We all remember the age-old question people asked us when we were kids: What do you want to be when you grow up?
For the first 15 years of our lives we had the luxury of going through unlimited career phases. By the age of 16, I’d aspired to be a pediatrician, a dentist, an orthodontist (lots of medical stuff), a geneticist, a teacher, and a book editor – in that order.
The older I’ve gotten, though, the less people have asked me this. Now, at the ripe age of 20, I’ve realized why: the things we “want to do when we grow up” are the things we’re going to be doing 2, 5 or at the most 7 years from now. They’re the jobs we’ve been working towards in our classes. They’re the opportunities we hope to gain from our internships. They’re the skills we hope to acquire through our current experiences.
That’s why we have to stop saying, “I’ll start/do/consider ____ when I get older.” We’re “older” right now.
If you’re a business major who plans to be closing deals on the golf course by age 40, you should be on the driving range (at least) by age 20.
If you’re an English or Journalism major who plans to work for a major news outlet by 35, you should be writing every day now.
The twenties are the time to be developing the habits, attitudes and skills that will be the foundation for the goals we want to achieve in our thirties, forties, and even fifties.
If you know what you need to do to get where you want to be, why not start now?
For the first 15 years of our lives we had the luxury of going through unlimited career phases. By the age of 16, I’d aspired to be a pediatrician, a dentist, an orthodontist (lots of medical stuff), a geneticist, a teacher, and a book editor – in that order.
The older I’ve gotten, though, the less people have asked me this. Now, at the ripe age of 20, I’ve realized why: the things we “want to do when we grow up” are the things we’re going to be doing 2, 5 or at the most 7 years from now. They’re the jobs we’ve been working towards in our classes. They’re the opportunities we hope to gain from our internships. They’re the skills we hope to acquire through our current experiences.
That’s why we have to stop saying, “I’ll start/do/consider ____ when I get older.” We’re “older” right now.
If you’re a business major who plans to be closing deals on the golf course by age 40, you should be on the driving range (at least) by age 20.
If you’re an English or Journalism major who plans to work for a major news outlet by 35, you should be writing every day now.
The twenties are the time to be developing the habits, attitudes and skills that will be the foundation for the goals we want to achieve in our thirties, forties, and even fifties.
If you know what you need to do to get where you want to be, why not start now?
P.S...
I realize that maybe you're not sure what you need to do to get to where you want to be. If you did, maybe you'd already be doing that, right?
Here's three simple ways to figure it out:
Here's three simple ways to figure it out:
- Google it. This is serious. Yesterday I googled "how to get a magazine internship." Never thought it would yield results, but I found all sorts of articles and blogs. As a millennial, sometimes it's smart to play into the stereotype that we turn to the internet for everything.
- Learn about the people who are doing what you want to do. If someone you know has the career you want or majored in what you'r studying, pick their brain. If you know them well enough, ask them to lunch. As I've said before (see The Story), we have so much to learn from the generations ahead of us. If you don't know anyone in your ideal career, find out how the big name professionals in the field got their start (might require more Googling...).
- Incorporate the necessary skills or knowledge into your daily life. I try to read often and write every day because I want to be a writer, but some careers are harder to replicate on a daily basis. It's still possible, though. For example, a friend of mine wants to be a sports agent. He has an internship in marketing but that's not the same. Instead, he's been reading books about the business. He's learning a lot about the pros and cons of the field, and how most people get into it. And what do you know? He still has time for FIFA and parties! Barnes and Noble is your friend. And so is the library.