Choosing a career is perhaps the first big decision we make for our future, even if we are not ready for it. When you’re 17or 18, it seems like the only thing the world wants to know is: “What do you want to do with your life?”
And the truth is that this question is much more complex than we imagine. I grew up hearing that a good profession was synonymous with stability. Medicine, technology, and taking civil service exams… all paths seen as the safest and most promising financially.
But when it was my turn to make this decision, I understood that choosing a career goes far beyond security and stability; it also involves dreams, desires, and above all, identity.
THE PRESSURE OF CHOOSING EARLY
Nowadays, choosing a career is even more difficult. This is because the job market has changed, and with advances in technology, many jobs that were once common now almost no longer exist.
This difficulty comes not only from competition, but also from the constant fear of making mistakes. When we are young, deciding this involves pressure from all sides: family, teachers, social media, and even friends who seem to have it all figured out.
Still, the market changes all the time, which, on one hand, makes everything more uncertain, but on the other hand, it also shows that not every decision needs to be final. Although many workplace roles will cease to exist, millions of new opportunities are expected to emerge in the coming years. This shows that the fear we often feel about our professional future may be more linked to the pressure to get it right than to reality; after all, the market itself is constantly changing.
STABILITY OR IDENTITY?
In my personal experience, this conflict of decisions has been present for a long time. When I entered high school, I was one of the students who had no idea what to study, which frustrated me, because who doesn’t want to have a defined plan and be able to say, “this has always been my dream.”
In my house, my parents always encouraged me to make my own decisions, even though they believed that I should do something related to technology or health. I understood this point of view because they would prioritize a career that would ensure faster financial stability. And in a way, that makes sense. But it also does not mean that what is safe is necessarily what makes sense to those who choose.
It was only at the age of 17 that I started researching areas that really aroused my interest, but that also matched what I saw in myself. As I have always enjoyed writing, reading, and consuming new information, journalism has become this possibility. In addition, because it is an area that covers a lot, it showed me that I would not need to limit myself to a single path.
From this experience, a question arises that goes beyond my individual choice: to what extent are we the ones who choose our careers? Because even when we believe we are following what we want, this decision is still crossed by expectations, fears, and external influences. And in many cases, when someone opts for a “safer” path, that choice may not have been completely free. So, in the end, who is really deciding?
There was a moment when this doubt disappeared. I visited the CNN Brazil studios and saw the tour guide leave in the middle of the explanation to go live on national television. Meanwhile, other people wrote, analyzed information, and followed what happened on the surrounding screens. My gaze opened there. It was at that moment that I realized that it didn’t matter in which area of journalism I was going to work, because, somehow, I saw myself in all of them.
But this feeling was never enough to end my doubts. When I told people about my decision, many of them said that, as interesting as it was, journalism would not bring me financial return, or that, at some point, the profession could become “unnecessary” because of AI.
And that made me wonder: what if I regret it? Even though I knew this was the right choice for me, the fear still exists. Not only the fear that it won’t work, but of discovering that maybe what I love doesn’t make that much sense. In the end, the doubt is not only in taking risks, but in dealing with the possibility of being disappointed with my own choice.
WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN A CAREER?
Although there are several paths, one fact is that the idea of achieving professional success has always been linked to financial return. But, in practice, this is not the only factor that sustains a choice over time.
Aspects such as well-being and satisfaction in everyday life have a direct impact on the way people relate to their careers. This shows that focusing only on the immediate salary return, and not positively evaluating future success and the knowledge that the occupation provides, may not be enough to sustain a career choice, as the way we feel about work directly affects our personal life and our health.
In other words, choosing a path that makes sense is an emotional decision and also a way of thinking about one’s own future more broadly. After all, it’s not just about having stability, but about building a life in which work is not just an obligation in exchange for a financial reward.
In the end, perhaps the question is not only whether we are choosing our careers, but how much of what we call choice actually came from us. Most of the time, the path we follow is not defined by what we want, but also by the fears, expectations, and pressures that surround us.
In addition, choosing something that makes sense does not mean ignoring reality, but understanding that work also occupies an important space in the way we live and feel. Perhaps this is what defines the difference between choosing a career and just following a path that, little by little, ends up choosing us.
The article above was edited by Isabella Simões.
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