I never knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. For awhile, I wanted to be a stockbroker like my dad and then I wanted to be a flight attendant so that I could travel around the world.  Then, I fell in love with the show ER and wanted to be a Doctor until I realized I had to cover my eyes every time a scene with blood came on.  When I graduated from high school, I thought I knew what I was good at but I had no clear direction on what career I wanted to pursue.

My mom told me to say that I wanted to be an accounting major on my college applications because it would help me get in…it must have worked because I got into the colleges I wanted to attend (Thanks, mom) but I quickly changed to an undeclared major!

My Career Journey: Thoughts from Classy Career Girl

‘Choosing’ a Major

My second year of college I had an Economics teacher who after taking his class and getting an A (everyone else failed miserably) he said to me, “What are you doing still an undeclared major, you should be a business major!”  I said OK and there begins classy career girl’s start up the corporate ladder.

I always wish I had a more clear drive and vision of what I wanted to be when I grew up. I realized that I just needed to sample a few different industries and careers to find out what I was passionate about. I dabbled in a bunch of internships through college and luckily a door opened for me after graduation in consulting.

After working a few years after college, I finally discovered my passion for teaching others to succeed. This is why I enjoy consulting and helping my clients. Some people probably wouldn’t be able to handle that their client gets all the credit for their work, but I don’t care.  I know that I am a good teacher, trainer, and facilitator and it makes me happy to know that I can provide my clients with the tools to run their organization more effectively.

Ready to Build a Career You Love?

I love being two steps ahead and telling my clients what may happen in the future.  I love that my thoughts and opinions are valued and that my clients would find it difficult to do their jobs without me.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Not all clients are wonderful in the consulting industry.  I have had my share of difficult clients but what I have come to realize is that the difficult clients make you a better consultant, leader, and person.  I wouldn’t be who I am today without the difficult client experiences.

So why am I sharing this?

The reason that I am sharing this is because I think many young people think everyone else knows what they want to be when they grow up. I want to tell you that no, not everyone has it figured out and it is OK to not know exactly what you want to be when you grow up.

Try new things and learn about as many different careers as possible.  Try internships, take personality tests and find a mentor to help you find the best career for you.  If you don’t do your research, you won’t know what you are good at and what you enjoy doing for eight hours every day.

Trust me, you don’t want to do something you hate for 40 hours a week!

Do you know what career you are passionate about?