Years of school, testing and guidance counselling all barrelling at break neck speed towards those all-important final decisions: what degree/career path/life direction am I going to take?
Undertaking these choices can feel extremely daunting when facing the prospect of tackling them single-handedly. Fortunately, keen parents, conscientious teachers and academic careers departments mean most people will not have to. However, there is a fine line between being helped or guided and being pushed; it is important to recognise this difference and ensure others are informing and advising as opposed to influencing.
These decisions determine what you will be doing with your life and as such you need to be the driving force – no pressure.
Pushy parents or guardians
Regardless of what your angst-ridden adolescent self may have furiously typed on Bebo, these people do understand you. After 18 years of watching you stumble through troublesome toddler years and, more terrible still, traumatic teenaged ones, the brave individuals who brought you up will inevitably have acquired fairly comprehensive knowledge of you as a person and, we hope, hold your best interests at heart.
However, these veritable sources of advice don’t know everything and while they claim they know what is best for you, they’re not the ones who live the life determined by these decisions, you are. Concern for your future can all too often become a misguided pushiness that exerts influence in making these decisions as opposed to helpfully aiding so whilst their support is invaluable at this turbulent time, make sure your priorities prevail.
Teachers
Your teachers are a valuable source of knowledge when it comes to these decisions, not least because they can tell you the realities of studying or working in their academic field. Remember, however, that your teachers are not trained careers advisers and can be out of touch with the ever changing dynamics of the job market and university education where new courses are constantly being conceptualised.
With teachers, as with your parents, listen to, learn from or let slide their advice at will!
Friends
Peer pressure is a powerful tool that determines a great many things in your younger years but do not let it dictate what happens after school.
Music tastes and questionable piercing choices are one thing but continuing to follow your friends both side-lines personal ambitions and can also limit the forging of future friendships. Take comfort friends ,but be sure that your final decision reflects what’s best for you, not the flock.
What you want
Going into decisions without talking to those who know and care about you would be nonsensical but when making your decisions it’s vital that your ambitions and aspirations have the last word.
How important do you think influences are in deciding your career? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo: Daniela Vladimirova / Flickr
I’m a second year English Lit student at Warwick University with a love for expressing my opinions through any channel available (willing to try expressing it through interpretive dance if the chance presents itself). Interested in various mediums of journalism and have had a bit of experience in this field (always looking for more). I am campaigns officer for Warwick Oxfam and play Dodgeball internationally.
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