Almost everyone has experienced the all too familiar fear and anxiety that is associated with the question: what am I doing with my life?
Even if you entered into college with an idea of a specific dream career, chances are that you have or will change your mind about your future aspirations, or you might question whether there is a better career path for you. This is a common issue that most young adults have to face. There is a lot of pressure of students to decide what course of action you want to take. This obviously contributes to the extent of stress and anxiety college students have to deal with on a daily basis.
The purpose of bringing this up is to start a conversation about how common it is to spend time worrying about the future and doubting your previous choices. It is often times the case where you might even change your major before you decide what subject you actually enjoy and might want to pursue. Therefore, it is important to keep an open mind and learn to be flexible with yourself and your choices.
The NCDA (National Career Development Association) dedicated the month of November to National Career Development Month. This month serves as a reminder that it is so important to plan ahead and plan accordingly, so that you will have no regrets about things you wish you would have done earlier in your career (NCDA).
Michael Li, AMSA Secretary, shared his personal experience about dealing with stress associated with professional development: "Personally, I have a very good support system (family, friends, and girlfriend) to turn to whenever I'm feeling too stressed out. Unfortunately, I don't think this struggle of deciding the right career path is something that goes away. Even as a third year, I constantly ask myself what if I'm better suited as a nurse, PA, or even a researcher. When it comes to resources that have helped me, it's honestly mostly advising sessions through AMSA and hearing about the experiences of actual physicians at our Physician mixers. In the end, I think that the only way for me to really figure out what I want to do is for me to take gap year or two to figure things out. It's okay to take some time for yourself as long as you stay productive. The pre-med journey isn't something you have to speed through by finding the "optimal" route. In fact, the main take away from my advising sessions is being asked what do I want to do that'll let medical schools know why I want to be a doctor."
Certainly, it can feel overwhelming when trying to decide what career best suits you, but it is comforting to remind yourself that there is not one “cookie-cutter” way to reach your goals. Every individual will end up creating their own, individualized pathway.
Source: https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/ncdmonth#:~:text=Every%20November%2C%20career%20development%20professionals,is%20National%20Career%20Development%20Week.