Career Indecision
When I began reading
this article I was concerned by some of the information presented regarding
career indecision. Savickas (1995) discusses
indecision as a dichotomy in which indecision is thought to be linked to a defect
or problem within the individual. Additionally,
it is stated that indecisive students are thought to be inferior in their
maturity and accomplishments. I was
happy to continue reading to find that this point is refuted and viewed as empirically
weak.
From
reading the rest of the article, it appears that opinions regarding career
indecision have changed frequently over time.
I am much more approving of steps in life-theme counseling than I was to
previous ideas regarding career indecision.
The idea of steps in life-theme counseling seems to promote
understanding of a person’s career indecision and works to achieve a greater
understanding of why the person is uncertain.
The counselor works with the student to identify their life story, understand
its meaning, and decide how the student can use that information to proceed
with a career choice in the future (Savickas, 1995).
My
feelings regarding this article stem from personal experience. I entered college as an undergraduate student
with an undecided major. Being undecided
made me feel ashamed and embarrassed as people were asking me what my major was
and what I want to do when I graduated.
My parents certainly did not help this fact because they frowned upon my
undecided major as well. They were
greatly trying to influence me into a math or science major, but I held my
ground because I knew that I did not want to pursue that avenue.
Looking
back on it now, I don’t feel that I should have been ashamed of entering
college being undecided. I think it is
typical for young adults entering college as they are going through a
transitional phase. This was discussed
by Savickas (1995) by stating that individuals are undecided because they are
forging a new identity and creating their own path in life. This was very true about my situation because
I knew that I was not returning home after college, and I needed to choose a
career that would support me immediately after graduation. I am not sure where the negative view point
of being undecided comes from, but I feel it was much more helpful for me to be
undecided at first rather than switching majors a year or two later.
Ultimately,
I believe that I would have benefited from the assistance of a career counselor
or a program such as steps in life-theme counseling. It would have been useful to sit down with
someone else who could attempt to help me navigate through my history and uncertainty. Career counseling would be very beneficial to
any youth, with my story being one example; but it is not being employed. Despite all the work that has been done and
that will continue to be done in this area, I am not sure the stigma regarding
career indecision will ever cease to exist.
References
Savickas, M. L. (1995). Constructivist
counseling for career indecision. The Career Development
Quarterly, 43, 363-373.
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