Study Curve

Honestly i dont understand that either, besides the fact that its easiest or they want alot of money or they were pressured too soon as to what to become and then just picked something.

I just dont know how you could wake up every morining and do someting that you hate. Its your life, your decsion. How could you ever let someone choose something like that for you...

Another reason that someone may find themselves stuck on a career track they do not enjoy is that they have been moved along that track in a direction they did not intend to follow.

Let me expand. Someone takes a job doing work they really enjoy. They get very good at what they do and are noticed by someone in upper management that thinks they would make a good junior or middle manager and promotes them. Management isn't what the person likes to do, but they persevere anyway because they now have a family to support.

It is hard at 17 or 18 years old to know what you would like to do for the rest of your life. Once you make that choice and begin taking classes that lead you down that path, it can be hard to change. I thought that I wanted to be an Architect when I was in high school. I studied it for four years in college before I realized that wasn't what I really wanted to do, and had to essentially start over with my classes to earn a degree in business as well. That costs both time and extra money. I knew a couple of my class mates that weren't really happy, either, but were not willing to switch, leaving them potentially in a career that they were not going to truly enjoy.

I think that college work can be very theoretical, and it's not until one is actually working in one's profession that one can truly determine if they enjoy that career or not. That's why I'm a strong proponent of co-ops & internships. It gives students a chance to 'try' out their career choice or even a specialty within a career. Without that valuable experience, students enter a career relying only on the theorectical which is taught in college. "Tyring' out a career via a co-op or internship can help a student quickly decide if that chosen career path, or speciality within that career is right for them.

I see that Juke mentioned that some people get stuck in a rut. Once in a career, and one realizes it's not the right one, it can take a lot of courage to change directions. There are always risks involved in changing careers. When one is young and doesn't have family obligations, it's a lot easier to change direction and take risks regarding careers and employment. The stakes are higher when one is married and may have a family.

Another reason, I believe, is status. In our society status is to many more important than happiness and satisfaction, just look at the debt people will incur in order to look and live in a way they can't possibly afford.

Here are my thoughts:

1.) They go into a field that pays a lot of money. Once they start making a lot of money it's very hard to leave that job/career (in addition they might have accumulated a lot of debt so they are tied to their job).

2.) Often you may not figure out that you don't like a career path until you have gotten into that particular career. Some people then change, however some people get stuck in the "rut" and don't have the courage or will not put in the effort to change.

3.) Their parents and/or peers pushed them into a field they didn't choose for them selves. Maybe their family has a business and they expect you to continue to run the business.

4.) For me the company I used to work for changed in their philosophies and as a result the work then became no longer fun.

These are just my thoughts.