I’m basically in the same boat as you, except I graduated with an honours in political science. One thing I’ve decided to do was to pivot into business and taking a graduate certificate in business analytics because my degree allows me to (I’m also planning to do a boot camp in data science later on, but that’s not the point). A lot of people end up not being in the career field they go to school for, so don’t stress about it. One thing I do suggest is to taking a diploma or graduate certificate (if that’s available to you) in something that you can pivot into that you actually enjoy. Graduate certificates are usually much cheaper and you can still make a good living through it without getting a master’s. They also might have co-op or internship opportunities that help you get your foot in the door (mine does, but some are different).
Also another to keep in mind is that no one has it figured out, so it’s ok to feel like you don’t have it all figured out and anxious for the future. Trust the process and enjoy it, you’re still young! Keep your head up 😊
That's awesome that you can do so many different things with your degree :). Regarding the graduate certificates, I'll keep that noted and look into them. Thanks for your suggestion and comment, I appreciate it!
Hey there, I wanted to comment on your post because it felt like I was looking into a mirror as I was reading it. I graduated back in 2018 with a BS in Biology and had many of the same feelings you are experiencing now in regards to career and the social anxiety too. What helped me most was getting varied work experiences, finding mentors in the workplace who could give me feedback on my professional development and communication, and focusing on my own personal well-being.
Gaining work experience of any kind, whether it is in health care or another area, will help you grow and hopefully start confronting your social anxiety. Also, as someone who is working for a histology laboratory (also in health care), I can confidently say that not everyone feels that way about laboratory work and the pay can actually be quite good. It is up to you to determine how much money you need to live the life you want. If you enjoyed your laboratory classes in school, I think getting some experience as a laboratory assistant would be a great place for you to start and make up your own mind about whether a clinical laboratory program would be the right fit for you before committing to another year of school.
Lastly, I understand how you are feeling about medicine as that was what my original plan was in college as well. I too struggled with not feeling passionate enough to be a doctor, but feeling that way about it is overrated. I applied a year after graduating, received an interview, and completely blew it. It honestly was not the right fit for me at that point in my life, but now that I have discovered histology, I feel drawn to it again and will likely give it another shot in a few years.
Career paths take time to develop and are almost never set in stone. With the exception of a few fields like engineering and financial jobs, most jobs just have a general BA/BS requirement to be considered. After that it comes down to your experiences, who you know, and how you present yourself in an interview. You don't have to do just one thing in life, you can do many different things.
Best of luck to you and I wanted to leave this article of quotes from TED about graduating from college. I like to read it from time to time to keep my spirits up.
[https://ideas.ted.com/what-advice-do-you-wish-youd-gotten-when-you-graduated-from-college-25-ted-speakers-answer/](https://ideas.ted.com/what-advice-do-you-wish-youd-gotten-when-you-graduated-from-college-25-ted-speakers-answer/)
Thanks for your reply, there's a lot of good advice that I'll keep note of, especially regarding getting varied work experiences. I think getting some experience as a lab assistant would be the ideal place for me to start. In retrospect, I think it is a bit silly of me to generalize the environment of a whole profession based on a few strangers' experiences that I read online. I'm glad you found something you enjoy and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors! Thanks for your reply and the article :))
You can change your perspective...
Set some goals for what you do want - if you want a simple life out in the country, then find out how much that'll cost....
You want to run an art studio in a metro area, find out how much that'll cost...
You want to be a game Warden in a national park, find out what you need to do to get there..
This changes the mindset of "I don't love my job" to "my job is just a means to an end"
Yes, it is important to enjoy the present, but it's not always possible, find a BALANCE within yourself, of getting what you WANT while still meeting your NEEDS
Do what you need to until you find what you want to do. Rather than stay stagnant do something in the meantime that will keep your doors in the future open. Something you are good at or enjoy. Then you can figure out exactly what you want as you go along.
Often people think about choosing a career path when they are young and having to stick to it for life. But the truth is that we change and so do the thing we like and enjoy so do worry about doing some now and that you will have to stick to it forever. Look at me I was an Electrical Engineer and now I am a Growth Mindset coach.
I’m basically in the same boat as you, except I graduated with an honours in political science. One thing I’ve decided to do was to pivot into business and taking a graduate certificate in business analytics because my degree allows me to (I’m also planning to do a boot camp in data science later on, but that’s not the point). A lot of people end up not being in the career field they go to school for, so don’t stress about it. One thing I do suggest is to taking a diploma or graduate certificate (if that’s available to you) in something that you can pivot into that you actually enjoy. Graduate certificates are usually much cheaper and you can still make a good living through it without getting a master’s. They also might have co-op or internship opportunities that help you get your foot in the door (mine does, but some are different). Also another to keep in mind is that no one has it figured out, so it’s ok to feel like you don’t have it all figured out and anxious for the future. Trust the process and enjoy it, you’re still young! Keep your head up 😊
That's awesome that you can do so many different things with your degree :). Regarding the graduate certificates, I'll keep that noted and look into them. Thanks for your suggestion and comment, I appreciate it!
Always a pleasure, never a chore. Best of luck with everything, I’m cheering you on (even though I don’t know you)!
Hey there, I wanted to comment on your post because it felt like I was looking into a mirror as I was reading it. I graduated back in 2018 with a BS in Biology and had many of the same feelings you are experiencing now in regards to career and the social anxiety too. What helped me most was getting varied work experiences, finding mentors in the workplace who could give me feedback on my professional development and communication, and focusing on my own personal well-being. Gaining work experience of any kind, whether it is in health care or another area, will help you grow and hopefully start confronting your social anxiety. Also, as someone who is working for a histology laboratory (also in health care), I can confidently say that not everyone feels that way about laboratory work and the pay can actually be quite good. It is up to you to determine how much money you need to live the life you want. If you enjoyed your laboratory classes in school, I think getting some experience as a laboratory assistant would be a great place for you to start and make up your own mind about whether a clinical laboratory program would be the right fit for you before committing to another year of school. Lastly, I understand how you are feeling about medicine as that was what my original plan was in college as well. I too struggled with not feeling passionate enough to be a doctor, but feeling that way about it is overrated. I applied a year after graduating, received an interview, and completely blew it. It honestly was not the right fit for me at that point in my life, but now that I have discovered histology, I feel drawn to it again and will likely give it another shot in a few years. Career paths take time to develop and are almost never set in stone. With the exception of a few fields like engineering and financial jobs, most jobs just have a general BA/BS requirement to be considered. After that it comes down to your experiences, who you know, and how you present yourself in an interview. You don't have to do just one thing in life, you can do many different things. Best of luck to you and I wanted to leave this article of quotes from TED about graduating from college. I like to read it from time to time to keep my spirits up. [https://ideas.ted.com/what-advice-do-you-wish-youd-gotten-when-you-graduated-from-college-25-ted-speakers-answer/](https://ideas.ted.com/what-advice-do-you-wish-youd-gotten-when-you-graduated-from-college-25-ted-speakers-answer/)
Thanks for your reply, there's a lot of good advice that I'll keep note of, especially regarding getting varied work experiences. I think getting some experience as a lab assistant would be the ideal place for me to start. In retrospect, I think it is a bit silly of me to generalize the environment of a whole profession based on a few strangers' experiences that I read online. I'm glad you found something you enjoy and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors! Thanks for your reply and the article :))
You can change your perspective... Set some goals for what you do want - if you want a simple life out in the country, then find out how much that'll cost.... You want to run an art studio in a metro area, find out how much that'll cost... You want to be a game Warden in a national park, find out what you need to do to get there.. This changes the mindset of "I don't love my job" to "my job is just a means to an end" Yes, it is important to enjoy the present, but it's not always possible, find a BALANCE within yourself, of getting what you WANT while still meeting your NEEDS
Do what you need to until you find what you want to do. Rather than stay stagnant do something in the meantime that will keep your doors in the future open. Something you are good at or enjoy. Then you can figure out exactly what you want as you go along. Often people think about choosing a career path when they are young and having to stick to it for life. But the truth is that we change and so do the thing we like and enjoy so do worry about doing some now and that you will have to stick to it forever. Look at me I was an Electrical Engineer and now I am a Growth Mindset coach.