During your junior and senior year you start to apply to colleges that offer programs of your career interest. Although you don’t have to decide what exactly you want to be, it’s always something that you keep in the back of your mind. You start to pose two questions, what do I like to do, and what will make me the most successful. A lot of success what people think success is, is based off of how much money you make in your life. Money is not what is important and should be one of the least important factors when choosing your career. 

With so many potential career choices, the options are almost limitless. The obstacle that students run into is whether to choose a career based off of something that they are truly passionate about or something that will earn the most money. People should choose jobs based on how much they enjoy the work. They should also focus on getting a job that offers room for improvement and growth. 

According to Career Vision, 20 percent of workers are ambitious about the career they have chosen, and 33 percent of workers think that they have nowhere to go in their career. This leads to people being overall unhappy and unexcited to return to their job everyday.

One English teacher Anne Lewis has always known she wanted to be a teacher because she has always had a love for learning. After she realized she wanted to be a teacher, she took the steps to pursue that career. Lewis never thought about having a job where she would get paid more, but she wishes she got paid more doing the job that she does.. 

“When I reflected on my future, the thing I loved most was school, the act of being schooled, and having the opportunity to expand thoughts. I thought, wouldn’t it be great to do the thing I loved as a career, from there it was a simple thing,” said Lewis.     

Lewis thinks that if students are questioning the career they want to be in because of the money they will make then that career is not for them. 

“They already have an overriding thought. They have a disconnect and that job is clearly not for them,” said Lewis.

Most students want a stable career, which is possible even if you choose something that doesn’t make as much money as a doctor or lawyer would. Students goes through the stages of their life trying to figure out what is important to them. 

Career readiness teacher Jim Bellware believes that he should never discourage his students from a possible career choice. He believes that his class is all about opinions and to not only look at one career but investigate back-up careers as well. Bellware gives its students several assignments that encourage  them to look at jobs: the working conditions, educational requirements and more.

“We do several interests, values, skills, learning style-type surveys to find out what they like and would be good at. I also try to give them frequent opportunities to research careers that match up with those results using various websites, such as Career Cruising, Michigan Pathfinder, and CareerOneStop.org,” said Bellware.

By the time you get to high school, you have a good idea of what you like to do. Most ‘hobbies’ as people like to say can also be made into careers. According to Business News Daily, if you have a job that you love, you will not only feel more fulfilled but also succeed in whatever you do.

Sophomore Faye Thomas wants to be a mental health specialist or trauma physiatrist. The reason she wants to go into this field is to help people because she knows that getting real help is hard when everyone is overbooked and the doctors have so many patients that it’s hard to focus on each individuals’ needs.

“Well personally I’ve struggled with my own mental health and I’ve noticed the shortage,” said Thomas. “I think people should go into a profession based on passion because it would overall help the world’s mental health and personal happiness if people wouldn’t go into a boring job they don’t like.”

Overall, there is a need for people to go into a job based on ambition, passion and happiness. Having money is something that is necessary for life, but it’s not something that can give you personal happiness and that is what is most important.