How I Decided What Career To Choose

From a young age I decided if I had to do the same job for the rest of my life I was going to care less about the money and more about actually enjoying what I do.

Once I became of age to start working (about 15) I started in the service industry, McDonalds specifically. This was a good start to learn some basic skills and get some experience and a bit of pocket change. As I got older I stayed in this field because it was all I knew. I moved on from there to Dairy Queen, to working as a cook, to being a barista/waitress. I was about 20 at this time and this job was GREAT for about 7 or 8 months. Eventually something in me switched and I started getting extremely irritable around people. I had a hard time faking it, specifically the look of how I feel on my face. I am definitely not the happy go lucky people pleaser. So eventually my boss fired me because I couldn't get my act together despite being able to pull this off for the majority of my career there.

I had no clue what I really wanted to do with my life up until this point, but I knew what I didn't want to do, and that was deal with people. Let me get this straight though, I have no problem with coworkers and authority figures, friends etc. as long as I could be my authentic self. Serving and pleasing was not for me. This realization is what got me thinking "what can I do that doesn't involve people?", well plants are great! So I decided to go to school for horticulture which I had no previous experience with besides owning a few houseplants that were dying.

I went to school and got really good grades but wasn't super into the hands on part of it. I had anxiety and was super nervous about doing things I had never done in front of my classmates. I completed the program and started my practicum with a landscaping company in the city I lived in. I went into this completely inexperienced and didn't think I would be able to do the job after my first week of work. By the time I finished my practicum I was actually enjoying myself.

4 years later I am now the foreman of the same company I started working for. I never would have expected to be where I am today with the mindset I had when I first started. This job and change of lifestyle allowed me to mature, learn things about myself like my ability to lead, and become comfortable doing all of these things in front of a whole university. I have learned how to communicate and plan as well as feel comfortable in my skin. Today I know more about what I want and where I want to be in life.

For instance, I have learned that I love horticulture but only certain aspects appeal to me. Tree pruning, pest control, and design interest me a lot more than lawn and bed maintenance. Owning a company or specializing interests me more than working for someone else doing the same things everyday. I know I need to always be learning more to keep me interested. Also money is a lot more important than I ever thought, but I still think it is important to enjoy what you spend most of your time doing.

Overall, my advice is to start with what you don't like if you aren't sure about what you enjoy. Only experience will tell you if you enjoy it, so try lots of new things and don't be scared to take the risk. It could be exactly what you need to tell you what you really want or will excel at. The more experience you have, even if its in all different fields, will always be an advantage to you for something to fall back on. Think about the aspects of a job you like and\or dislike and apply it to your decision. Do you like repetitive tasks or do you like change and learning new things everyday? Are you a people person? Do you enjoy being active or would you prefer sitting in an office? There are so many jobs out there, and a lot of things you wouldn't even realize are an option! Talk to people about what they do and what their job entails for ideas. If it requires schooling consider if the length of schooling is something you think you could do?

For example, since doing horticulture work I have considered doing environmental work, such as environmental engineer. However, I soon realized after some research this job requires 8 years of schooling and only has a 6% hiring rate. That was quickly off the table for me because I am extremely impatient and don't want to be that far in debt.

Consider all your options. Jump on any opportunity that presents itself. I hope my experience has helped some of you get a better idea about how to decide on a career path.