For the longest, my response was a pediatrician because I just loved babies. It was not until around my sophomore year in high school that I started to seriously consider this question. I had two years until graduation, so I had to pick something. I immediately started researching online the highest paying careers and discovered the career as a nurse anesthetist. I did not have to attend medical school and would make guaranteed bank. This was perfect, so I thought, until I enrolled in nursing school. I hated it! What was a queen to do? Long story short, I chased money and went from nursing, to speech pathology, to psychology, to air traffic control, and finally to engineering. The engineering pursuit was solely for a promotion, and not because I wanted to build things. I was like the children of Israel roaming in the wilderness for forty years.
“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”
Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV
What caused me to make such bad career choices? After thinking about this, I discovered two reasons. Money was numero uno. In 2nd place was societal norms. From childhood, secretly, society programmed me to select pre-professional career paths. My mom, who followed societal norms in this regard would always say, “be a doctor or lawyer.” It was not bad advice, but encouraging me to seek my purpose and explaining that when you seek your purpose everything else naturally aligns would have been better. I probably would not have listened anyway. Admittedly, I am hard-headed. Side note...High school guidance counselors do a horrible job of promoting entrepreneurship. Well, they did back then anyway. Why was I not coached into forging my own path versus following well packaged pre-professional career paths? Until recently, I rarely consulted with God about my career choices. I am embarrassed to admit this, but we live and learn. I would pray and ask for what I wanted, but I never asked the Lord about his purpose for my existence, nor did I seek his will for my life. I chased many career paths based upon the almighty dollar while racking up thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Miserably failing at many different career paths that were unsuitable for me, I finally quit seeking my own will and desires! I encourage you to do the same.
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”— Proverbs 19:21 NIV