It’s a familiar sight ““ students come in to the
Career Center, some sheepishly, some anxiously, many reluctantly,
seeking answers to the age-old question: “What do you want to
be when you grow up?”
Trying to answer this question isn’t as simple as it used
to be. A recent survey by the Rockport Institute reveals that 64
percent of college seniors have serious doubts regarding their
major selection.
This uncertainty is reinforced by 70 percent of successful
working professionals, who speculate they could have made better
career decisions had they known how to go about making choices in a
competent way.
As a counseling intern at the Career Center, I frequently see
students who remind me of myself when I started frequenting the
center.
As an English student, I was familiar with the mantra “you
can do anything with your major.” Yet as I neared graduation,
I felt an increasing need to know exactly what I could do.
An invisible pressure wall pressed down on me as I watched
friends busily preparing for their shining futures. And me? I sat
in the middle of it all, dreading the process, afraid to take the
first step.
Finally, frustrated with the uncertainty, I decided it was
better to start somewhere than continue nowhere. I dropped by the
Career Center with a certain expectation that I would
“discover” myself. I took assessments, mulled over
career possibilities with my counselor, and spent hours poring over
countless job descriptions.
I first tried interning at a small public relations firm.
Unfortunately, it was like trying to fill a container with the
wrong liquid ““ I just couldn’t get into it.
Then, I thought about teaching, so I took a job as an English
instructor. I discovered that I loved it ““ well, the
counseling part anyway. I wasn’t big on classroom discipline
and management, but I lived for the kids.
And then it hit me. Why not counsel university students?
Now, I often see students who are lost and confused about the
career exploration process. Sometimes their expectations are
different from what we can give them.
They have this vision of themselves working at a Fortune 500
company fresh out of college, making it to the top in five years.
And they think very linearly because that’s what school has
taught them to do.
So when students discover that, for the first time, they can
explore on their own, they become puzzled and confused. Or
scared.
Many of them don’t know that they’re allowed to make
mistakes ““ as with anything ““ because career
exploration is a learning process. Consequently, some students feel
like the weight of everything they’ve achieved hangs on a
single choice they need to make. With that sort of pressure,
it’s no wonder many students dread the career search
process.
But let me reassure you that you, UCLA students, truly do have
the world at your feet. And with this confidence, I want to assure
you that it’s OK to stray from the beaten path because
that’s part of exploring who you are.
Or, for those of you who know what you want to do but feel that
it isn’t practical, respectable or lucrative enough, think
about how you feel doing what you love. When you really listen to
this part of yourself, it’s so clear and exciting that you
can barely wait to start.
And if you don’t know what drives you, what excites you,
start the search to find out. If you feel overwhelmed by the
process, start out slowly.
Open up by asking friends, family or peers if they know someone
who works in a field that interests you. Or simply start by reading
about possible jobs for people in your major. Our library has
countless books on every job you can imagine. Or try building your
resume by listing some specific skills and qualities you like and
respect about yourself.
As the Nike ad says, “Just do it.” Be active about
making this your process, your search, because it’s the most
exciting search you’ll have.
Choi is a counselor at the UCLA Career Center.