At my age is it okay to not know what career i want yet?

Im currently a sophomore in high school and I have no idea what career i want to get into, and im feeling pressured to do so already. My parents are already asking about what colleges im thinking of and i can never give them an answer. Other kids at my school seem to have it all worked out already, which sorta scares me even if i know not everyone does. This is because we are scheduling and many kids are taking classes next year that relate to the career theyre going in.



I am a smart student with mostly A's, a couple of B's here and there. I have a vague idea of what i want in life. I know that I want a job that pays well but that Im happy with. Im thinking about business yet i dont want to be the average joe working in a cubicle because my life will be boring. Im thinking about medicine, but i always hear how much work and effort it takes to get into it, and maybe i dont have enough confidence in myself but i dont want to be exhausted and stressed out. Teaching is something ive also been thinking about but im not sure of it for some reason.



What i do know for sure is that im going to college and i will have a good career and not be working in McDonalds. Im sorry of this was a bit long but can someone make me feel better maybe with advice or a personal experience?



When did you decide which career you were going into?At my age is it okay to not know what career i want yet?
You definitely still have sometime to decide. I would suggest talking to your guidance counselor at school about websites that you can go to that have surveys you can take towards what careers fit your likings. I decided about sophmore year in high school what I wanted to do only because they offered the class accounting in high school. I took it and I really liked working with the numbers. Also, I took Marketing and Personal Finance and I found that I really liked business a lot, but accounting worked the best for me. It kind of sucks if what you want to do isn't offered at your high school, but I'm sure as your high school years go on you will figure out something that you truly enjoy and take to heart. Good luck with everything and you will be fine! There is people that are actually in college who don't even know what they want to do, atleast your seeing that you don't know now so that when you get to college you will have an idea.At my age is it okay to not know what career i want yet?
I knew I would be involved in technology when I was 4. However, I did not settle on electronics engineering until I was 15. I have been an electronics engineer now for almost 40 years,



My daughter knew she wanted to be involved in transportation when she was 4. However when she was 13 she also started to consider senior lever health care management. So she took an generic undergrad degree in economics and planned to choose one or the other for grad school.



After an internship at a major hospital as an administrator she realized she was right in the first place and went for transportation in grad school. She is now getting a PhD in transportation.



My point though is that she had it down to two choices by the time she was 13.
I am a retired person who felt the same way at age 16. As a female I took as much math, science

and foreign language as I could in high school so that I would be qualified to get into a good liberal

arts college. I did not decide WHAT I wanted to do until my 3rd yr. of college. I would advise you

to also take a high school typing course to save you time and effort for all the notetaking you have to do in college. When people try to pressure you into a career choice, tell them you are taking the

right courses to get into college (see your guidance counselor on how to select the courses needed

for a liberal arts education). With this background, you are on the right path to whatever you want

to do with your life that will make you HAPPY as well as employed. P.S. I have been a teacher,a chef,

a tour guide, lived in Spanish and French Speaking countries and have had a very satisfying life.

I hope yours turns out great too. Don't worry!!! Another hint is to volunteer in an area you think you

might be interested in to test the waters, so to speak. Also volunteering looks GREAT on a college

application. Good luck to you in your future endeavors. from marthaRAt my age is it okay to not know what career i want yet?
the answer to your question for me is 8th-9th grade...



I have a trick for you if you would like it...I will provide it and you can use it if you want...

To get your parents off your back you will have to do a little research and be a really persuasive person; first find [2 close(local) colleges and 2 that have good reputations but have high acceptance rate, make sure these are public universities and in-state], say that you are considering these, then name 2 top level non-ivy league colleges i.e. UVA, UNC-CH, Duke, Baylor(you get the picture) and say these ( the 2 you pick) are my dream colleges and this is where I dream of going...7/10 times this will get you out of it and give you time to research colleges and majors and if they start asking about majors just give them a random one all the time... but make sure to add in the line "you know i think i've changed my mind about my major I think i'm gonna do a _______ major" any time your asked about your major.



Thirdly, I would like to recommend 2 websites that I found helpful in the college and major selection process. The first is http://www.cappex.com/ this is a helpful site I found and good for learning basics on a few colleges. The second is http://www.wisechoice.com/ this is a good site and although the modules take a while they provide a very personalized response and pick colleges and majors based on a personal report; this is one of the most personal site for something like this I have ever seen and recommend both HIGHLY.
You're fine, don't sweat it. You get good grades, you're figuring things out, and the important thing is that you're actually thinking about it. You're also probably going to change careers once or twice, which is perfectly normal. If being the average joe working in a cubicle doesn't suit you, you may feel the same way about working the same job for 40+ years. I just decided what I want to do this year and I'm in my third year of college. I'm still graduating college next May, I'm in a major that I love, and I have absolutely no qualms about taking my time to figure it out. Take your time, explore your options, and try new things. It'll come to you. Good luck!At my age is it okay to not know what career i want yet?
I didn't decide what I wanted to do until about halfway through my Junior year of high school. So you still have time, in my opinion. Don't worry, I was freaking out by that time too!!!