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What do you regret about your career choice?

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Ken’s Answer

I initially took the wrong route in college, but I was able later to correct my mistakes. Therefore, I would like to give you some pointers that will help you to avoid what I had to go through to become properly situated in a job that I liked.


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 really does not matter what school you attend, as the most important factors are how well you do with the school work, which is an indication to an employer about what kind of employee you will be, and the effort that you put forth in your networking to set up networking connections that will help you throughout your education/career journey. Here is an important video for you to watch: ## http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education ##
Here are some good tips on reducing college costs, as too many people spend way too much moneg and end up with unnecessarily high debt. http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml
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Brandi’s Answer

While I love my job, I regret not getting a degree in which you can easily change paths. I feel that this is important because as we age our passions can grow and develop.
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Padmapriya’s Answer

Hi Nancy,

Good question.

There is nothing to regret. I always remember a quote,

YESTERDAY IS A HISTORY
TOMORROW IS A MYSTERY
BUT TODAY IS A GIFT AND THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT AS A PRESENT.

We should not worry about the past or the future. Everything happened is for good. I also wanted to do something different in my college but ended up doing a different degree. Now I have a very good career so I think we should enjoy what we are doing and passionate about. Think twice before choosing a career.

All the Best!!
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Tara’s Answer

I feel exceptionally lucky that I "fell" into a career I love. I would've had a lot more regrets if I hadn't taken my parents advice to:

1) go to university/college (if only to open options)
2) take courses that are personally interesting (regardless of what final career they might lead to)
3) just do; it's only via experience you can determine what you like and don't like and I think it's a mistake to "take time to figure out what you want"; you'll figure it out but trying different things, but try and you'll find opportunities you didn't even know existed that align with your interests and goals

I also liked the suggestion above to take some of the personal interest and career surveys out there to get you started in thinking about different opportunities but, again, it's important to ultimately just do.
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