A bit confused

[Angel Down]

I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with my life.

I want a job that allows me to help people, preferably children. I like working directly with people in a hands-on fashion, and I've got the patience to work with just about anyone.

Ideas?

[custodis]

Teaching may be a good idea, if you're hands on and patient. Both are excellent qualities that I personally believe that teacher's should have. However, the pay isn't exactly the greatest in most cases.

If you're willing to spend a lot of time in school, pediatrics may be a good route. As well as child psychiatry or counseling. Both require patience, and you're definitely helping people.

Do you have any other interests? What do you do for fun?

[Angel Down]

Originally Posted by Covey

Teaching may be a good idea, if you're hands on and patient. Both are excellent qualities that I personally believe that teacher's should have. However, the pay isn't exactly the greatest in most cases.

If you're willing to spend a lot of time in school, pediatrics may be a good route. As well as child psychiatry or counseling. Both require patience, and you're definitely helping people.

Do you have any other interests? What do you do for fun?

I've thought about teaching and child psychology, and I'm just sort of luke-warm towards those professions. Pediatrics is something I haven't considered before, but I'm not sure I've got a medical brain. Science is my weakest subject in school.

As far as interests go, I enjoy volunteering, I used to work at a place called Rolly Pollies (basically a gym for little kids), and I plan on working as a counselor at a Christian camp next summer.

Some things I like that are unrelated and probably don't apply here at all: I play guitar, I like sports, and I love to read and write. I really don't care how much a profession pays as long as I'm doing something I love.

[kdee]

Originally Posted by Angel Down

I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with my life.

I want a job that allows me to help people, preferably children. I like working directly with people in a hands-on fashion, and I've got the patience to work with just about anyone.

Ideas?

Get involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters. It should give you an EXCELLENT idea of what a hands-on career helping children is like.....

I've got to be perfectly honest with you....my experiences with the organization have shown to me that I would be very ill-suited to dealing with kids everyday. I have one 13 year old (who is actually very well behaved and mannered), and it has become a very time & energy intensive experience for me. Well worth it though..

[Bobby B]

Teaching is a good profession. Teach for America (http://www.teachforamerica.org) can pay for college if you promise to go back and teach for a year or so with them in an inner-city area, like New York, Boston, Los Angles, and New Orleans. Look into groups like Big Brother Big Sister, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, & 4-H. I've included links below to all of them.

Big Brother Big Sister http://www.bbbs.org
Boy Scouts http://www.scouting.org
Girl Scouts http://www.girlscouts.org/
4-H http://4-h.org/

[Angel Down]

Originally Posted by Bobby B

Teaching is a good profession. Teach for America (http://www.teachforamerica.org) can pay for college if you promise to go back and teach for a year or so with them in an inner-city area, like New York, Boston, Los Angles, and New Orleans. Look into groups like Big Brother Big Sister, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, & 4-H. I've included links below to all of them.

Everyone always tells me teaching, and it has some appeal... but it just doesn't feel like something I'd want to make a career out of.

I'm currently in Boy Scouts, and I'm just finishing up my Eagle. I'm not sure if I plan to stay involved after I turn 18 in 3 weeks though.

Big Brother Big Sister is a great idea (thanks also to kdee for that one), but are you suggesting I make a career out of it, or just try it out?

[kdee]

I'm currently in Boy Scouts, and I'm just finishing up my Eagle.

Congrats..

Big Brother Big Sister is a great idea (thanks also to kdee for that one), but are you suggesting I make a career out of it, or just try it out?

Well, I'm really not suggesting you make a career out of it. All I'm saying is that it would be an experience by which you would be able to accurately evaluate your ability to handle kids.

[AdrenalineRush]

Look at a career you might enjoy and see if your emphasis can be helping younger adults or kids like athletic trainers/physical therapy for kids with disabilities or athletes recovering from injury. Lawyers or social workers that deal with families and kids. Rack your brain based on personal interests and try to merge the two.

[Bobby B]

Originally Posted by Angel Down

I'm currently in Boy Scouts, and I'm just finishing up my Eagle. I'm not sure if I plan to stay involved after I turn 18 in 3 weeks though.

Congrats. The Boy Scouts and the 4-H Program have programs that work with schools so you're working with children on projects (cub scout skills, pins, Boy Scout merit badges, 4-H program areas, etc) after school and work for that. I don't know if that is full time or part time. but it's a good job. I know my BSA council has 3 full time employees that do what I described. It's different depending on the council. The Boy Scout (or any of the youth groups) nationally have people that travel the country working with their local programs, so you would be working with scouts directly and indirectly, depending on the particular assignment.

[Angel Down]

Originally Posted by kdee

Congrats..

Well, I'm really not suggesting you make a career out of it. All I'm saying is that it would be an experience by which you would be able to accurately evaluate your ability to handle kids.

Thanks

I'm definitely going to looking into BBBS. It sounds like the sort of thing I'd really enjoy.

Originally Posted by AdrenalineRush

Look at a career you might enjoy and see if your emphasis can be helping younger adults or kids like athletic trainers/physical therapy for kids with disabilities or athletes recovering from injury. Lawyers or social workers that deal with families and kids. Rack your brain based on personal interests and try to merge the two.

All good ideas. I haven't thought much about a career in any type of medicine, but I have been researching social work. It's such a broad field I'm sure I could find a career for me there.

Originally Posted by Bobby B

Congrats. The Boy Scouts and the 4-H Program have programs that work with schools so you're working with children on projects (cub scout skills, pins, Boy Scout merit badges, 4-H program areas, etc) after school and work for that. I don't know if that is full time or part time. but it's a good job. I know my BSA council has 3 full time employees that do what I described. It's different depending on the council. The Boy Scout (or any of the youth groups) nationally have people that travel the country working with their local programs, so you would be working with scouts directly and indirectly, depending on the particular assignment.

I may have to look into that. One of the reasons I want to stay involved in my current troop is because we just took on 19 new scouts, but at this point I'm not sure if I'll be able to.

[Malevolent]

Have you thought about nursing? If you enjoy helping people then nursing will fit you quite nicely. There are plenty of things you could do in nursing that involved helping little kids, too. Yes, there is science involved but it's absolutely nothing compared to the science doctors go through.

[Bobby B]

Originally Posted by Angel Down

I may have to look into that. One of the reasons I want to stay involved in my current troop is because we just took on 19 new scouts, but at this point I'm not sure if I'll be able to.

You can still be involved with your current troop regardless of what job you take on.

[Angel Down]

Originally Posted by Malevolent

Have you thought about nursing? If you enjoy helping people then nursing will fit you quite nicely. There are plenty of things you could do in nursing that involved helping little kids, too. Yes, there is science involved but it's absolutely nothing compared to the science doctors go through.

I've really never considered it because a friend of mine turned me off to it. He ended up transferring colleges 5 or 6 times trying to get his nursing degree and ultimately decided it wasn't worth it.

Not that that really has anything to do with me... but again, science/medicine really isn't my forte.

Originally Posted by Bobby B

You can still be involved with your current troop regardless of what job you take on.

It's not that... I may not be living where I am now for much longer.

[ZenaGirl]

You might consider a job as a physical therapist. They help people of all ages overcome handicaps and recuperate from injuries and surgeries. The hospital where my mom works has both professional and volunteers on staff and are always looking for more. You can really feel that you are helping people who need it and therapists with degrees make pretty good money.

[Malevolent]

Originally Posted by ZenaGirl

You might consider a job as a physical therapist. They help people of all ages overcome handicaps and recuperate from injuries and surgeries. The hospital where my mom works has both professional and volunteers on staff and are always looking for more. You can really feel that you are helping people who need it and therapists with degrees make pretty good money.

The problem with physical therapy is that you need to have a good understanding of the human sciences. He doesn't quite enjoy science, so it's not a really good match in that respect. I do agree that physical therapy is very rewarding in the sense that you are able to help people from all sorts of problems though.