Now that I have taken on the role of a career services specialist, it astounds me that so many of our students reach law school and have not, once, stepped into their undergraduate or high school career services office. Nor have students discussed future employment plans with an academic advisor. I say "now that I'm a career services specialist" due to the fact that I was among that overwhelming amount of students.
I can't recall a single conversation taking place during my undergraduate years with a career coach or advisor that reached below an "on the surface" conversation of, "So what do you want to be when you graduate?" I would give them an answer like, "I plan to go to law school and be an attorney." They would hear my answer, say something along the lines of, "that's great," or "good luck with that," and our conversation would be over. The question I yearn people to start asking as a follow up to the standard, "what do you plan to do when you graduate" is, "Why do you want to do that?"
I think so many people heard the law school/attorney answer and automatically assumed I had it all figured out. On the contrary. I knew I wanted to be in a profession that helped people. Well....that narrows it down. Please don't take this post as me wishing I would not have gone to law school. I am very grateful for my education, the people I met, and the connections I still have from law school. I just wish someone would have sat down with me at some point in time and asked the question, Why?
So...here I am, wanting to ask you the question. Why are you where you are? But beyond the why, I want you to think of those things that make you truly happy. Think about the kind of person you are. Does your chosen profession allow you to do those things? Will your degree assist you in eventually reaching your "dream job?" I also want you to take some time for yourself and complete some self assessments. Find out exactly what drives you, what causes you pause, what you absolutely detest doing, and what inspires you every day. Until you sit down with yourself (or a career counselor/advisor) and ask those questions of yourself you may stroll through life never knowing exactly what you were placed on this earth to do.
I found a few self-assessments online and find this one to be thorough and helpful. I think if we all took the time to complete more assessments like this, fewer students would be coming out of school and saying, "Now what?"
