When I was a senior in college, I had several “doors” that I could have chosen. The question I asked myself, “Will this door lead me down the path God wanted me to have? Will it lead me to where He would have me go?” It’s a tough question for a lot of people. I describe my own career path like this: I take one door and that door leads me to ten other doors. I go about my day until I feel I’m ready for a change. I then evaluate each of those doors and choose another; that door will lead me to ten other doors, so on and so forth until I’m financially able to retire.
I’m a career counselor and associate director for a career center at a four-year public university. I love my job. I get to sit down with a variety of students from all walks of life and talk with them about their plans. In the five years I’ve been certified in the career coaching profession, I’ve learned a ton. So today I want to impart a few bits of wisdom:
- Not everyone’s purpose is tied to a career. I firmly believe God has made each of us to serve Him in a variety of ways. And although each of us has a purpose, our purpose is not necessarily tied to our career. Your purpose could be feeding the hungry, and maybe you do that on the weekends or you support a nonprofit that feeds low-income families in your area, but you don’t have to make feeding the hungry your career. You could be an accountant and fulfill your life’s purpose by taking the money you earn as an accountant and using it to bring glory and honor to God in feeding the hungry.
- You don’t have to pick just one career. When I talk with students who have a hard time committing to a career path, it’s usually because they think they have to pick one thing and do that thing for the rest of their lives. Society has a way of telling our young people to pick one thing at 18, 19, 20 years old and do that one thing for 40 years. Do you know how ridiculous that is? Especially when researchers predict most people will have 3-6 careers over a lifetime. When we take away the pressure of picking one thing to do for 40+ years, suddenly the conversation shifts. It’s not what can you do with your life, but rather, where can you start? What academic major do you want to be the foundation of where you start?
- You will change as you age; your careers will change too. I harp on making informed decisions, not necessarily “right” decisions when it comes to someone’s career path. The fact of the matter is, we’re different people as we age. Our interests, skills, values, and sometimes personalities even, change as we get older. We may very well outgrow the career decisions we made in our 20s—and that’s okay.
- Your major and your career don’t have to align. I sometimes get pushback on this, but your academic major and your career don’t have to align if you don’t want it to. In fact, the vast majority of career paths out there don’t require a specific degree. Sure, if you want to be a nurse, you need a nursing degree; if you want to go into engineering, you need an engineering degree. What about if you want to be a nonprofit manager? Or a financial advisor? Or maybe you want to be an agent for the US Embassy. You can do those things with any academic major. You might need to get certified in the things you want to do to be competitive, but an English major can do any of those things (yes, even the financial advisor job.)
- At some point, you have to make a decision–and yes, burying your head in the sand (also known as “analysis paralysis”– is a decision. At some point, our students have to declare a major or choose a job offer and go with it. It’s scary, I get it. I saw a meme the other day that said “God already factored in your stupidity when you placed a calling on your life.” And yes, it’s one of the most comforting things I’ve read.
Was that first door in my career the one I should have taken? Maybe, maybe not, but here’s the thing: We don’t live in alternate universes. I can’t go back in time and see how different my life would be if I pursued something else. I trust that the Lord has guided me along the way, and even if he meant for me to choose another door, He’s going to redirect my path down the one he wanted me to go in the first place.My best advice to anyone experiencing “analysis paralysis” is to seek what the Lord would have you do. James 1:5 tells us “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” But also understand that your career and God’s purpose for you could be two separate things. Seek wisdom from the Lord, do your due diligence in researching what your options are, and trust that He will guide you as you step out in faith.