Blog #6

I found Chapter 8 to be helpful. Particularly the section that discussed the many ways occupational information can be found. I wished I would have tried some of the techniques listed in the text when I was younger. Perhaps it would have provided me with more insight about what I wanted to take as a college student.

            I can remember going to career day and listening to all the individuals describe “what their days are like”. I never gleaned any insight about occupations because, in retrospect, I was close minded. At the time the only thing I (or the rest of the class) cared about was how many zeros were included in the pay check. Of course, you needed multiple years of college, numerous degrees, or a trip to a professional sport draft to get the salary we wanted. So, I assume we had our standards set high.

            However, once I did pick Psychology as a major and was required to compete 200 hours in an “internship”, I was told that the things I was interested in doing (private practice counseling) was out of the stretch of my degree. So I was forced to perform clerical duties in a private practice counseling facility. I was so close to the real thing!

            I also wish my school had a post-high school opportunity program. This would have allowed me to have direct contact with training institutions. This would also have allowed me to have the opportunity to discuss college plans with representatives of institutions (Brown, 2012).  As a senior in high school, I did not have any clear career path chosen. In my spare time I gave private drum lessons to the underclassmen. I figured since I was good at reading and playing percussion music, why not make a career out of it? So, I decided to go to college. I entered as undecided because I heard it was easier to get into college that way and planned to declare music as my major after my first semester. If I would have been able to be involved with individuals who were from the university, maybe I could have saved a semester and realized that music just wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  However, in the end I can take the view that it all worked out and truly the lack of school intervention didn’t cost me a life-altering mistake resulting in school loans and formidable regret.

Reference

Brown, D. (2012). Career Information, career counseling, and career development (10th ed).  New York:  Pearson Education, Inc.