“What are you going to do when you graduate/grow up?” has to be one of the most annoying questions that someone can ask. There are endless opportunities out there, but you’ve only just started finding out about them. You’ve only just started learning about your self too. And there a new careers being invented all the time.

So instead of thinking directly about that, imagine instead what you want your life to be like in 2033 – ten years from now. In thinking like this, you’ll see that there are quite a few things to consider:

• where in the world will you be? And where will you have been in the last decade?
• what is your vision of your family and friends? Keeping in regular touch with people you already know, meeting lots of new people, having/growing a family of your own?
• what kind of lifestyle will you have? Is it all about the work, conspicuous consumption, volunteering, travel, hanging out, sport, art, caring for others?
• what will you be learning then? Probably not a course like a degree, but life is filled with the need (and desire) to learn something new.
• what will get you out of bed in the morning, 5 days a week  ie your purpose or motivations. This can be BIG stuff, like making the world a better place, or more personal stuff related to being involved in the activities and tasks that give you satisfaction or bring you joy.

When you think in this way, you’ll have some really good filters (a checklist) you can apply when thinking about how you will earn your living – there’ll still be lots of choice, but it will have narrowed.

You’ll also be free to think of your career in a wider way – it’s not just the profession you are committing to, it’s what will help towards you living a fulfilling and meaningful life.

And there’s no rush to to come to any definitive conclusions, as long as you are being actively curious, gaining experiences and developing number of people that you know, then you are progressing. There’s lots of ways to look for the options – asking your family & friends families about their jobs, attending careers talks, reading and watching content on the internet, connecting with people on LinkedIn going to networking events – and lots more.

So imagine the life you want, then start looking for career options that will help you live it. If you get lots of options & don’t know how to choose, or you’re finding the research hard to get into, or have any other careers or personal development-related questions you can book an appointment with a careers consultant to discuss.