We all know how tough it can be on teenagers when at just 15 years of age, they are asked to decide what their lifetime career will be.

Have you ever heard… “The next few years are so important”, “you must choose your career now, and choose your subjects accordingly”. Oh the pressure!

My advice on this page does not come from the stars, it comes from experience. A very wise teacher once told me:

“Choose the subjects you like, and the ones you’re good at”

I took his advice and I haven’t looked back since. It’s been awhile since I left school now and I’m still not sure what I want to do for the rest of my life. I own and run this website, I studied IT but am now working my way up the corporate Marketing ladder in a career I fell into because I enjoyed it, I often think about and have taken up part-time studies to learn other skills that interest me and I’m currently saving my pennies so that I can buy an investment property one day.

Believe me, the opportunities are endless and there is ALWAYS a different way to get to the career you want.  There are so many different things you can do with your life after schooling, to keep you interested. You name it, you can do it.

Did you know that the average person changes their career in a major way, three times in their lifetime? So really, you are only choosing your first career. Don’t panic if it’s not all you thought it would be. There is such a thing as a mature age student, one who goes back to schooling whether it be university/college/tafe etc. to learn something different.

And remember…

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

Also, if you enrol in higher education (eg. university, college, tafe) and decide you don’t like where your subjects are heading, enrol in another course! It’s become very easy these days for university students worldwide to swap and change courses/degrees and subjects. Sure it might take another year or two before you finish the new degree, but what’s two years when faced with the rest of your life?

“A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation,
with the bricks that others throw at him or her.”

Lastly, it takes a huge amount of determination to get you through these tough years. So don’t think it will be an easy ride. I believe that the harder you work during your schooling years, the more benefit you will receive out of them, in all the years to come. When I was 15, my mathematics teacher told my whole class, this last phrase about studying and doing homework, and I hope it hits the same spot in you that it did in me at that age.

“the pain of self-discipline,
is easier to bear,
than the pain of regret”

To be honest, I believe this last phrase could be applied in almost all areas of a persons life.

Work hard and play hard.  Don’t take yourself too seriously, because life can be a long journey and you may as well enjoy it every step of the way.

Good luck!

~ Kelly