Career Advice (Mostly, but Not Entirely) for High School Students

A couple of months ago, a former coworker of mine asked the following question: “If you could give advice to a high school student about choosing a career, what would it be?” This coworker had gone on from Adobe to work with youth as a guidance counselor and wanted information to pass along for her students.

As I’m quickly approaching what most would define as mid-career, I thought I’d step back a little bit and think about what I would tell my 16-year-old self. Or even my 25-year-old self, right after I’d been laid off of my first tech job, or my 28-year-old self, when I was contemplating a career switch back to tech from education.

So here it is: my manifesto on careers to high school students. Take with a huge grain of salt.

#1: Your plans are going to change.

I put this one first because most students think, as they’re looking at college and what might be beyond, that they have to decide right then and there (or at least by the time they declare their major) what they’re going to do with their lives. This is, quite frankly, intimidating for any of you who barely have any idea of what you’re good at, much less what you want to do with that skill.

The problem with this is that a career is a malleable thing. One of my coworkers graduated with an economics degree and is now a software developer. One person graduated with a degree in biology and rhetoric, worked on a CS masters degree, then turned around and got a degree in animation and worked in the film industry for a number of years. Another graduated with a psychology and communications degree and ended up working as a UX designer. Yet another got a PhD in engineering, then an MD, then went back to engineering and works as a physics researcher. And someone else I know got a PhD in physics and then started working at a digital games company as a programmer.

Before you think “my degree is going to determine my first job, which is going to determine my career,” know that there are all sorts of changes that happen in your career. It’s okay to ditch one career for another. It just might take some time, money, and hard work. Be flexible.

#2: Choose your own career.

This might come as a surprise to you, but you don’t have to fulfill your parents’ wishes for your career. As an Asian-American, I grew up with the expectation that I could do anything I wanted to, as long as it was in business, medicine, or engineering. Education, I was told when I became a teacher, was at least an honorable profession.

But when it came down to it, my parents could only give me advice as to what they saw would be the best route for me. Ultimately, the choice was mine.

One of my friends recently began dental school and shared with me the fear he had that his parents, who had always wanted him to be a doctor, would object to him applying to dental schools instead of medical schools. He eventually worked things out with them, though, and he is happily pursuing the career of his dreams. He made this choice because he knew himself — he knew his desires, his dreams, and his competencies.

#3: Manage risk at all times.

There are some careers that just aren’t very risky. But there is risk that you might not make it to the next step. Maybe you want to be a doctor (always a need for medical care, right?). But what happens if you don’t get into medical school? This has happened all too many times to my friends to count. Or maybe you want to break into the entertainment industry and become the next Britney Spears or Ariana Grande.

The truth of the matter is, there are a number of jobs out there that are highly competitive and just don’t pay very much for the average person. I know a number of working musicians who have up to ten regular gigs, plus teaching, in order to keep them afloat. (They happen to be the cream of the crop.) And they outnumber, probably by 1000:1, the superstars in pop music.

The saddest stories that I hear are from people who have only one option in life. If they don’t make it, they’re lost, trying to figure out what to make of their lives. It’s not pretty.

How do you manage risk? Maybe, in college, you choose to double major: one in a subject you love, another, in a subject that will get you a job. Maybe it’s building up a financial buffer before you quit your job to launch a business. Whatever it is, make a safety plan and then go for it.

#4: You’re going to want different things out of your career at different points in your life.

If you think about the typical single 25 year old, what he or she wants (experience the world!) is going to be significantly different than what a typical married 35 year old with children will want. The 35 year old might want stability, health care, and time to spend with the kids. The 45 year old might want harder problems to solve, now that their home lives have settled into a regular cadence. The 55 year old might want financial security as they’re concerned with paying off their kids’ college tuition and are looking forward to retirement.

Just know that you as a person will change, and your desires for what type of career you have are going to be significantly different. What was exciting in your 20s might be not as exciting ten or twenty years later.

#5: Every career has its downside.

I can’t stress this enough: there is no silver bullet. For every job that has its exciting moments, there are other parts of the job that are downright painful, dangerous, difficult, or just plain boring. It might be an inordinate amount of travel that keeps you away from your family and friends. It might be physical danger, like getting shot at or puked on. It might be hours and hours of doing repetitive tasks.

I taught English literature for three years. I love literature, I love reading, and I love teaching people who are grasping for concepts. I don’t, however, love reading poorly-written student essays. Those hours spent trying to make sense of average (or, at worst, incoherent) writing were some of the most painful of my teaching career.

#6: What you do doesn’t define who you are.

Finally, I just wanted to reiterate this piece of wisdom. Regardless of what you choose to do with your career, the career you choose or the amount of money you make does not define your worth. There will be people who will look down on you or judge you based on what you do for a living. Those people are fools, so don’t fall for that message.

Reading through this list, I think this advice is applicable to anyone who is considering beginning a new career. High school students, look to the future, but don’t worry too much about specializing too soon. There will be time enough to do that in the near future. In the meantime, figure out who you are, and everything else will fall into place.

“Scrabble” courtesy of Flazingo Photos. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution — Sharealike 2.0.

Elaine is a product manager at Adobe. You can find her on Twitter at @elainecchao. All statements in this essay are her own and do not reflect the opinions of her employer.