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Chapter 17: Charting Your Future

Flow

Thomas A. Edison once said, "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration." You might say the same about success. Yes, luck helps, and, yes, extraordinary talent can count for a lot, but unless you're willing to do the work, then luck and talent will not count for much in the long run. Let's note too that many people who are born with silver spoons in their mouths wind up choking on them. The bottom line is that there is no substitute for work. You have to put in the time to reap the rewards.

While it may take a great deal of sweat equity to achieve success, the good news is that there is real satisfaction and even joy to be found in hard work. Professor Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi, Ph.D., of the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, has coined a name for that special feeling that comes out of productive work: flow. Professor Cziksentmihalyi, named by President Clinton as one of his favorite authors, conducted a landmark study of adolescents in which he outfitted them with beepers that went off eight times a day over the course of one week each year. Every time the beepers signaled, the test group would report to Professor Cziksentmihalyi about what they were doing and how they felt about what they were doing. Professor Cziksentmihalyi found that when people were involved in activities they enjoyed, they developed a sense of flow. This flow-the title of Professor Cziksentmihalyi's best-selling book-can best be described as a very special feeling of energy that makes people want to continue doing what they're doing and return to it whenever possible.

Can you imagine what it would be like to experience that sense of flow on a regular basis-even daily perhaps? Many people enjoy exactly that experience on their jobs. They love what they do-helping people if they're a doctor, teacher, nurse, or firefighter; figuring out problems if they're an engineer, an architect, or a project manager; using their hands if they're carpenters, sculptors, or tailors; using their senses if they're cooks, florists, or musicians; using their quantitative intelligence if they're bankers, computer programmers, or accountants. Of course, there is much overlap between these skills and these careers, as well as so many other combinations and so many ways to enjoy your work. But that's exactly the point-there are so many ways to enjoy work. Your goal in college is to identify what interests you and what can sustain that interest over the long haul.

Reflections
What gives you that sense of "flow"? Have you ever felt it in a school setting? On a job? While pursuing a hobby or a special interest? Write down your thoughts on the subject of flow, asking yourself if, in fact, you've ever experienced it or under what conditions you can imagine experiencing it. At this point, fantasy is fine. If you think you would experience flow from being an astronaut, a ballet dancer, or a scuba diver, this is your chance to put it in writing.

Flux

To some of you, the idea of finding a career that will feel good enough to last a lifetime seems way out of reach. You simply don't know what you want to be doing for the rest of your life, and that can make you feel lost, panicked, and unmotivated.

The first thing you should realize is that choosing a career doesn't have to be forever. In an earlier era, people did have the expectation that jobs would last a lifetime and that they would ultimately retire with a gold watch or a nifty plaque. Well, welcome to America in the 21st century, where such ceremonial gold watches have gone the way of butter churners and manual typewriters. According to the Department of Labor, the average American in the 21st century will have between 10 and 14 careers. The Labor Department also states that the average job will last 3 to 5 years. Flux is the order of the day.

The American worker is competing for jobs in a global arena now, and must continually stay ahead of the technological curve. Things are changing so fast that former Secretary of Education Richard Riley has remarked that none of the top 10 jobs predicted for 2010 even exist today!

Developing Self-Awareness

In addition to becoming aware of the outside world, you need to become more self-aware. You need to figure out the things you enjoy doing and also do well.

Start by analyzing your accomplishments. Think about the answer to this: "Tell me something you've done in your life that is an accomplishment, but it must be something you enjoyed doing and also did well." Be as specific as possible. For example, "writing" is not good enough, but "Writing an essay on my summer vacation" is an accomplishment you can analyze. After you name a few accomplishments, rank them in the order of the ones you enjoyed the most and did the best. Then answer the following questions about each:

What was the main accomplishment for you?
What did you enjoy the most?
What did you do the best?
What led up to your doing this thing? (e.g., I was assigned to do it, I thought it up myself, etc.)
What was your relationship with others? (e.g., I was the leader, I worked alone, I inspired the team members, etc.)
Describe the environment in which you performed.
What was the subject matter? (e.g., music, mechanics, trees, numbers, etc.)

You will see threads that run throughout the stories. Pay attention to those threads. These are your motivated abilities.

Vocational Testing and Personality Assessments

Vocational testing is designed to help identify a range of careers that match a person's interests and skills. Personality assessments are intended to measure personal characteristics to see if they would be suited to a certain line of work.

These sorts of tests can be very revealing. The caveat is that these are just tests. No test has yet been designed-not the IQ, not the SAT, not the GRE-that can reveal everything about a person. All tests contain their share of test error-some flaw in the basic design of the test. Furthermore, different kinds of tests work for different kinds of people. Some of the more prevalent types of vocational tests include the following:

Myer Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This test is designed to help you understand your personality type and how you relate to other people. It identifies your leadership potential, your capacity for teamwork, and other traits that count for a lot in the work world. It can be found online at: http://www.knowyourtype.com
Strong Interest Inventory (SII). The SII takes about 25 minutes to complete and contains 317 items that measure your interest in a wide variety of occupations, hobbies, and leisure activities. Your test results are then compared to thousands of others who have taken the test and who report a high level of satisfaction in their career choices. This test is available at: http://discovery.skillsone.com
Self-Directed Search (SDS). This 15-minute test, which is self-administered and self-scored, helps you identify areas of interest that can translate into occupational paths. The test can be taken online at: http://www.self-directed-search.com and the results, in the form of a printable 8- to 16-page personalized report, can be ordered for a nominal fee.
Career Interest Inventory. This popular test is made up of 60 questions and is a useful tool for helping with career exploration.
The Career Key. This test, which measures your skills, values, talents, abilities, and interests, can help with your career choices as well as your selection of a college major. This test can be found at online at: http://www.careerkey.org.

Further Education: Graduate School

Heading to graduate school is a goal for some students. How many places can you live off loans and study your passion?

The Options
Depending on the type of graduate school and the particular professional program, gaining acceptance can range from falling off of a log to a prerequisite of establishing peace in the Middle East.

Business
Gaining acceptance to an MBA program can be done straight out of college, but top programs require a few years of work experience. Most programs require applicants to take and submit scores from the GMAT. The GMAT tests basic verbal, math, and writing skills that have been ingrained (or not) over years of education. For more information on the GMAT, go to the Graduate Management Admission Council's Web site at: http://www.mba.com

Law
Law schools are also challenging to gain acceptance to, especially top programs. Good grades are important, as well as exposure to the profession and a submission of your LSAT scores. The LSAT tests reading and reasoning skills, not subject-specific information. For more information on applying to law school, try the Law School Admission Council's Web site at: http://www.lsac.org

Medicine
Acceptance to medical school is generally very rigorous. Good grades are a must, as well as volunteering, clinical exposure to a hospital/physician, and a good showing on the MCAT. Unlike the GMAT and LSAT, the MCAT has a large amount of subject-specific information to be tested on. To obtain more information on the whole process, try the Association of Medical Colleges' Web site at: http://www.aamc.org

Other Graduate Programs
Besides the three types of programs listed above, you can go on to higher education in a number of other areas. Just a few of these are:

Public affairs
Education
Journalism
Engineering
Sciences
Social sciences and humanities
Arts

Volunteering and Shadowing

Volunteering
Volunteering is a popular activity for many high school and college students. To graduate high school, many students must perform a certain number of hours for an organization. Balancing your way to success in and after college means more than just pleasing yourself. Volunteering allows opportunities for leadership, experience, research, and giving back to the community.

Here is the 411 on volunteering:

Look for opportunities in the field(s) you are considering. If you do not know any volunteer organizations, pull out the Yellow Pages, ask around, or look at books on volunteering.
Take a leadership role as soon as you can. If it is not possible to do this, conduct yourself as a leader would anyway. You will gain the respect of your fellow volunteers, and your maturity and serious-mindedness will be noticed by all.
Take pride in your service, and yourself: You are giving back to the community while discovering things about yourself.

Shadowing
Shadowing is a valuable tool to help you decide on a future career. Shadowing is similar to apprenticing (not quite like Donald Trump Apprenticing!). When you shadow, you are working around or with a professional in the field you have chosen.

The biggest benefit from working around a professional is that you get a direct, firsthand demonstration of what this individual does every day. This can be valuable in choosing a career. After all, if you work around a stockbroker and you cannot stand what he or she does, you might want to change your job aspirations.

Here are two ideas to help you be successful at shadowing

Do not be afraid to approach individuals and ask to shadow them. The worst they can say is "No."
Learn as much as you possibly can. Once you land the opportunity, do not take it for granted.

To get the most benefit from shadowing, shadow in any type of job you are thinking about. It might help you narrow your choices and get you more excited about certain fields than others.

Career Counseling

Still not quite sure what you would like to do after college? Need advice on classes? Take heart, because there are many places to go to get help and advice about these important issues. Most universities have a career center, with multiple counselors to help with your career selection.

These centers can provide:

Aptitude tests
Mock interviews
Résumé-building help and workshops
Internship information
Alumni networking opportunities

A career center can also provide other resources to help you decide the area that best fits your skills and talents.

For academic counseling, advisors usually fill this role. This is part of the reason why you should get a great academics advisor. Your advisor will not only help you with class selection, but also advise you on just about anything to do with your college major and scheduling.

There is always a lot to be done at any stage in life, but organization and management of your life will help reduce the stress and improve your productivity. Your college or university is just as interested in your success as you are.

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