How to build my career?

How can I stay confident in my skills and interest to build a career?

• I'm currently in the process of trying to let go of my expectations from a career. A successful career will not make my happy, nor is it the source of my identity. I simply would like to have a career that is somewhat enjoyable, gives me freedom to explore other parts of life, and is a creative outlet which allows me to help and interact with others. I've recently given up on my aspirations of becoming a psychologist, mainly because I've realized the constant self-reflection thinking state that I am always in, is the reason why I am so unhappy and it is not an indicator of how great a psychologist I would be. I am constantly in my mind, and I think my job should help externalize my worries rather than add to my analyzation of my inner self. That being said, I have other interests. I also know that a career never comes to an end, and is always evolving. Chances are I am not going to be doing the same thing until I retire. I want my undergrad to leave me with other options, like grad school if/when I change my mind. Right now I am kind of leaning towards staying in my program, (because I'm almost half way done) which is anthropology. Initially my plan was to go to grad school for paleoanthropology (to study evolution)...so I want to leave that door open.   But my first passion which I've been neglecting is interior design. It's only at my age now that I see the possibilities of starting my own design firm...I have the resources. I don't even need a degree, but like I said careers change, and I need to keep my options open. I want to stay in my program not because it's practical, but because I love learning. I love history, philosophy and just learning how society has emerged the way it has and speculating why humans act and think the way we do. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my pattern over the past couple of years has been indesicinvess. It feels like everyone has their life figured out, even when I know that isn't true. I resent to no ends the pressure our generation is put through to find a career that is both meaningful and practical. Maybe if we weren't in constant competition with each other to succeed in this one aspect of our lives, I would have enough confidence to stick with my choice, instead of having constant doubt. Thanks for reading my rant.

• Answer:

  Thanks for the A2A. You happen to be in the same situation in which I live perpetually. Let me put down my experiences in dealing with indecisiveness. Here, students have to choose a group of subjects to study XI and XII standards. Popular options are Math - Physics - Chemistry (MPC), Biology - Physics - Chemistry (BiPC), Physics - Chemistry - Math - Biology (PCMB), Math - Economics - Commerce (MEC), Civics - Economics - Commerce (CEC) and History - Economics - Civics (HEC). Engineering, Chartered Accountancy and Medicine are seen as very viable career options in India and there is a general tendency among the students to opt for MPC, MEC, BiPC or PCMB, which are prerequisites for the stated viable careers. That's because a large section of the population here belongs to the middle class and the lower-middle class and they look up to education to improve their economic well-being. Well, back to my case, social sciences and humanities were treated like crap in my high school and though I liked them back then, I viewed them only as irrelevant, doing which I regret every passing day. PCMB was out of question since I believed that studying one of biology and math would be painful enough. In the end, I had to opt between MPC and BiPC. Though I was interested in biology more than math, my teachers back then could successfully brainwash me into believing that getting an admission to one of the premier engineering schools would offer limitless possibilities. So, I went with MPC in the end and after two year of rigorous prep-schooling, I got an admission to NIT Warangal. This time, I would have none of it. People tried to convince me to opt for Computer Science and Engineering because the "scope" was good, but I went for Mechanical Engineering because I liked the versatility and coolness of it. I did like it and I enjoyed every bit of it. But, here comes the catch... Ever heard of the infamous sophomore slump? That happened in second year of college. I developed a bad case of apathy towards everything going on around me and I just did not have any morale to study back then. My grades were rotten and I had to make up for it by working really hard during the junior year. However, during the slump, I picked up a new habit. I used to follow business magazines out of a new found interest for investing. These magazines used to offer a lot of useful insights about the local and world economy. This led me to economics journals and they spoke a lot about how social psychology influenced the economy. Thereupon, I used to read history books to know how different forms of government influenced social psychology and how it affected the economy. That is when I realized that this is what I love. Now, I have graduated as a mechanical engineer and really soon, I will be joining an oil and gas company for my first job. I had to attach enough importance to my mechanical engineering degree and I used to brush up my skills periodically to get the job. Now I wish to go for masters in sociology or behavioral economics. So I am stuck between these options. However, I have decided to take up the job as being financially healthy is a priority to me. I still do online courses, read business magazines and economics books, and I still plan to go for a masters later. Who knows how that will turn out? And, I am still open to new options. I completely agree with you when you say, "A successful career will not make my happy, nor is it the source of my identity." True as that is, a successful career, at least for a brief while, should give you enough financial buffer to explore life and switch careers. I have seen people who have very well-defined careers but still keep learning and exploring their interests. A very idealistic thought would be... but, I think it is really impractical. Careers are a necessity now, but sticking to a single one isn't. Switching careers if you are not interested in your previous one is good, but one has to draw a line between career options and interests. Plan weighing your options and economic viability. Just prioritize your interests, life is long enough to explore all our interests, but too short to regret not being able to do so.