What advice would you give a student intent on pursuing your career?

Hi Jackie,

As Confucius said, “choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” It’s great advice!

So here’s a step-by-step plan for pinpointing your passions—and four ways to help you start turning them into your career.

• Remember What You Loved as a Child

Often, our truest passions emerge in childhood, only to be squelched by real life pressures. So think about what you loved long before you had to worry about your career. Writing? Science experiments? Taking care of people? Getting back in touch with those instincts is an important step in finding your passion.

• Eliminate Money from the Equation

If money were no object, what would you do? Would you travel ? Spend all of your time with your children? Would you start a charitable organization to help abused women? Of course money can’t be ignored, but don’t let financial pressures dictate your choices. Your career should ultimately lead to financial security, but if financial security is the defining motivator, it’s unlikely you’ll end up doing what you love.

• Ask Your Friends for Feedback

Sometimes you’re just not the best judge of what makes you happy. Ask the people who know you intimately when you seem the happiest and what you do the most enthusiastically. Their answers may surprise you.

• Read through a University Course Catalog

Find some quiet time and see which courses naturally interest you. What would you study if you could do it all over? What courses do you think you could teach? Which subjects scare you to death, and which ones do you find boring? Revisiting these possibilities will help point you in the direction of subjects and topics that you love.

• Identify your Professional Hero

Of everyone you know, either personally or in your extended frame of reference (from your dermatologist to Oprah), whose career would you most want to emulate? Reach out to her to learn more about how she got to where she is, or, if that’s not possible, read everything you can about her career and life.

• Think of What You Enjoy That You Also Do Well

After you’ve done these exercises, think about what you’ve learned. Focus on the things that you both enjoy and do well—whether you have a way with animals, make a killer lemon tart, or are crazy for origami—and write them down. Then, narrow the list to the top three or four things. Keep it handy, review it often, and use it as your jumping-off point when you’re plotting your career move.

In: https://www.themuse.com/advice/do-what-you-love-how-to-identify-pursue-your-passions

Good luck!

LOVE GOD .... LOVE SELF.....LOVE OTHERS,,,, AS SELF.........

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."

-‭‭James‬ ‭3:17‬‬

http://bible.com/1/jas.3.17.kjv

Jackie,

For someone interested in pursuing my career (or any career) I'd do the following things:

1) Develop relationships with people in the field your interested; hopefully these relationships will develop into formal or informal mentorships. These relationships will be pivotal in helping you develop, seek advice, and help create opportunities for you.

2) Read, read, and read some more. My personal time is limited so I focus my primarily on non-fiction (personal choice). I choose books that are relevant to my field (leadership, business strategy, culture, engagement, organizational development, etc.) It's also important to have a balance of periodicals that keep you up to speed on current affairs that play a big factor in business and life.

3) Have an open mind and listen to others.

4) Develop a perspective. As you continue to learn, grow, and gain exposure to new ideas, it's important to start formulating your own opinions on topics. Always make sure your perspectives are founded in fact / rationale on why you believe something.