or it’s a field where there really aren’t opportunities unless you have an advance degree, an informational interview with someone in the field can work in a pinch.</p>
<p>^ I completely agree with what baktrax said, but I’ll add on that job shadowing is probably the best first step you can take to decide if you should even consider it. Just shadow for one day, ask the professional all your questions, etc. and you’ll kind of see whether or not the job would even fit you. You’ll get the real-life glimpse of what being x and y actually is like. You’re right though… there is a huge huge gap between how media portrays certain jobs and the reality of it all. By shadowing, you’ll get a reality check and understand what a day-to-day life for a professional in whatever field you want is like. You should also consider careers in fields you have a genuine interest in and think you would enjoy. Think about it… this might be something you’re possibly doing for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Then it’d be great to take on an internship or volunteer so you get long-term exposure to what your career will look like. </p>
<p>I mean, classes are great as well. Electives can help a student find their interest. But beyond that, you’ll need the real-world experience which includes shadowing and interning and even just making connections with professionals so you can casually talk to them.</p>
<p>You also need to keep in mind that you should try to do something you like or can tolerate. It’s hard to always love what you do or turn your passion into a job, but the best jobs are the ones where you enjoy what you’re doing. Every job can get boring and tedious, even the funnest ones – keep that in mind! I’ve spoken with a lot of people that get the notion that once the work gets boring/tedious, that it is time to say “it isn’t right for me.” With that mentality, one will never find a career fit for them!</p>