Career Autobiography Of A J-O-B

Career Autobiography

When I think of the word “career” I can’t help but think back to being a small child and how I couldn’t wait to be grow up and have my dream job. Even though this job would change from week to week, I was still dreaming about it. “Career” has a much scarier meaning behind it now. Hearing the word “career” makes me think of responsibilities, bills and long. It’s my whole future laid out in front of me now. Anything I have dreamed about a real job, up until now, may or may not live up to my fantasies. That’s a very terrifying thought. A question every one in grade school is asked is “what do you want to be when you grow up?” We have been forced to think about this almost all our lives, and now that the time has come to actually make that decision, I find I can’t.

A career to me is more than just a J-O-B.

It is something that I will have a true passion for, long after I leave college. A good career in my opinion would be something that I enjoy doing, but also something where I know I am actually making a difference in someone’s life.

I’m a very social and easy-going. These qualities make it easy for people to talk to me. My highest score on the Strong Test was Social. This has given me a strong indication that working with people is the path I should take. I almost always have a lot to say and I have no problem speaking to people. I used to be really shy and even though I’m not anymore, I find it easier to connect to shy people. I know how they think and react because I used to be one of them.

Now that I am starting my second year of college and have not completely decided on a major, there are more days than not where I am just extremely frustrated with the fact that many of my friends have a clear idea about what they want to do with their lives and how to get there. I am still exploring General Education classes and feeling like I have no clear

direction.
There were several times this summer where I had doubts about returning to KU. I kept asking myself why I was paying so much money to attend KU when I was still just testing out classes and possible interests. I could certainly do that for a lot less money at a community college. However, the large amount of opportunities that are available by attending a large university carry many benefits. I am energized and motivated here at KU which will ultimately help me reach my goals. I am surrounded by friends who are supportive and understanding of the frustration and challenges that come with being in college. I am able to interact with a lot of people who are working towards their goal and it inspires me to do the same. As I work on planning my life path, I know I will be glad that I am where I am.
Since my senior year of high school I have envisioned myself many different ways with many different careers, but I have yet to completely stick to one. My entire senior year of high school I had my mind set on being a Special Education teacher. The experience that led me to that path came from working at a summer camp for three years where I had a great connection with an autistic boy. I was able to reach him in a way some of the other counselors could not. I was sure that this was what I was supposed to do. Unfortunately, after doing more research on this profession, I sadly came to the conclusion that it may not be right for me. I worried the job would eventually get too emotional for me to handle and that, coupled with the low pay, made me rethink this path. I decided that I would start looking at other things but keep this as something to fall back on.
Starting college fueled a growing interest in music for me. I play trombone and I am a member of the Marching Jayhawks. I recently learned to play the ukulele and I have a very large music library including every genre you could think of. While I briefly entertained the thought of Music Education, I quickly learned what was involved with that and knew that was not the direction I wanted to go. I did also consider Music Therapy as a major, but, again after researching this field, I steered away from this for many reasons, the primary one being that the level of difficulty was so that high it made it a major with one of the highest drop out rates at KU. Having music as a major requires a lot of practice. Practicing has always been something I had to force myself to do either for a grade, or a concert or audition. I realized that my music interest was really more of a hobby and not a future profession. I would never want music to be something that I had to do. I would like the freedom to do what I want with my music.
Currently I am now looking into exercise science, hoping to be a physical therapist. However, since this is a very recent decision, I’m still not totally locked into this. I recently had surgery and spent months in physical therapy. Three days a week for four months. While the therapy was hard, just watching the work environment of a physical therapist I found I really liked it. My family was very excited about this idea, not only because it is a job that pays well, but they also could very clearly see me enjoying this. It would be a very rewarding career with the opportunity to reach so many different people and it really fell in line with the results from my Strong test. It was never really something I considered before because Medical school scares me but I think with the right motivation I could make it work.
If money was not an important necessity, I would probably be a Red Cross volunteer who traveled to different countries after disasters and helped in any way that was needed. A few years ago I traveled to Costa Rica for a mission trip and spent the time playing with children and helping to rebuild a village. It was the most rewarding thing I have ever done.
Picking a perfect major has been difficult and time consuming and when I get completely frustrated, my mom is always the one I call. She knows me the best and does not hesitate to give me her opinion. I don’t always take her advice but I do take her insight into consideration.
Throughout this process my resources have primarily been Web exploration and talking to people. Researching and exploring different jobs and career fields along with talking to a lot of people and their experiences with the same thing. My hope with this class is to come out with a great career decision for me. I plan on doing everything offered to help me with that decision. I am in my second year and anxious to pick a path. I don’t want to postpone my graduation too long just because I couldn’t decide. I also really want to make the right decision and I think this class will help me do that.