I Have No Idea What to Do: Advice for Juniors & Seniors

By Salma Zaghloul,

Secretary of the iCademy High School Student Council

Ah, senior year. One of the most exciting and confusing times of your school journey thus far, this is probably the time you’ll be asking yourself what route you want to take after graduation. Sure, many of us – like myself – ask ourselves, “What do I want to study in college?” from middle school; and for many of us – again, like myself – the answer can change 219,538,973 times.

But, this time, things are getting serious. SATs, APs, teacher recommendations, college researching, college applications… in a nutshell: stress. Deciding on a field to pursue in college can be a taxing decision – one I reckon many of us ponder for months on end – but it shouldn’t be. It’s an opportunity for us students to delve into what we’re good at or find most enjoyable; and many of us don’t realize what we want to do until we start doing it. So, remember, it’s okay to be undecided.

This article series specifically targets juniors and seniors who need an extra hand in making that decision (and even if you’re one of those rare gems who have their path of life planned a decade ahead, it may still provide you with useful information regarding your prospective career). As part of a Student Council project to be published in the iGlobe, I reached out to a number of our lovely iCademy teachers from different departments and asked them about advice they would give students who were looking to pursue their respective fields after high school. There will be the following five articles in this series:

1. Mathematics/Related College Career: Advice for Juniors & Seniors

2. English/Related College Career: Advice for Juniors & Seniors

3. Science/Related College Career: Advice for Juniors & Seniors

4. Social Studies/Related College Career: Advice for Juniors & Seniors

5. Foreign Language/Related College Career: Advice for Juniors & Seniors

Still, with all the information provided in these articles, it’s important to highlight how this is your choice and your future. We all have different circumstances and different objectives in life, so no matter how appealing one field may sound, your one key to solving this mystery we call college is research.

Mr. Richard Mistretta, my first contact for these articles, delineated this:

“Since our Career Choice shapes so much of our future, our happiness, our financial security, our lifestyle choices, it's very important that we diligently research what goes into that choice. It's not enough to simply say ‘I love mathematics’ or simply say ‘I want to be a math major’, you need to thoroughly research what opportunities within [for example] mathematics are available to you and consider what intrigues you in that field.

“Just as importantly, I don't think there's anything more powerful than first person interviews. This entails asking people in the field that interests you sincere and thoughtful questions: they'll be honest with you and you can ask specific questions, such as: what are the educational requirements, what's the most interesting and rewarding part of the job, what's the most challenging part of the job, what does the job generally pay and is there room for advancement, would you need to relocate to find a job in your field, is there job security. Remember, set your goals and put forth your best effort to achieve them. Good luck.”