Christmas is a wonderful time to gather with family, exchange gifts, stuff ourselves with delicious and highly unhealthy food, and simply take in the festive season. Inevitably, on Christmas day, following all the food and presents, there is also the annual family conversation about school and “the future.”
This year, one of my uncles got the ball rolling while my cousins, too young and carefree to have to worry about things like majors and grad school, were busy playing with their new toys.
As always, it started with, “So what are you studying again?” Double major in human biology and health studies. “So you want to be a doctor?” No. “But you’re going to get your master’s, right?” No, it’s not for me. “Well, what do you plan on doing once you graduate?” I’m not sure yet…
This answer never bodes well with my relatives and is usually met with uneasy looks, warnings that I had better figure it out soon, and suggestions of what I should do, ranging from doctor (“They make lots of money!”) and teacher (“They get summers off!”) to scientific researcher (“You could discover the cure for cancer and win the Nobel Prize!”).
Some people know from a young age exactly what they want to be “when they grow up.” Others are not so lucky, and sadly there is no step-by-step guide to follow when it comes to choosing. There are those who dream of becoming great actors or writers, but settle on other, safer professions out of financial consideration, parental pressure, or lack of self esteem. Then there are those who do not have a clue what they’d like to do, and simply want to find a nice job that earns them a decent amount of money.
Many factors besides education contribute to what profession one settles on. Upon graduation, many people struggle to find work and end up taking whatever job they are offered, whether it is related to their degree or not. People are inherently materialistic, and if forced to choose between a boring yet lucrative job and an interesting, inspiring job that does not pay nearly as well, many would choose the former.
Discourse regarding choosing a profession is often centred on ideas such as income, status, and prestige, as exemplified by my Christmas conversation. One of the most important factors-if not the most-is normally overlooked: happiness. Whether we like it or not, the majority of our adult lives are spent at work. What is the point of having a prestigious, well-paying job if one does not enjoy it?
As for myself, the idea of committing to a career that I will spend the next thirty to forty years of my life on is quite scary. If I choose the wrong one, I could be sentencing myself to decades of misery. Yes, it is possible to later go back to school and switch professions, but once one gets married and has kids, a mortgage, and other bills to pay, the responsibilities of life can make this difficult. I would much rather get it right the first time. And if it takes a few extra years to find the profession I am destined for, what is so wrong with that?
