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I'm almost 30, and I'm only now figuring out my goals for my long-term career. I've been all over the place. I went to grad school for electrical engineering, then I taught high school math, then I went to grad school again for music technology, then I worked for a startup, then I did grant-funded research, then I started a startup, then I became a consultant. You don't have to know what you want to do with the rest of your life. But my advice to you is to pick something and go hard for it. Don't worry about whether you're making the right choice. Just make sure that whatever path you take, it's something you're going to learn and grow from. The only way you can lose is by not making an affirmative decision on your current direction. You're young as hell, there's plenty of time to pivot. How do you know when to pivot? When you have ceased to meet new people, learn new things about yourself, build new skills, and enjoy yourself. I could be 8 years into some career job right now. Maybe I missed out on an opportunity to really press my claim in some particular direction. I don't think so though, because instead, I've lived in 8 different states, seen several different career paths, met fascinating people, built soft and hard skills, and learned an incredible amount about myself and what I value. If you want to be a programmer, you can take some advanced level MOOC classes today. Overcommit yourself to it for a little bit, beyond your coursework. You can try to fix a bug in an open source product you use. You can volunteer your time for a startup in your area, and try to learn the ropes. Just start building. If you can make it clear that you're the type of person that will dive in head first to a tough problem and find a way to scrap together a solution, you will put yourself in demand in the tech world. Good luck, and feel free to email me if you need any advice. |