Test-Driving a Career
I have a major, I have a minor, I have a passion, and I even have a co-op, but I have no idea what I want to be.
Through UVic, I have learned that not knowing your whole life plan is ok. I wish my high school self knew that. I have always had vague ideas, and still do, about what I want to pursue but I change my mind and add new ideas every other week, and still, that is ok.
Now is the time to try new things and change your mind over and over because that is what finding your path is all about. All of this leads me to just one more reason why I love co-op, because in co-op, you have the chance to test-drive a career.
In a past post about co-op, I explained how I found my current job as a Student Recruiter through my extracurriculars. I am very involved in student life through tour guiding and volunteering and was able to see that a career in Student Affairs could be a possible choice for me.
Now that I have completed my first work term in this position, I still feel excited about the prospect of becoming a Student Recruiter or something similar. I got to actually step into the shoes of a recruiter and see what it could be like, at least at a beginner’s level, and decide for myself if this was for me.
After I graduate, I know that there is a position out there that I am passionate about, and can work towards, that I know I could enjoy. I don’t have to live in that scary place of unknown, even though I am sure I will slip back there now and again, but that’s ok, because I have learned more about myself, and more about my abilities in a work environment, that can make me an employable and happy person. I still want to pursue other co-op positions before I graduate so that I can try something completely different and gain a wider perspective on just what it is I want to end up doing.
The rare opportunity of test-driving a potential career allows you to find out if what you think you want to do is actually what you want to do. If it is, then you are now even more prepared to succeed once you graduate, and if it isn’t what you were hoping for, now you know and you have the chance to go back and try again to find what you are really passionate about. Seize the opportunity when it comes!
