How Do You Know When You've Chosen The Right Career Path?

[Screwtape2]

I sometimes think I know what I want to do in life but then something else comes along. For forever I have wanted to be a writer. I have always wanted to make art. So my question is how do I know when something is the right fit for me when so many things interest me?

Right now I want to be a comic book writer. To do this I have to risk everything and push myself further than I ever have. How do I know it the right path?

 

[Bonochick]

Sometimes, there just isn't a way to know without actually going for it and getting a taste for it. You may end up with favorable results, but things could go the other way too. You may not be able to tell whether or not it's the right path until you have gone down it a bit.

I think this is very hard for anybody else to advise you on. If you are considering pursuing this career, YOU have to really want it. You know yourself best, and you need to decide whether or not you truly have the drive and determination to go a different path and work hard at realizing your dream. Take stock of what is important to you and how bad you want it.

 

[Screwtape2]

Sometimes, there just isn't a way to know without actually going for it and getting a taste for it. You may end up with favorable results, but things could go the other way too. You may not be able to tell whether or not it's the right path until you have gone down it a bit.

I think this is very hard for anybody else to advise you on. If you are considering pursuing this career, YOU have to really want it. You know yourself best, and you need to decide whether or not you truly have the drive and determination to go a different path and work hard at realizing your dream. Take stock of what is important to you and how bad you want it.

I do want it. I would be really good at it. It is just that if I do pursue it than I won't have a chance to change my mind later. I am only 20 but I feel like I have to know what to do right now or I'll end up like my parents. They don't make enough money and they aren't doing what they really want to do. I want to be a comic book writer but what if it isn't what I'm meant for. How do I get rid of the doubt?

 

[Gluey]

How badly do you want it? If you want it bad enough you'll make it happen. Don't live in fear of what might or might not happen. And it's NEVER too late to have a change of direction. You're only 20, you have a lifetime ahead of you, and there is time in there to have a change of direction if that's what . If you live in fear all your life, you'll never get anywhere, and only spend most of your time kicking yourself for 'what could have been'. If it's what YOU want to do, then do it. You're not your parents, and if you live in fear of what they've done with their life, then you'll never fully fulfill yours. Give it a go, and Goodluck!

 

[Liesje]

I kind of go about it a bit differently. I prefer to keep my career/job separate from the things I really love. I find that doing so makes it easier to keep loving the things I love, lest they become a chore or a drag if I HAVE to do them day in and day out. Also, then I'm not pressured about it either and don't have to stress about whether doing what I love will make me enough money. I work to pay my bills, plain and simple. I do what I really love in my spare time, on my own schedule, not to pay rent and put food on the table, but simply because I love doing it. It doesn't matter whether I'm "good enough" at it. By day I am a computer technician/HelpDesk analyst and by evening and weekend, I train dogs, design web sites, and take hundreds of pictures a week. I don't care if I'm only a novice photographer and I don't care if my dogs aren't competing in the national championships. These things are my livelihood, but not how I earn my living, if that makes sense. My job is *just* stressful and demanding enough where I make enough money to live comfortably and continue doing what I love, it works for me. My sense of worth is not tied to my career, and I don't think it ever will be.

 

[LemonMelon]

I sometimes think I know what I want to do in life but then something else comes along. For forever I have wanted to be a writer. I have always wanted to make art. So my question is how do I know when something is the right fit for me when so many things interest me?

Right now I want to be a comic book writer. To do this I have to risk everything and push myself further than I ever have. How do I know it the right path?

You won't believe it, Screwy, but so do I. I've been making coming strips since I was 13 and definitely consider it a possible career option, though if I were to take that route, I would likely be better served producing a cartoon show instead, because more writing would be involved, which is what I'm best at. If you're into art, it could be a good choice for you. What kind of comic books are you interested in? Superheroes? Manga? General humor?

In any case, go for it. I am firmly of the belief that you need to enjoy what you do each day, and you won't make a mark in the field of your interest if you're only doing it as a hobby.

 

[Screwtape2]

Re: Re: How Do You Know When You've Chosen The Right Career Path?

You won't believe it, Screwy, but so do I. I've been making coming strips since I was 13 and definitely consider it a possible career option, though if I were to take that route, I would likely be better served producing a cartoon show instead, because more writing would be involved, which is what I'm best at. If you're into art, it could be a good choice for you. What kind of comic books are you interested in? Superheroes? Manga? General humor?

In any case, go for it. I am firmly of the belief that you need to enjoy what you do each day, and you won't make a mark in the field of your interest if you're only doing it as a hobby.

I'd like to write for Marvel Comics but anything from superheroes to manga. I like character driven storytelling. I'd like to create a comic or two and work on what the editor wants me to.

I am going to go for it with all I have. I just wrote a letter to seal how sure I am. I'm going mail it and see how best I can accomplish this.

Are you going to art school or anything? I always enjoy your cartoons. I hope everything works out for you. Good luck!

 

[LemonMelon]

Re: Re: Re: How Do You Know When You've Chosen The Right Career Path?

I'd like to write for Marvel Comics but anything from superheroes to manga. I like character driven storytelling. I'd like to create a comic or two and work on what the editor wants me to.

I am going to go for it with all I have. I just wrote a letter to seal how sure I am. I'm going mail it and see how best I can accomplish this.

Are you going to art school or anything? I always enjoy your cartoons. I hope everything works out for you. Good luck!

That's awesome. I've never seen your art before. Do you have a scanner or some way I can check it out? In any case, glad to hear you're going for this with your all. As long as you have talent, you can make it happen. Animation is a very time-consuming, challenging field that very few have the patience for, so I'm sure you'll have opportunities to make your dream come true.

I would like to attend an art school, but I'm not sure if I have the artistic talent to make it there. (The University Of The Arts in Philadelphia interests me greatly) If I do, I want to hook up with someone who is a brilliant graphic artist and put together a really great pilot for a cartoon show and see what happens from there. Art isn't my passion...more of a vehicle, really.

 

[redhotswami]

I sometimes think I know what I want to do in life but then something else comes along. For forever I have wanted to be a writer. I have always wanted to make art. So my question is how do I know when something is the right fit for me when so many things interest me?

Right now I want to be a comic book writer. To do this I have to risk everything and push myself further than I ever have. How do I know it the right path?

right path my ass. well, for me, that is
i think some of us do know deep down what they want to do, or feel called to do, and they dive right in. others...not so much. look at me, i'm pursuing my doctorate. i will have a bachelor's, a master's, and a doctorate in 3 completely different fields. looking at my resume, people might think that i've no idea what i'm doing. but looking at my life events, it makes a whole lot of sense.

you really never know what life is gonna throw at you. it can completely turn you around from where you thought you were supposed to be doing. i've dabbled in so many different areas, yet i don't regret any single decision, because i feel as though each experience has introduced me to some very influential people, and it has led me to the next.

you can never stray from who you are meant to be if you continue to follow your heart. throughout all my different turns in life, that is the one thing that has remained consistent. everything i've done, every decision i've made, is after a cross-examination of my heart. i know deep down i love to help people. that is an annoyingly broad desire. sometimes i wish i could point at something and say "there! that's it!" and know that i was supposed to do that very thing. but that hasn't ever been the case in my life.

my real talent is helping people. so no matter what i'm doing, as long as i am helping people i am being true to myself. because i've followed my heart, everywhere i've gone i was exactly where i needed to be at that moment. and i knew it inside. that's all that matters.

good luck to you, man. follow everything with your heart. you'll know where to go next.

 

[anitram]

First of all, if you are 20, you have plenty of time to change your mind. People switch careers often these days.

I started out doing one thing for 3 years and then went back to school to become an evil lawyer. It is a bit hard to go back once you've been in the workforce, but it's also been the best decision I've made.

I think most people just tolerate their jobs but don't love them. I think if you LOVE your job, you are one of the lucky few. I don't want to go to work just to have it pay my bills because let's face it, nobody could stand doing 80-90 hours a week on average if they're just doing it to get by. You have to like it at least a little bit. I really like what I am doing now, but it isn't for everyone either.

 

[Vincent Vega]

You really have to think about the two things,
- do you want to make your hobby your job?
- could you live with a very low, insecure income?

As an artist this is what one has to consider. If you can answer them both with yes it's a good start.
Another good idea would be an internship, if that is possible at companies such as Marvel (though I'm pretty certain it is, just the availability might be limited).

Only very few people really know what they want for a job, and even fewer get a chance at doing what they dreamt of. If you have the talent and the willingness to pursue a career in the field you are focussing it, give it a try. You can always rearrange things when you are in your twenties, and you would regret if you left your chances now due to uncertainty.

 

[Screwtape2]

Re: Re: Re: Re: How Do You Know When You've Chosen The Right Career Path?

That's awesome. I've never seen your art before. Do you have a scanner or some way I can check it out? In any case, glad to hear you're going for this with your all. As long as you have talent, you can make it happen. Animation is a very time-consuming, challenging field that very few have the patience for, so I'm sure you'll have opportunities to make your dream come true.

I would like to attend an art school, but I'm not sure if I have the artistic talent to make it there. (The University Of The Arts in Philadelphia interests me greatly) If I do, I want to hook up with someone who is a brilliant graphic artist and put together a really great pilot for a cartoon show and see what happens from there. Art isn't my passion...more of a vehicle, really.

Oh I'm not an artist just a writer. I think my writing skills and storytelling rival the best ou there. In elementary school I created a whole universe of heroes and villians. I have a couple ideas for new comics that I'm writing. I might send you those.

I hope that works out for you. I would love to get together with a great graphic artist too. I have rough ideas of what people and things should look like but would love an artist to interpret those things.

 

[LemonMelon]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How Do You Know When You've Chosen The Right Career Path?

Oh I'm not an artist just a writer. I think my writing skills and storytelling rival the best ou there. In elementary school I created a whole universe of heroes and villians. I have a couple ideas for new comics that I'm writing. I might send you those.

I hope that works out for you. I would love to get together with a great graphic artist too. I have rough ideas of what people and things should look like but would love an artist to interpret those things.

Well, now I see we have more in common. I feel the same...I have skill for humor and storytelling, but not so much at transferring that to a viewable format. Send me your ideas when you get the chance.

But, I recommend, since you're still mostly into writing, that you not turn down opportunities for screenplay writing and things of that sort; you shouldn't limit yourself yet. I've written a couple of movie scripts, finished over 75 episodes of my comic series, and of course countless music-related cartoons. They're all separate, but valuable.

 

[Pearl]

1) Try getting an internship at a comic book company. This way you would be in an environment that is similar to what you are interested in doing, and would be able to know if being a comic book writer is something you really want to do.

2) Find and meet with a career counselor. They give you tests (not like a SAT or anything) and talk to you about your interests to help narrow down what field you should go into.

3) Take some time to really think about what you want. Look back on your life and find out what has always interested you. You may be surprised. Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher. But once I got to college, I felt drawn to journalism and and now I have three years behind at a news station and working on my Masters in broadcasting. Looking back on my life, I realize that there were little things that I did that make me now know that I might be in the right field for me. As a kid, for example, I used to pretend I was a music video director and I would make up a rundown of what a "video" would look like and what the "singer" would do. Now that may sound all just play, but I see that it meant I had an interest in editing, choosing images and so forth - something that someone in broadcast news does. So, try thinking about the little things that you were interested in. If you spent hours happily writing comics, then maybe that is your path.

Hope I've helped!

 

[corianderstem]

I'm 34 and still often feel have that "I don't know what I want to do when I grow up" feeling.

I fell into the career I have now. It's not my passion, but I mostly like my job and love the people I work with.

My passions are music and writing, but I knew early on I didn't want to try and make a career out of music because a) I didn't have the necessary drive; and b) I didn't want to be some kind of starving artist.

I've recently learned to accept that I may not end up in a career that aligns with my passions, and that's okay. My job is there to pay my bills and keep me with a roof over my head. My passions have plenty of time to flourish in my free time (I'm totally lazy in my free time, but that's a completely different topic).

Some people are able to find that perfect match where they have a job in a field they're passionate about, and others have told me to take a risk and a leap of faith to find that sort of job, but at least until I have some more financial responsibility, I don't care to take that kind of risk.

So yeah, there's no easy answer.

 

[Screwtape2]

I kind of go about it a bit differently. I prefer to keep my career/job separate from the things I really love. I find that doing so makes it easier to keep loving the things I love, lest they become a chore or a drag if I HAVE to do them day in and day out. Also, then I'm not pressured about it either and don't have to stress about whether doing what I love will make me enough money. I work to pay my bills, plain and simple. I do what I really love in my spare time, on my own schedule, not to pay rent and put food on the table, but simply because I love doing it. It doesn't matter whether I'm "good enough" at it. By day I am a computer technician/HelpDesk analyst and by evening and weekend, I train dogs, design web sites, and take hundreds of pictures a week. I don't care if I'm only a novice photographer and I don't care if my dogs aren't competing in the national championships. These things are my livelihood, but not how I earn my living, if that makes sense. My job is *just* stressful and demanding enough where I make enough money to live comfortably and continue doing what I love, it works for me. My sense of worth is not tied to my career, and I don't think it ever will be.

I honestly don't think I could stand not doing something I love. There would be no thrill or passion in it. Without motivation I'd probably lose my mind.

 

[Screwtape2]

1) Try getting an internship at a comic book company. This way you would be in an environment that is similar to what you are interested in doing, and would be able to know if being a comic book writer is something you really want to do.

That's a great idea but there isn't a comic book company anywhere near here. I don't want to move until I know I have a job.

 

[Liesje]

I honestly don't think I could stand not doing something I love. There would be no thrill or passion in it. Without motivation I'd probably lose my mind.

See, and I start out doing something I "love" and then after a year or so, I don't so much love it anymore!

As far as my sense of accomplishment and feeling good about what I do, I've felt ten times better after volunteering hours at the animal shelter than I do after a normal day of work. That's not to say I *hate* my job. I could not do something that I absolutely hated. Everyday I work through problems I've never seen before, I get to manage my own time, do my own projects...it's the right work environment for me. Unfortunately, like corianderstem was saying, the things I'm most passionate about offer zero financial security and that's just not fair for myself and my (future) family so I've learned to compromise. My main motivation at my job is an insane amount of paid vacation, great health benefits, and the fact that my employer pays for any training and certifications I want to do. So in a sense, my job really does facilitate what I love to do. Next weekend, I'm having paid vacation time off to compete in three dog shows.

 

[mysterious_jen]

i know im on the right path every pay day!


no seriously i chose something i do very well, have studied extensively in the field and i face new challenges every day , which makes me stretch my lazy brain a bit.
and the people i work with are genuine and fun.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Something being the right path, and something you'd love to do are not always the same thing, are they? I'd have loved to study art, work in some artistic field and become an alcoholic exhibitionist, but that won't pay my bills. So I took a damn long time to realise there was other stuff out there that I could do which I am interested in still, but could actually get me a job and keep me busy until my days of rocking on the verandah arrive. All this said, though, someone needs to be a cartoonist, someone needs to be a comic strip writer, and it's as rightfully yours as anyone else's job/career!

 

[kafrun]

I think sometimes you just never know, but you maybe have a good feeling that it's a good path for you. Sometimes you absolutely know too, but I think it's a difficult feeling to find. I'm fortunate that I know.

I think if you take pride in what you do and miss it when you're away - frustrations, challenges and all - then it's what you should be doing. Doing something for perks, status, or recognition isn't necessarily what's right for you.

 

[No spoken words]

Here's the problem, Screwtape:

Everyone is different, and so you are not going to get one clear-cut answer. Lies believes that you keep your passions apart from your career. Mia's not been on any one path but she's slowly gaining an amazing set of professional tools and is touching lives along the way. Me, I've been in the sports TV business since 1995 and love it to death. I consider myself very lucky...but I never wanted to work in TV, ever. I wanted to do something different in the world of sports but circumstances lead me to taking an entry level gig in the business, and not only did I love it but I'm fairly decent at it too. So, for me, my advice is we learn by doing/trying. I knew I wanted to be in sports, because for me my profession must be attached to a passion or at least an interest of mine. That was planning, the luck was landing in TV and being decent at it...but none of it would have come to fruition unless I experienced it first hand. So, I'd say choose one of your passions, pursue it with vigor, make sure you don't 1/2-ass it, etc. But I'd also say, ignore me and everyone else and just do what SEEMS right and see where it takes you.

Oh, and do not be afraid to relocate.

Regardless, best of luck to you, this is an exciting time for you.

 

[last unicorn]

This is a problem I have dealt with for many many years. I always wanted to write, but I found out very quickly that it's impossible to make a living with that. So I started to take courses in order to teach literature and creative writing and I love it so much, but it's so difficult to work in this field and have financial security. I was struggling for a couple of years until I realised that the pressure was so big, that I was actually starting to lose my interest in this job, because it was causing me more troubles and worries than joy.

Today I'm having two jobs: One where I make my money (it's not a bad job, actually quite interesting, and it gives me a sort of freedom that I really like and need) - and one that I really love with a passion - but I don't make much money from it. It's not easy to keep the balance all the time, but sometimes having some sort of financial backing and security can really help to enjoy the things you love doing a lot more. Just take care that it doesn't consume you too much and that it doesn't take away all your time and energy. I can draw the line between my day job and the stuff I love doing quite well now and it's better now that I don't have this pressure any more. It allows me to be more creative and work without worrying too much. I'm really enjoying this freedom.

Sometimes things are still getting too much and I have to compromise or find a new balance or take some time off or simply look for a new direction, but most of the time it works out quite well.

 

[redhotswami]

Here's the problem, Screwtape:

Everyone is different, and so you are not going to get one clear-cut answer. Lies believes that you keep your passions apart from your career. Mia's not been on any one path but she's slowly gaining an amazing set of professional tools and is touching lives along the way. Me, I've been in the sports TV business since 1995 and love it to death. I consider myself very lucky...but I never wanted to work in TV, ever. I wanted to do something different in the world of sports but circumstances lead me to taking an entry level gig in the business, and not only did I love it but I'm fairly decent at it too. So, for me, my advice is we learn by doing/trying. I knew I wanted to be in sports, because for me my profession must be attached to a passion or at least an interest of mine. That was planning, the luck was landing in TV and being decent at it...but none of it would have come to fruition unless I experienced it first hand. So, I'd say choose one of your passions, pursue it with vigor, make sure you don't 1/2-ass it, etc. But I'd also say, ignore me and everyone else and just do what SEEMS right and see where it takes you.

Oh, and do not be afraid to relocate.

Regardless, best of luck to you, this is an exciting time for you.

I was gonna talk shit about you, but I really liked what you said about me. Thanks

 

[Zoots]

Interesting topic... that I have wrestled with in my mind for... only forever! I have to say I agree most with what Lies and Cori said. I keep my career and passion separate too. My passion is music and art which I know is not going to give me a steady income like engineering does, which is my career. As long as I have free time to enjoy my passion after my day job is over, I'm happy. That said, it is indeed important that you don't hate your day job. But I don't know if you have to be passionate about it. It's just a job.. pays the bills, feeds you and keeps a roof over your head. And who knows, if you pursue your passion as your career you might get bored of it, like Lies said. Too much of anything gets boring, in my opinion, probably even music or art, as awful as that sounds!

In conclusion, If I were you I'd try to find a steady well paying job that you also enjoy. If you like comic books so much, then do enough research and make sure it pays well and steadily. Best of both worlds!