Activity 5

Topic 5: Career Exploration

For some reason this didn't post when I did it a couple days ago... oops...

Task 1 - Self assessment
according to the Career Key, my top interest areas are artistic and enterprising.

Artistic:
-enjoys creative activities such as art, drama, music, writing
-generally avoids highly ordered, repetitive activities
-has good artistic abilities in creative writing, drama, music or art
-values creative arts such as drama, music, art, or the works of creative writers
-sees self as expressive, original, and independent

Enterprising:
-enjoys leading and persuading people, and selling products or ideas
-is good at leading people or selling things and ideas
-values success in politics, leadership, or business
-sees self as energetic, ambitious, and sociable

Task 2 - Career Matching

Ok, so I'm doing this at home and won't be saving the document or any of that fun stuff... But it'll all be right here. It's gonna be a little different though, since I believe that the GAcollege411 website has changed since the post on the service learning blog. I can't find the "industry focus" (it also took a bit of hunting to find the career key survey, the hyperlink on the service learning blog doesn't work), but I have been presented with a list of careers that could possibly suit me, so I'll take intiative and be my own "student career matching assistant."

The website has a feature called Career Clusters, which seem to correlate with "Industry Focus," so I'll be using those guidelines.

Arts and Humanities:
-actor
-producer
-fashion designer
Business and Computer Science:
-public relationships manager
-public relationship specialist
-multimedia artist/animator
Family and Consumer Sciences:
-interior designer
Healthcare Science:
-cosmetologist/hairdresser
Marketing Sales and Services:
-Advertising manager

Task 3 - Career Exploration
Now I choose my top three career choices from the list above and elaborate. The problem is, though I am moderately interested in a few of those, none of them are what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.

I am not going to do the post as directed, but I hope you'll (who are you? mr sigmund? phil? no one? whatever) understand. I do not want to put myself on the "fast track" to a career. I want to explore the world, find what I enjoy and what interests me, and learn and build from there. Right now I have a job at Domino's which, though definitely not a career, I enjoy and want to see where it takes me. If I didn't have to do the stupid Domino's cheer at every meeting, upper management would be fun. I look at it as a means of financial support while I discover where my true passion is.

I am going to Gainesville State College in the fall to take my core classes for college and to see how I feel about different types of college classes, and which areas of study really suit me. I then plan on going to UGA (or possibly another school, if at that point I have defined my interests and a different school would better cater to my needs).

During my early 20's I would also lie to travel and see the world, experience different cultures and new ways of living. America is a peculiar place, I want to see what's outside. Realistically, I doubt I will have the financial capabilities to support traveling in luxury, which is actually a plus. Backpacking sounds exciting. Or programs that let you work abroad, such as teaching English in Costa Rica or Japan. I want to meet new people, taste new foods, see cool things, experience more than just the same old stuff I've been doing in Athens (not that Athens isn't great).

The next few years of my life will be spent feeding my intellectual hunger and finding my "true" self. I have several fundamental problems with society, and what this blog post wanted highlights one of my biggest problems. What someone does with their life career wise should not be about how much money they will make (now remember, I'm speaking from the ideal standpoint, I understand that in reality things cannot work this way). Everyday, people show up at a job they despise, work for 8 hours, and then go home. For what? To watch tv? That is not what I want my life to be. I am not sure what my life will be like or where it will go, and that's how I want it. I have goals, of course, and I seek to meet them. However, pinning down each step of my life while I'm only 17 is ridiculous.