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Right career choice? - 8/14/2008 11:29:07 AM
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Love2play
Posts: 125
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Hi people :)
I am 18 yrs old and last year after I graduated from high school, I took a year off before I entered college and the reason why I took a year off was because I did not know what to take as a career choice so I wanted to think about it long hard before making the right decision.
I've been praying to God and asking Him what's in HIS will and not mine.
I have a lot of interests like music, sports, children, cooking, and computers. I had a lot of careers in mind such as a police officer. So I thought of early childhood education, but I also had business in mind. The thing is, I've never taken business in my life, but it has always interested me so I was stuck between business and early childhood education. Ultimately, I felt like early childhood education was what God wanted me to do.
I am about to start college in 3 weeks and I am just completely nervouse and stressed out. I've talked with a friend and she told me that ece is really stressful and involves a lot of work and now, I'm just thinking if I made the right choice.
I just don't know if I made the right decision and maybe this is God's way of showing that I made the wrong choice?
I'm just really scared now and I just don't know what to do.
What should I do?
_____________________________
"I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear."
Ecclesiastes 03:14 - The Message
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/14/2008 11:54:34 AM
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APZR
Posts: 910
Joined: 4/18/2005
From: GA
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Business is general, and really stiff competition right now in the job markets. Education is a GREAT career. My wife is a special Ed teacher and started teaching right out of college. She got a masters and is looking at doctorate, the pay is really good at the upper levels. So if you work hard and get your masters, in 6-8 years you too can be making $60,000 to $70,000 per year with full benefits. She's really gifted in education, and that is exactly what God put her on the planet to do... thus LOVES her job. If that is your calling, you'd best follow it, work to archive the best you can, and advance in education. Besides that, she's been at it for 15 years, and only has 15 more before retiring... I'll still be working running my real estate and building business. 
_____________________________
Ya can't keep trouble from visitin, but you don't have to offer it a chair.
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/14/2008 12:47:55 PM
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Miss Giggles
Posts: 4273
Joined: 4/18/2005
From: MI
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They always market education degrees as a hot career field and it is, however it REALLY depends on the area that you live in. Here in the Midwest its extremely hard to get into a full team teaching position in the public schools but if you moved out west or south where the population is growing it may not be difficult. Special ed teachers will always be needed though.
That being said teaching is stressful and you will have to keep taking classes and get certifications as a result of higher teaching standards.
Normally you have about two years to declare a major so don't rush into anything.
Business as a general major is useless. Accounting and Finance degrees are what are in demand. Some finance jobs are more on the sales side though.
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/14/2008 8:04:06 PM
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ta_mosquito
Posts: 11507
Joined: 3/31/2005
From: from MN, now in Ontario :D
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From what I've heard, teachers make good money here (better than in the States) and are in higher demand. I'm not sure about early childhood, though.
_____________________________
Tricia
"There's a fine line between being open-minded and empty-headed." ~Michael Coren
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/14/2008 10:13:14 PM
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APZR
Posts: 910
Joined: 4/18/2005
From: GA
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My wife chose special ed because her brother was special ed. The demand was there, but that's not why she chose. Now, with many years experience and much hard work as ta_mosquito said, she's in administration at the top of the pay. It's a hard road... but so is ANY business. My business is hard, and people call me because of my 20 year reputation in real estate and building. Am I the cheapest? By far NO, but I know my field and am the best. The point is you have to chose what you love, become the BEST.... then and only then will you be in high demand.
_____________________________
Ya can't keep trouble from visitin, but you don't have to offer it a chair.
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/14/2008 10:19:27 PM
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GroupW
Posts: 2913
Joined: 11/16/2007
From: Up in the hills of Colorado (very BIG hills...)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Love2play
I am about to start college in 3 weeks and I am just completely nervouse and stressed out.
I just don't know if I made the right decision and maybe this is God's way of showing that I made the wrong choice?
I'm just really scared now and I just don't know what to do.
What should I do?
LOL - enjoy the fact that you're completely normal, for now. Moving on to college is a huge change - you'd be either an idiot or a psychopath not to be nervous about it.
I think it's important to listen to your gut, but give it a little bit of time. You won't know anything immediately, and you'll never know everything with certainty. First settle in, and then start contemplating your navel after you've got your feet on the ground at school.
Step back and take a deep breath. Like the doctor told my mom when she had her kidney stone - "this too shall pass."
_____________________________
“For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant and wrong.” -H.L. Mencken
"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so." -Bertrand Russell
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/15/2008 7:19:58 AM
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rgod
Posts: 1553
Joined: 4/25/2005
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quote:
I've been praying to God and asking Him what's in HIS will and not mine.
I have a lot of interests like music, sports, children, cooking, and computers. I had a lot of careers in mind such as a police officer. So I thought of early childhood education, but I also had business in mind. The thing is, I've never taken business in my life, but it has always interested me so I was stuck between business and early childhood education. Ultimately, I felt like early childhood education was what God wanted me to do.
I am about to start college in 3 weeks and I am just completely nervouse and stressed out. I've talked with a friend and she told me that ece is really stressful and involves a lot of work and now, I'm just thinking if I made the right choice.
Love2play - When you get to college - particularly during the first couple of years - you'll be exploring your interests. You list of interests (music, sports, children, cooking ...) will grow - but you will also start to see what you would enjoy doing for a long time, what would be a hobby, what you like but don't have the aptitude to do, things that you can do well but don't particularly enjoy doing. It is good that you are allowing God to lead you so perhaps these first couple of years can further define what God wants you to do. Early Childhood Education probably, like most fields, has different specialties. For example, you might find yourself interested in educational psychology, teaching, using music to help children with learning disabilities, educational administration, or something else.
I wouldn't worry too much about what your friend says (unless she works in the field - and even then, I'd take it with a grain of salt). Everyone is built differently - so what is a lot of work for one person might be a breeze to another - depending on your gifting. And at some point, if you want to be excellent in your field, you are going to have to work - but it doesn't sound like you have any problems with this.
Enjoy your time in college - you have some interesting days ahead of you!
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/15/2008 8:39:52 PM
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creationtalk
Posts: 702
Joined: 6/9/2005
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My advice: don't lock yourself into a "career" field before you start college. You can choose a major from the start, but take classes in a variety of areas of interest the first couple of years. Don't be afraid to change your major. College is as much about learning about yourself as it is about education (if you don't believe me, look at the LONG list of irrelevant courses you will have to take to get your degree).
My experience: I am very happy with my current career field and have enjoyed most of my work-life. My undergrad degree is not in the first field or the second field I started (very close to the second--it was not available after I transferred schools). Similarly I finished my graduate work in a career field similar to but not where I started. Had I stayed in my original career field, I would not be happy now. Had I stayed in my original graduate field, I would probably be unemployed.
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/18/2008 2:32:23 PM
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stellaluna
Posts: 4285
Joined: 4/11/2005
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Chill. You don't have to decide your career right now. Lots of people change majors at least once, if not more. And the average person entering college this year will make half a dozen career changes in their lifetime.
_____________________________
Who should be allowed to attend church?
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/19/2008 6:10:06 PM
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blessedinnyc
Posts: 1983
Joined: 10/12/2007
Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Love2play
Hi people :)
I am 18 yrs old and last year after I graduated from high school, I took a year off before I entered college and the reason why I took a year off was because I did not know what to take as a career choice so I wanted to think about it long hard before making the right decision.
I've been praying to God and asking Him what's in HIS will and not mine.
I have a lot of interests like music, sports, children, cooking, and computers. I had a lot of careers in mind such as a police officer. So I thought of early childhood education, but I also had business in mind. The thing is, I've never taken business in my life, but it has always interested me so I was stuck between business and early childhood education. Ultimately, I felt like early childhood education was what God wanted me to do.
I am about to start college in 3 weeks and I am just completely nervouse and stressed out. I've talked with a friend and she told me that ece is really stressful and involves a lot of work and now, I'm just thinking if I made the right choice.
I just don't know if I made the right decision and maybe this is God's way of showing that I made the wrong choice?
I'm just really scared now and I just don't know what to do.
What should I do?
I was worried about the exact same thing. It was really scary leaving my family- whom I'd lived with for my entire life (except for 1-2 week trips to various camps) and going to college. I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and I certainly had no confirmation from God that I was supposed to do XYZ. I chose Computer Science because I enjoyed designing websites.
When I got to campus, my Mom was on the verge of tears as she hugged me goodbye, and I found myself in a cinder-block dorm room with a roommate I'd never met before. That was about the low point for me. I was dropped off on a Saturday, and the next morning, I resolved to keep my Christianity, and found a Methodist church to go to. I had grown up an evangelical, but the church was close and convenient, and it seemed like they needed me as much as I needed them. I quickly found myself organizing evangelism efforts (Methodists use food, and besides being a former evangelical, I also enjoyed cooking).
A lot of us had liberal friends who, in the 2004 elections, assumed that the only Christians were members of the Christian Right. We chose to focus on sharing the good news with people who might not otherwise respond well to conservative evangelical evangelism attempts. (The people whom Intervarsity and Campus Crusade, some of whom apparently made careers out of being RAs and evangelism experts in various dorms, would have trouble reaching.) Two years later, the Wesley Foundation at UIUC won a district-wide award for evangelism; we had gotten at least several new people to come to Christ and doubled the number of regular students from 20 to 40. Ironically, everyone who played a part in the growth of the church showed up at just the right time, and I was one of the lucky people to participate.
So it was clear that God had an obvious plan for my life all along, even though I had no idea what I needed to do to put that plan into effect in certain cases.
So, there's four truths in this story:
1.) It's natural to be scared to go to college.
2.) The fact that God has a plan for you doesn't necessarily tell you what he wants you to do until he actually needs to. Sometimes he ignores seemingly important things- like college majors, as he did with me and you.
3.) If you seek God, you'll find him, and you'll find his will for you (Jesus actually talks about this a bit; see Matt 7:7). All you need to do when you get to campus is resolve to stay a Christian and get involved with other Christians you have fun hanging out with and keep a schedule of regular worship.
BTW, I was a CS major, but I work for a bank now. College majors are not the end-all be-all of your career! In 50 years, when I've forgotten what Backus-Nauer Form means for relational databases, I will still remember the cold November Friday evening when Wesley brought in 40 non-Christians to our church for dinner for the first time since anyone can remember. Even after I forget what NP-completeness means, I will remember what happened the next Wednesday, when we had an evening worship service in our darkened church and a college student who had joined us for dinner knelt at the altar crying afterwards and resolved to follow Christ. Oftentimes, those seemingly unimportant things compared to college majors- like dinners- are strikingly meaningful in hindsight.
Just follow the advice in Matthew 7.
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/20/2008 1:40:12 PM
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saraimay75
Posts: 7887
Joined: 5/11/2005
From: Wherever God plants me.
Status: offline
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Your young. I had no idea what I wanted to do at your age. And I was in and out of college because I had to deal with some stuff before I found what God called me to do. I am in my 30s and finally realized that I was meant to teach preschool.
_____________________________
God love admiration . . . I think it annoys God if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.
~Alice Walker~
http://360.yahoo.com/saraimay75
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RE: Right career choice? - 8/24/2008 2:56:49 AM
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locomom
Posts: 216
Joined: 4/15/2005
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Every field has its stresses. However, one person can't say that it will be very stressful for you. My husband has both a B.S. and a Ph.D. in chemistry. During his undergraduate education he too a course call Physical Chemistry which is notoriously stressful for many people in chemistry as well as the engineers who also have to take it. However, he intended to go into Physical Chemistry and also enjoyed the heavy duty math that the course required. He had a problem with headaches at the time which the doctor assumed were because of this course. (He has weather triggered migraines) Premed students have to take it and do well in it. It was obvious the doctor hated it and found it stressful. She didn't even consider that he didn't find it so.
Early childhood education and business are combined in the running of a childcare center. Let God direct you, look at your abilities, look at your motivations, and pray. Don't let someone else's negativity discourage you. Investing in children is highly rewarding and being in God's will is the perfect place to be.
It sounds like you have a good case of the jitters that come with starting college. It sounds like your head and heart are right where they should be. What you should do is follow what God has revealed to you and keep up your spiritual life. I can't think of anything better to do than taking the time to discover God's will for your life through prayer. Keep doing that and find people who will encourage you.
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RE: Right career choice? - 9/22/2008 5:13:41 PM
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juannieboy
Posts: 1
Joined: 9/22/2008
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I have to say I really appreciate your question, Love2Play. I wish more people entering college were asking such questions. I also wish people had encouraged me to explore the answers to such questions myself when I entered college.
I hold a B.S. in Computer Science, but work as a Chaplain at a home for abused and neglected children. I'm 27 and still exploring what I want to do long term for money. I'm a pretty solid case of career confusion! In my exploration of careers I received many pat answers such as, "Don't worry; you'll be all right." That's really not a helpful answer when I'm telling someone I don't know if Computer Science is right for me when I want to work with people! Likewise, having people tell you something like "that's a good job...you can make good money doing this...my uncle loves working as a ________..." are all very nice statements, but unhelpful to your specific situation.
Regardless, my point is this: explore, seek God, find out what you're passionate about! If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life!
A book I recently read that I'd recommend is 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller. (He has various articles on Crosswalk so I think he can be vouched for as far as validity.) Miller helps you explore, but also gives some practical guidance in getting a job (when the time comes).
Blessings on your journey!
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RE: Right career choice? - 10/7/2008 11:07:59 PM
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NotDoneYet
Posts: 289
Joined: 12/11/2007
From: Virginia
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Just remember...it's never fatal to change your mind!
Find something you LOVE...it might take you some time to find your real passion...
I started out as an accounting/business major, switched to History, ended up in Engineering (and working on a business degree slowly but surely)...
Good Luck!!!
NDY
_____________________________
Remember, normal is just a setting on the dryer!
Ranting and raving: diaryofaravingmom.blogspot.com
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RE: Right career choice? - 10/13/2008 6:00:30 PM
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albert08
Posts: 2
Joined: 10/13/2008
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I feel this is one of the toughest decisions which I have to make while doing my study at college. One of my professors was very kind to me. He helped me a lot in solving this problem because a person changes mind according to situation.
Albert
Crystal Meth
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RE: Right career choice? - 10/15/2008 3:49:55 PM
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sudden
Posts: 166
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Toronto
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Dear Love2Play:
This isn't worth stressing over. If you made the "wrong" decision, it is not as though you cannot alter what you are doing. Even if you make the "right" decision, the chances are great that you will make changes throughout your lifetime.
The typical "job" nowadays is expected to last 3 years. Expect "career changes" throughout your life. At 53 I am in on my fourth career - and by far the most satisfying yet.
As far as your friend saying negative things about the ECE course goes, please remember that the experience of one person is often not the same as another - your take on the course may be completely different from theirs.
The other thing is - don't be afraid of a lot of work. Nothing worth having comes without it.
Sudden
_____________________________
I will lie down in rest and sleep and peace, for thou, O Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.
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RE: Right career choice? - 10/15/2008 3:55:07 PM
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sudden
Posts: 166
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Toronto
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Miss Giggles
That being said teaching is stressful and you will have to keep taking classes and get certifications as a result of higher teaching standards.
I just want to add to Miss Giggles comment that upgrading and life-long learning is part of almost any career nowadays if you wish to a) advance in your position or b) simply keep you position
There seems to be no escaping it. That said, if you love what you're doing, learning more is always a pleasure.
I also just finished reading the comments of the other posters- you said that you are wondering about job prospects for ECEs and in business.
I am a Canadian and as you probably know job prospects vary greatly from region to region. ECEs are, at this time in demand across the country, teachers, on the other hand, are not...we have a glut. As to what the trends will be once you have graduated I cannot say. I am a Torontonian and there are always lots of good jobs for folks with a business degree here. A good place to source the information you are seeking is from the Statistics Canada Website. Hope this is helpful.
Sudden
< Message edited by sudden -- 10/15/2008 4:08:20 PM >
_____________________________
I will lie down in rest and sleep and peace, for thou, O Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.
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