It has been my experience at networking events and family gatherings alike that adults love to ask you what your absolute dream job is.
If you could work anywhere in the world, doing anything, what would you do?
As an international studies student, I’ve found that inquiring minds are desperate for the answer.
My major is so vague, what could I possibly do with it?
I usually say something like, “I’d like to work somewhere in the non-profit sector.”
This has gotten mixed reviews.
College encourages us to set goals and make connections and write and rewrite our résumés.
We take career classes and meet with advisors and apply for internships, research opportunities and part-time jobs — anything that can bring us closer to that precious dream career.
For some, that is perfect.
But the truth is that I do not have a dream job, and that is perfectly okay.
Throughout my education, the idea of “what I want to be when I grow up” has gotten very fuzzy.
I study the things that I like, but none of them necessarily have a clear path to an occupation. I’m still learning things, of course, and I’m learning how to learn.
I’m trying new things — jobs, internships, clubs, volunteering — and using my personal experiences to influence my thoughts on where I’d like to go next.
Through this, I’ve found that the ideal dream job is going to have to be more of a “dream feeling.”
This is not really a “guess and check” lifestyle.
It’s allowing and trusting yourself to make decisions based on how you feel about something instead of suffering through it and telling yourself that it’s going to benefit you in the future — when you get to that career that may or may not be fulfilling anyway.
It’s best to take each opportunity as it comes, and then develop the next step from there.
And being willing to try something completely different could behoove you in the long run.
Working at a phone bank for a presidential candidate may not get you into med school, but it could reveal something about where you’d like to go in the future.
Maybe you loved it, and now you think about healthcare advocacy.
Maybe you hated it, and you were right to fill your schedule up with biochemistry classes.
What I’m saying is this: As college progresses, do not let the enormous pressure of choosing a career now give you tunnel vision.
Being open to deviations in your path now could lead you to a happier dream job in the future.
meickhof@indiana.edu
@maggie_eickhoff
