What to “Be When You Grow Up” Always a Tough Question
By: Matt, October 23rd, 2007
I’ve read a bit lately about “Generation Y” and the differences between the youngest adult generation and those preceding it. Sure, there are differences, but one age-old question always remains for every generation, i.e. - “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Technically, we’re “grown up” by the time we graduate from college, but that’s only in the literal (physical) sense. The maturation process that occurs as we move from young adulthood to full-blown adulthood can be difficult…downright painful, really.
As an example, I personally know one young man who started a career as a commercial real estate agent immediately upon graduation from college. He did that for several years before deciding it wasn’t for him and then moved on as follows: unemployed, waiter, associate with a quasi-government agency, unemployed, student. He’s back in school and, upon finishing either a Master’s of Ph.D. program, will look to move into the career that he truly wants to pursue. The point is that he’s 28 years old and it’s taken him six years to move from graduation to the mere point of beginning what will likely be his lifelong career focus. This is an intelligent young man who hasn’t lived with his parents since the age of 19, who graduated cum laude from college, and who had the chutzpah to start as a commercial agent in an industry (commercial real estate) that is dominated by much older people. He’s not a slacker…it just took a while for him to figure out what to do with his life from a professional perspective.
This isn’t anything new either. Another personal friend of mine is 20 years old and has thus far complete 1/2 semester at a 4-year college, 1/2 semester at a community college and about 2 months at a technical/vocational school…she’ll likely quit the latest school in the coming weeks. It’s a shame that she’s started and stopped in her three separate efforts at higher education, but really, it doesn’t seem very much out of the ordinary to me.
What I’m taking away from this, and pointing out to young people (qualifying as anyone in his or her 20s or even early 30s), is that you don’t have to rush to figure out what you want to “be” when you grow up. Take some time to look at different career paths, take some internships in various industries if you think you may want to work in that industry, or just take a job to pay the bills as you search for the right career. There won’t be an epiphany if you don’t put some thought into it, of course, but you don’t need to kill yourself looking for the perfect career move right out of college. If my personal experience is any indication, you’re unlikely to figure things out so soon anyway…
Tags: career choice, college graduates, Generation Y, real estate careers
Entries
October 24th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Nice advice. It gets tougher to flit about when you are older, so do it when you are young. Staying out of debt, not buying a home, and waiting to have kids HELPS.
I didn’t learn quitting young enough. This year has been a breakthrough! Quit my 7-year burn-out job. Quit! Tried to volunteer for a farm (vegies for farmwork), but the farmer had so much anxiety and was such a taskmaster. Quit! Worked for somebody for a few days, but his definition of “flexible schedule” meant that I will be flexible for him - him not for me. Quit! I did find a great place to manage part time which is keeping me afloat this year. But my takeaway form this: Long live quitting!