About This Lesson
Figuring out the right kind of career path is not easy. Some people know from an early age what they want to do in life. Others may take many years to figure it out. One way to learn what career is a good fit is with the right kind of education. A good education can do so much for anyone. College is the ideal place to start. If you are thinking about what you want to do in life, a college degree shows so much about a person. It demonstrates they have certain high level skills to employers. It also shows that people are persistent and willing to put in the effort to earn a degree over time. Attending college can also help by allowing students to engage in activities related to the field without making a commitment yet.
An Internship
An internship is where a student can spend time at an employer's office on a part-time or full time basis. Many colleges arrange internships for their students. In doing so, they learn if this is going to work out for them as a career. For example, if someone wants to learn to be a court reporter in Portland Oregon, they can spend time in the court systems studying this field directly. This gives them a chance to spend time on the job without worrying about being hired. People can earn college credit for attending an internship. A person can observe what goes on first hand in any job and see the inner workings of a given company and industry directly. In doing so, they can speak to those who are already holding the job they might want. This helps them decide if this is a job they want or it isn't a good fit.
Understanding Your Talents
Everyone has certain talents. Some people are very good writers. Others are great at communicating to other people. Attending college can bring out those talents and make them shine. Good professors teach people to draw on what they do best and help them learn to use those talents even better. A really good music teacher can help someone learn to sing professionally. Art teachers help people master many different kinds of drawing styles. Many colleges have a large pool of teaching talent. These are people who have a passion for what they do in life and want to convey that passion to others. Undergraduates can take lots of different kinds of course in any term. This allows them to explore all sorts of new areas they might not have studied before. In doing so, they can learn what it is that they can do really well.
What Isn't Working
Attending college can also help people realize that a given path might not be quite right for them. For example, someone might be drawn to medicine. However, once they enter college they might learn this is not a subject they like much. People can learn this is also not something that comes naturally to them. It's best for students to learn this now. This way, they aren't spending a lot of time at a job they don't like doing something that does not suit them temperamentally. Colleges also teach students how to think critically. A class in basic human psychology, for example, teaches students the skills to examine their own motivations and how they respond best to stimuli. This allows all students to get a clearer picture of the kind of paths that are going to work for them not only right now but also as they look at the future of their lives ten years from now.
A good education is one of the single most important things anyone can earn in the modern world. It not only provides people with a useful way to see the world. A good education can show people their true place in it.
