Choosing a major or a career path is one of the most anxiety-inducing decisions nearly every young adult has to make. I made that decision once. Twice. Actually, it’s a decision I’ve made and changed many times. Some people know exactly what they’re doing, some think they know what they’re doing but don’t, and some know that they don’t know what they’re doing.

When I graduated high school and went straight into college, I went into a field that didn’t appeal to me. I went into mathematics for security. It was something I was good at, and math could apply to a number of industries from education to engineering to physics and so on. Not too long into my first year of college I realized that I hated my life when I was doing math. This feeling escalated to a point that made continuing my education impossible, and I withdrew.

Before reaching that point, I had taken many career tests, read articles and books on vocation, and changed my major multiple times. The problem, however, was me. I had too much anxiety to answer personality tests and interest inventories honestly. I was afraid of making the wrong decision, of future instability, and disappointing others. Ironically, these fears tend to produce undesirable results. And they did, culminating in the events that led to my withdrawal from my first college. These fears continued to affect my career decisions for the next several years, and I’ve only recently begun to pursue my interests with confidence. My fears still creep up, but they’ve been diminishing, thanks be to God.

I don’t believe I was ready to go to college right out of high school. If I had known that taking a gap year was an option, a year between high school graduation and enrollment in college, I would have taken it. During that gap year I could’ve tried different things while saving money, without the stress of GPA or student loan debt. For anyone uncertain and with the support to do so, I recommend this. I can’t know how doing this might’ve changed my educational journey, but I imagine it would’ve helped.

At the present time, I am back in school. One of my classes this semester brought up some familiar techniques for choosing a career path, and out of curiosity, I’ve applied them to my current situation. I found the results fascinating enough to write about them, so this is my experience mapping the intersection of viable careers from my personality, my skills and gifts, and my interests. You can follow along with your own notes if you want.

I began by listing my interests. The first things that came to mind were the following:

  • Theology
  • Bible
  • Reading, especially sci-fi and fantasy
  • Listening to music
  • Practicing guitar
  • Watching movies or shows, especially sci-fi and fantasy
  • Playing videogames
  • Art, mostly viewing but sometimes creating
  • Tea
  • Photography
  • YouTube

Then I listed my skills and gifts, with help from some family. This is important; friends and family can sometimes identify strengths you don’t think you have. The resulting list looked like this:

  • Reading
  • Learning
  • Teaching
  • Logic
  • Writing
  • Speech
  • Encouragement
  • Music

Lastly, I looked at careers recommended for the INTJ personality type and wrote down the ones that seemed most appealing to me.

  • Aerospace engineer
  • Architect
  • Computer systems analyst
  • Electrical engineer
  • Mechanical engineer
  • Photographer
  • Professor
  • Programmer
  • Software developer
  • Video editor
  • Web developer
  • Writer

I also wrote down some careers to avoid, but I won’t list them here.

All in all, I was a bit surprised by how many career paths crossed well beyond my interests and into things that I am actively pursuing in some way. This is the benefit of pursuing interests with confidence rather than worrying whether you’re on the “right” path. Applying my interests and skills to this career list narrows it down to the following:

  • Photographer
  • Professor
  • Video editor
  • Web developer
  • Writer

Currently, I am a Biblical Studies major. I intend to go to seminary after, hopefully to go into full-time ministry. However, I am open to the professor path. In some ways, these two careers have similarities: teaching and speaking with adults. Beyond this, there are major differences. I find it funny that while professor was a recommended career for the INTJ, teacher was listed as a career to avoid. The reasoning, which I fully understand, is that INTJs are often too logical and can quickly become frustrated with teenagers who do not think or act logically.

While my formal education focuses on the Bible, I am also learning web development on my own time. For anyone interested in learning programming, software development, or web development, there are a number of really good and free resources out there. Many of the jobs in these fields pay well and do not require a degree. Some do, and some require certificates, but many just require skills. These are skills that can be learned for free through places like YouTube, OSSU (Open Source Society University), freeCodeCamp, and The Odin Project.

The other three career paths - photographer, video editor, writer - take shape in my hobbies. I like to take pictures and record videos, though I haven’t done either consistently for a while. At this point it sounds like I’m beating a dead horse, but I would like to start making videos again. My writing is more frequent, though I’d like to write more as well. I’m especially interested in trying my hand at writing some fiction, instead of just papers for school and articles for here. Hopefully I can arrange some time to focus more on these interests.

If you’re going to school or thinking about going to school, it’s okay if you don’t know what to do. You’re not alone. My recommendation is this: don’t worry about it too much. Try a little bit of everything, even some things you might not think you’d be interested in. Keep searching. If you find something that is interesting to you, you like doing the work, and you’re good at it or capable of learning it, pursue it confidently. Don’t forsake everything else while you do that, though. It is good to have multiple interests. It’s also good to work through difficult parts of the things that interest us. There is not a single field that will always be a cakewalk. At some point you’ll face a challenge, and that is normal and good. I simply ask that you don’t force yourself to do something you hate every single day, okay?

Be blessed.