5 Common Misconceptions about Career Choice

It’s hard to make career decisions in high school, especially with all the misconceptions about the process.

Thinking about the future is difficult enough, so we made a list of five common misconceptions about career choice we hear at True Compass. Knowing what to look out for will make your life easier when it comes to making your decision.

Misconception #1: Career choice is one and done

Students often think careers are a one and done choice, but they’re not.

As students start to toss out options they don’t like and focus on ones they do, many find they don’t want to specialize in just one area. Other students worry about locking themselves into one career and saying no to every other choice for the rest of time.

Students with a lot of interests can feel like there’s something wrong with them for not having just one thing they want to do. The system feels like it’s set up to choose one major and one career, even though that’s not necessarily true. It leaves students frustrated because it feels like they’re making a decision that’s going to affect the next 50 years of their life.

You are not trapped in the career you choose in high school. Many of us change course at least once in our lives.

Misconception #2: You should pursue your favorite subjects

Sometimes students think that they need to choose their major based on the subjects they enjoy. They think that because they liked their biology or psychology class, that’s the route they should go.

They’re not usually thinking about what they could actually do with that major. They may think of the field, but not the actual jobs within that field. We see a lot of students who enjoy learning about a subject, but not working within that subject’s field.

Instead of locking yourself into a subject you like, consider your strengths and what kind of impact you want to make with your work.

Misconception #3: You should pursue your current interests

Students tend to believe that they should follow their passions and interests, which may not be the best career choice either.

If a student is passionate about music, art, or sports, they may think they should pursue that as a career. However, they might not enjoy teaching or enjoy the lifestyle of being a musician who works evenings and nights. It might not be the best way for them to make money.

They get stuck thinking, “But I need to follow my passion.”

Students need to ask themselves if their passion or interest is something they love so much that it’s what they want to do every day. They need to evaluate if it’s something they love doing for themselves, or if it’s something they want to do for other people as well.

If you would get burnt out and stop enjoying your passion from doing it every day and sharing it with other people, it may be time to look at other options.

Misconception #4: Do what the people you admire do

So many of our students go to physical therapy and think they want to do that because their therapist was great.

Just because you admire someone doesn’t mean you’ll have the same gifts, so it isn’t always the right path.

We get a lot of students who have a positive experience with someone who impacts them, and they admire that person. Maybe they helped that student as a medical or mental health professional. Maybe it’s their dad or uncle who’s successful in business.

They may assume that since they like and admire that person, they should do what they’re doing. There are probably clues in those careers for what the student likes – the subject matter and people they admire – but that doesn’t make it the right career for them.

Think about why you admire someone in a field. Is it because you could see yourself in their position and helping people the way they helped you? Or is it because you think you should do something that helps people the way they do?

If you hesitate to say you want to do something instead of you should do something, that job may not be right for you.

Misconception #5: You’ll figure it out in college

The final, short misconception is that schools sometimes give students the advice that you’ll figure things out once you get to college.

Not all schools have the systems in place that students need to figure out what their path is. Just because a student is in a new environment does not inherently mean they’ll now have the tools they need to find their way.

Take time to explore and connect with resources while you’re still in high school. Even if you don’t make a decision before graduating, you’ll feel more prepared when you get to college.

Now what?

You should feel more confident identifying and navigating these misconceptions as you move forward. As you work toward choosing your path, here's what to keep in mind:

The choice you make now does not have to shape the rest of your life. Careers shift, interests evolve, and very few people end up on a straight line from their first major to their last job.

Dig a little deeper when you're considering your options. Don't stop at the classes you're good at, the interests you have right now, or what the people around you are doing. If you admire someone in a field, try to talk to them about what their day-to-day actually looks like, or see if you can shadow them for an afternoon. The gap between admiring someone and wanting their actual job is usually bigger than it seems.

Your college is not guaranteed to have the support system you need, so start exploring now rather than waiting for it to click later. You will learn a lot about yourself and be exposed to new people, ideas, and careers in the first few years in college, but you will still need to take an active part in the career decision process.

And if you're feeling stuck or unsure where to even start, that's normal — it doesn't mean something is wrong with you. It just means you could use a process to help sort through it instead of trying to figure it all out alone.

Knowing these misconceptions is just one piece of the puzzle, but it makes the path a little clearer. If you haven't already started thinking about your next step, now's a good time to begin. You're not locked into your first choice for the rest of your life, and that alone should make this feel a little less stressful.

If you're ready for some help sorting through it, book a consultation at truecompassllc.com.