How Can You Tell What You Want To Be When You Grow Up? There Are So Many Opportunities?

Great Q, with many, many ways to answer.  

As I am now in my 50's, I still find myself asking the same Q.  One of my favorite expressions is that "I don't want to grow up!"  Please take that with a "grain of salt" (please see the following link from answers.com for an explanation:  www.answers.com ).

I have had the great fortune of doing a "number" of different things in my life, and for the most part, have enjoyed them all.  

Here is a "link" to a web site that has many tests that you can take.  It is quite possible that it will help you focus on the "strengths" that you currently have.  With that in mind, you can possibly add other strengths &/or work on your weak areas if there is a career field that you feel strongly about but don't have the skills required.

www.queendom.com

As I write this, I am currently "self-employed" (again) as I found that I was "too much of a rebel" to climb the corporate ladder.  Our family had owned a business for 40 years (I was 2 when they started it, but was working in it when I was 6) and we sold it.  I went back to college & finished my BA in Pol Sci.  I moved to Minneapolis, MN and took a position in Telecom & spent 10 years climbing the "ladder."  

In my opinion (again, MY OPINION only), most companies want employees that do not "rock the boat."  They claim that they want your imput, but they do so only to "give the illusion" that they want your imput.  They have decided on their "course" and regardless of what you say or do, they are not prepared to change it.  

That is the primary reason that I left the "corporate" setting and decided that I needed to be my own boss.  

I have deviated from your original Q, so I will now get back to it.

For now, follow your heart!  I believe in what so many people have told me over the years:  DO WHAT YOU LOVE!

Do you like animals?  Consider being a Vet.
Do you like working with disabled individuals?   There are many fields available here.
Do you like to travel?  Perhaps you could pursue a career as a travel agent, or a "writer" for a newspaper or magazine that is travel related.

I'm sure that by now you see where I am taking this.

Good luck in your pursuit.  

By the way, maybe this will help also.
1)  Write down all of the things that you think you would like to do.
2)  For each one of them, list the "pro's & con's for each of them.
3)  Take one (or more) of the assessment tests from the link above.
4)  Set a goal to find out more information on your "top ten," and set a date by which you have the basic information.

If this has helped (or confused you) please leave me a message in my "shout box."

Thanks, Woodstock!!!

Wow!  That's a hard question to answer.  I'm still wondering what I'm going to do when I grow up, and I've been retired for 5 years!:)  You're still very young (I checked your profile), and you have time before you have to decide.  You are going to take a lot of different classes, and you may find something you like during the time you are in high school.  You might find you have a special interest or a talent you aren't aware of now.

I graduated from college with a degree in Psychologhy and ended up working at the IRS for 28 years.  I would never have imagimed I'd have a career like that.  It was a fortunate accident of circumstances, and I don't regret it.  I loved my job.

What I'm saying is that sometimes, in spite of all our plans, something can turn us in a completely different direction.  Keep getting those As, and you'll have many opportunities open to you.  Woodstock gave you some good suggestions, and you might want to try them, but you may change your mind a dozen times before you decide on one thing.  Good luck.

For me i've always kind of known that i wanted to be something in the medical field, a surgeon of some kind. It's easy for me to imagine what i'll be.

Go with your passion. It's not a sudden or quick decision. Keep on thinking about what you could do for the rest of your life. But don't think too hard or stress over it.

On your profile it says you are 12. You got plenty of time. Figure out your passion and go with your heart. Don't do it for money. Do it for yourself.

Keep your eyes and mind wide open and pursue the opportunities that make your heart smile...Life is a journey not a destination..Have Fun. Who's to say if you'll wake up tomorrow morning...All there is is Today.

Go with the flow, that is what I have always done. I made a statement for my graduation and was really joking but I found that what I was really saying was what my true ambitions where. * years later, I graduated college with honors in the field that i joked about as a senior in high school. Go with what your goals are and enjoy life instead of letting life lead you where you don't really want to be.

It depends on what your passion is and what do you prefer doing.It is a very important decision and you should always choose that type of work that you enjoy doing it.

I read a wonderful book called Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado. He says in the book that you must "study your story" and "unpack your bags" in this he means that you were born with special gifts and tools that make you better at what you enjoy doing. What have you always loved to do? What have you always been good at? You have a "bag" of tools that you were born with, unpack that bag and find your tools. If you have a bag full of imagination and colors then honey you can be an artist! If your bag is full of tools and gadgets then wow, you might make wonderful things that people need. You can be sure that if you follow your own capabilities you will be good at what you do not to mention enjoy doing it as well. Good Luck you still have a lot of time to discover yourself!

Well it matters by Wat u r interested in. Do u want to help ppl or do u want to encourage ppls self esteem? Whatever u enjoy doing now is not always Wat u r gonna wanna be when u get older. I want to go to Meridian Tech my Jr. And Sr. Year of high school to become a hair dresser. Then I want to find a job doing hair and save up money to go to collage to be a RN and when I earn that degree I want to work 3 days a week at the hospital and the rest of it helping ppl gain self confidence by doing there hair! I am only in the 8th grade and i no Wat i want to be! Now its ur turn to decide!!!
                                           ENJOY!!!