Career Counseling help?

Question

I know... I shouldn't be asking people who dont know me, but I am just kind of stressed about it. I went to see a career counselor and it seemed like she totally didnt get a good read on my personality. I have done a lot of non profit work and volunteering so she assumed that i like that kind of stuff.. when I actually only do it to beef up my resume. Anyway... I graduated from college in May with a B.S. in Psychology and currently work as a customer service rep, substitute teacher, and intake specialist for a probono law firm. i volunteer as a tutor for a private school and i am taking a couple of graduate counseling courses at night.

I like counseling I am just not sure if I would be good at it. I really enjoy the substitute teaching because I kind of am my own boss and I dont really have to answer to anyone. There is so much freedom, I work when I want, etc. I would like a career with a lot of freedom and variety preferably where I make my own hours. In my customer service position, I quickly get irritated with the general public. I am a strong math and english student. I am not very confident in my oral communication skills but i think my written communication skills are fairly strong. I am a really quiet person and keep to myself most of the time.

The careers Im considering are counselor, mediator, attorney, psychologist, pharmacist, teacher.

Are any of these careers good for a person like me? I realize that I am not choosing a career for life and that many people nowadays change careers multiple times during their life and I do not have the pick the "perfect" career now, but I would like to try to get a good one the first time around.

If there are other careers you think would be a good fit please include them in your responses... thank you!

Answer 1

I would strongly encourage you NOT to select "teacher". Having been one, it's all about customer service when you do it full time. Sure, you're your own boss, but you don't set your own hours. And when the students start complaining about their grades and why did you assign that homework...Ugh!

You sound like a good fit for mediator or attorney. Something where your skills and knowledge would be called for by the customer rather than demanded (as it is in most teaching environments). With mediator and attorney, people assume you are the expert, so they appeal to you for help. With teaching, people assume you're a gatekeeper and they just want the easiest answer to get through the gate. As you end up in higher levels of education, this isn't so much the case, but up through undergraduate level, you tend to find more whiners than learners

Answer 2

Which area do YOU like best and  are the best at?

That's how I would decide.  You are gifted more  in one of these areas  and that would be the best for you.

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