Blog #4

Indecision in a Career:              

              After reading this article, I realize how lucky I am to have decided on a career, knowing I made the right decision for me.  If I read this article undecided in my career choice, I would probably feel upset and almost worthless.  According to some of the research, “There is the assumption that indecision reflects a personality problem or defect” (Savickas 1995).  This definitely sounds like quite the ego-booster.  He goes on to say that the studies basically show that the undecided students are both less accomplished and less mature.  This whole dichotomy of decided and undecided seems very harsh and wrong.  I don’t think that if you are undecided in your career that it makes you any less mature than those who have decided. 

Contrasting from that point, I may agree with the idea that, “The career indecision experienced by adolescents and young adults may occur, in part, because they have not recognized their life themes” (Savickas 1995).  This to me sounds like they have not self-conceptualized everything that has happened to them in their life.  It takes time to really reflect back on your life and pick out what was most important and what may have had the most impact on you.  I like the term “Identity-formation process,” because a career should be based off of what your self-identity is thought out to be.  People that are undecided might feel as if they have no meaning in their life, which is not true at all.  They just might not have found out what that is at the current moment. 

I like one of the questions asked towards the end of the article, “How can you use what you have already rehearsed?” (Savickas 1995).  I can definitely see how beneficial this question may be in helping an undecided person figure out what they may want to do as a career.  My answer to this question came about my sophomore year of college.  It was fairly easily because I did indeed rehearse what I have now chosen for my career path, and that is I helped to “counsel” a friend.  At the time, I had decided on becoming a pharmacist.  As I began to see my friend become a little less depressed and less anxious all the time with my help, I knew for a fact that this is what I wanted to do.  I guess deciding on a career can come easily for some people and can be intimidating for others.  I do not think at the high school level, or even early college years, an individual can truly decide on a career.  I think the exploration process of finding a career truly depends on how many positive experiences an individual has encountered. 

 Reference:

Savickas, M.L. (1995). Constructivist counseling for career indecision. The Career Development Quarterly, 43(4). 363-373.