Now that I am All Grown Up, What Do I Really Want to Be?
By Shonda Hercules, PhD Learner, M.A.
I remember it well; I was five years old, and a kindergartner at Sallie Humble Elementary School. My teacher stood tall before our class, and asked that one question that was to shape our existence for learning for the rest of our lives, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” she asked. Each kid had a different answer, and that year, my answer was a doctor. Then, the year after that, it was a bus driver (go figure). Of course, by the time I was in the 6th grade, it was a politician. Then somewhere before entering college, I was back at a doctor—after entertaining the possibilities of lawyer, a mad scientist, and just rich so that I didn’t have to do anything!
Now, it could be that I just have happened to be a child that had no clue what she wanted to do at that very young age. But to think about it, how many children we know at age 5, age 10, or even at age 18 that specifically know without a doubt what it is that they want to do for the rest of their lives? To make it even more interesting, how many of us as adults truly know that what we are doing right now is what we want to continue to do, or if it what we thought we wanted to do as a career is not at all what we thought it was going to be?
The truth is that on average, a College student will change their major at least four times before they graduate, while the career adult will switch careers at least three times in their life. So back to my original question for this article, “Now that you are all grown up, what do you really want to be, and more importantly, do you know how to get there?”
Very few people have trouble with this question, as they are able to set their sights on their goal, go for it, and love it. But what about those of us who still feel as if we haven’t found that answer, or we have found our new path, but aren’t quite sure of how to get there? Well, here are a few suggestions that could help you:
(1) Spend some quiet time with yourself and with your thoughts. If you are a spiritual person, then pray that these answers will be revealed. While taking this quiet time, ask yourself the following questions: (a) If money were not an object, what would I be doing right now that truly makes me happy? (b) How much money will it take for me to live comfortably or live in my desired lifestyle? (c) What are my values in life and what could I possibly do for a career that would align with those values? After you have taken some time to reflect on these questions, be sure to write down the answers that you come up with.
(2) From the responses that you gathered from the activity in question 1, review your potential list of career choices. If you are unfamiliar of what is needed to begin in this career, where the jobs are located, salary requirements, etc., then take some time to do some research. Find out as much as you can about these positions and even try to contact some individuals currently doing the work in which you are interested.
(3) After you have conducted your research, the next step is something that I advise my clients to be very truthful with themselves on. The next step is to take an inventory of the skills that they currently possess and measure those against the skills that are required for their desired positions. In other words, perform a gap analysis of where you are currently and what is needed to help you take that extra step forward.
(4) After identifying your gaps, you now have identified the milestones that you need to work towards to reach your ultimate goal. Depending on exactly what your gaps are, you may have to do some additional research such as looking at colleges, seminars, workshops, etc. to better identify where you can go to obtain the skills needed to propel you forward.
As a Life and Career Coach, I will tell you that obtaining your desired career is much more than a four-step process, but these first four steps will help you to get started on the correct path, and are usually the steps that work through with my clients to help identify their true desires. There are times when I recommend that in addition to my clients identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, that they have a 360 completed to help identify the strengths and weaknesses that others perceive them having. There are also personality assessments such as Myers Briggs, and career interest inventories such as the Strong Interest Inventory that can be given to help provide more clarity in identifying the potential career paths that exist for you.
Regardless, when it comes to deciding what you want to do when you grow up, as we become adults, the most important thing is to identify what it is that we value—family, money, security, peace of mind, et