When I decided to change careers, I bought a book called The Pathfinder by Nicholas Lore. It’s supposed to help you really evaluate what it is you want from your career, what your strengths are, and where your interests lie.

In the first chapter, Lore made a very good observation. He said no one teaches us how to find a career.

One day, probably your junior year of high school, someone told you to start thinking about what you want to do in life (what a huge thought for a 17-year old). You pick a couple of colleges, take the entrance exams, and eventually enroll in school. In freshman orientation, they encourage you to choose a major. You choose one that sounds good and maybe a year later you change it. Who knows how many times you might change your major before you finally stick with one that will allow you to graduate the fastest.

You graduate. The Career Center is probably more interested in helping you find a job rather than a career. You eventually land your first job, but is this really the field where you can be the most fulfilled, using your strengths and talents to their fullest capabilities?

Decisions you make as an 18- or 20-year old can determine the path you follow for the rest of your working days!

This is a somewhat familiar story for me. Although I didn’t change my major the average of 5 times like so many other students, I can say no one ever took the time to help me discover what career I wanted to follow or even how you do that. I found a job with the help of the Career Center, but it didn’t take me long to realize, it was a job – not a career I was interested in pursuing long-term.

So I’m learning how to carefully choose my career –one in which I can be fulfilled and find satisfaction in my work. This is a skill I wish every freshman in college could be taught.

It’s all about self-discovery. What are you strengths? What are your interests? What do you want out of your career? What would be fulfilling work for you? This book helps you ask all the right questions so you might be able to truthfully answer that fateful question, “So, What do you want to be when you grow up?”