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Career Counseling
By karen | January 3, 2007
When I was in 8th grade the Internet was the stuff of science fiction. If you would have said to one of my school counselors that my husband and I would work from home and make a good living on a computer that was connected to the entire world, most of them would have thought you were just crazy dreaming.
The reason why I mention this is that when my son was in 8th grade we were required to go to a special “career counseling” meeting so we could discuss what he wanted to be when he grew up and so prepare for it by taking the appropriate classes and so forth.
It was a rather painful experience. I was in my 30’s and I didn’t feel like I even knew what I wanted to be when I grew up and here he was in 8th grade having to figure out what he wanted to be for a pompous school counselor.
The counselor must have seen the bad look on my face when he tried to discourage my 8th grade son from becoming an NBA star by mentioning how few people actually get to be NBA stars. He shut up. My theory was let the kid dream, that is what is really going to get him to what he wants to be when he grows up!
I always envied those people who always knew what they wanted to be when they grew up, especially the ones who actually became what they wanted to be and were happy about it. I felt like they had some kind of magical genie answer to all of life’s questions and I was not privy to that kind of help. They were special. I was not. How incredibly disempowering!
My interests tended to change and grow with time. I was better able to say what I didn’t want to be rather than what I did want to be. I suppose 8th grade career counseling is beneficial to the few who know what they want to be, do and have when they are that age, but how many people really know?
I met a miserable lawyer once. She said she had wanted to be a lawyer her whole life. But she worked and finished law school and started practicing and she hated it. But she was too afraid to quit and felt like she had put too much time into becoming and she couldn’t give it up. That is really sad! We spend so much of our time and our life at our work; it behooves us to enjoy it.
Well I am now in my 40’s. I think I may have a clue as too what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe. I think so. But I know one thing for sure. I am happy and I enjoy what I am doing with my life now.
Couldn’t always say that but I can now. That is something I am grateful for!
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This post is included in the March 19,2007 edition of Carnival of Family Life located this week at Digital Rich Daily
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Topics: Living the Power, Personal Development, Reflections |
March 24th, 2007 at 6:33 am
Nice post. I have seen too many people live a life of quiet desperation because they won’t “leave” their company, career or job. On one hand, I know it is important to develop “stick to it” capabilities. The balance is being able to leverage one’s strengths in different areas.
Having spent and enjoyed most of my working life in one career, I know I will take the opportunity to a greater variety of things for work in my next phase.
Here via CoFL.
March 24th, 2007 at 9:03 am
You know it’s that life of quiet desperation that just sounds so sad!
Thanks for stopping by!
July 22nd, 2007 at 3:28 pm
I find it to be ironic that many counselors whose intentions are to help kids become successful will attempt to destroy there dreams. I think I would have referred the counselor to “The Secret”.