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What if what I want to do doesn't work out in the end?

I really want to be a meteorologist, but everyone in my family keeps telling me that I should go into education or business or something practical because it is not going to pay the bills when I graduate. What am i going to do? My aunt went to school to be a scientist and now she sells windows because she couldn't get a job in her field. Should I pursue it if it makes me happy in the long run, or should I worry about my future and stability financially and go with something else that will actually support me...like a business degree? I just don't want to waste all this time and money on an education just to have it thrown back in my face yknow? It's scary. :( #career #salary

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Thank you comment icon If I were you, I would go for it, then job search - hard - and if you have to, move to a place where that kind of job is popular. Being financially stable is important, and you'll have a few jobs while you're searching for your career, but you shouldn't give up on your dreams, you make it work. I believe in you, and you should too! Paige
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Subject: Career question for you
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Ken’s Answer

The best thing that you can do is to do sufficient planning to plot a course for your education/career journey that will have the best possibility for success for you as an individual.


Through the process of getting to know yourself and creating a network of helpful contacts, you will be better positioned to develop further action and continue to fulfill your goal towards an appropriate situation in the future.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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Diana’s Answer

Hi Elizabeth, i think you have to think of both of those things. I studied and am an accountant and when i started working in it after so many years studying it, i realized it was not the job i wanted for the rest fo my life. It's important to find a good company to start at that have many roles. i was lucky enough to change roles but i worked hard, took demotions and pay cuts, took courses until i got to what i wanted to do which was product management. Therefore anything is possible but the mindset needs to be adaptable. Therefore my advice is sometimes even what you think you want may not be where you end up. I do think having a business degree helps you so even if you have to minor that is a good option. For example you want to be a meteorologist but maybe you will decide that you want to do the data analytics on weather so a business degree gives you many options to still work in field you are interested in.

Diana
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