Your final year is about to start but you still don’t know what you want to do after walking across the stage. It makes you feel anxious about the future and not as accomplished as your peers who seemed to have it figured out by now. First, it is completely normal (and more common than you think) to not know what you want to do for a career at this point in your life. Second, that’s why exploring and experimenting is very important. So, here are some ways to figure out a career path during senior year.
1. It’s Time to Self Reflect
One of the best ways to figure out what you’d like to do for work is to know yourself. Specifically, know your strengths, weaknesses, skills, likes, and dislikes. Ask yourself these questions and write down the answers. Then, you can research how your answers could apply to different careers. For example, say you love to garden, spend time outside, learn about plants and insects, and are passionate about the environment. If this is something you’d like to keep doing but be paid for it, you could find jobs related to environmental advocacy or that require you to research nature. From there, you can see what requirements there are to get work like that and be able to plan.
2. Research, Research, Research
This can be tedious since you’ve spent a lot of time at school researching for papers and projects. But this is the main way to get an idea of what career you want to pursue and if it’s something that can properly financially support you. It’s important to do what you love and what would make you happy, but it’s also crucial to be able to fund your life. As you’re looking at career options, also research the demand for those careers and the potential for growth.
3. Explore
One of the best ways to know if a career path is right for you is to seek out experiences beyond the classroom to test different fields. Find part-time jobs, volunteer opportunities, and shadowing opportunities in careers that sparked your interest. You can find experiences like this through using online job boards (like LinkedIn).
4. Take Advantage of Career Resources At Your School
Whether you’re in high school or college, your school should have resources specifically for finding and embarking on career paths. Some schools even host career fairs or have a career center on campus. Make sure to seek this information out by: looking on your school’s website or asking your school counselor or advisor.
5. Talk to A Career Coach
Career coaches can give you specific and personalized guidance to help you figure out the right career path for you. Even if you’re a high school senior, career coaches are professionals who can help you create a solid plan that you’re excited about well before the graduation ceremony.
Hopefully, you’ve found this to be helpful and you’re a little less anxious about the future. Through the hard work and the worries, we hope that you still have a good final year.
If you’d like to get started with career coaching, we can help you! Book a free consultation today with our ICF-certified career coaches who can provide personalized advice, guidance, and planning for building a career path.
