How do you find out what you want to do with your life?

Took me until my mid-20s.

Attend job fairs near you. At sixth form most careers advice directs you towards further education so that your college can boast how many % study at uni. Not helpful for you especially if you want to know your career path immediately...

just try to try jobs out I guess, like volunteering or work experience if possible, it is definitely not easy and may change several times in your life even later down the road

27 next week, a year shy of completing my second degree, and I'm still not entirely sure what I want to be when I "grow up".

I've done a lot of volunteer and freelance work (cinematography, newspapers, magazines) in the past. I currently write fiction (first degree was in screenwriting) while studying biomedical science - and I've still no idea where it's all heading. It'll all work out in the end though, I think!

by doing and failing and realising

process of elimination - but the first step is always 'to do'

Many years after graduation and still not sure what to do. Have changed jobs multiple times and now work in a job which changes every few months, so prefer the variety

I’d say keep your options as open as possible. Try lots of things, do hobbies, listen to lectures, volunteer and talk to people. Finding out what you don’t like can’t help you narrow down what you do

think about what you're good at and of those things what you enjoy
think about what you're willing to go through to get to what you want to do (getting a "top" job takes a metric crap tonne of sacrifice and effort - including getting solid grades and going to top universities)
think about the % chance you'll actually make it and any alternative paths if you don't
think about what kind of contribution you want to give in the world
think about what kind of lifestyle you want to live (can you stomach a 50-80+ hour a week job? or would you rather a bog standard 40 hour week job? or freelancing when you can and want?) - this includes where you live.. some jobs are literally only in expensive global economic hubs (like NYC, London, Tokyo, SF Bay Area etc)
think about what drives you.. is it the thirst for knowledge? the need to be right and to win? the urge to help others?
etc

Took me until my mid-20s.

I've taken a path but it doesn't necessarily mean I'll stick to it I'll say it will take me until my late 20s.



To OP I went to jobs fairs and asked for random work experience from most of the stands. I tried anything which remotely interested me and gone with a path I thought was relatively riveting. However it doesn't necessarily mean I will stick to it. (22 now)

So, basically, I have no idea what I want to do as a career... like at all. I don't feel strongly about going to uni- if I found a degree that I wanted to do or a career I wanted to do that requires a certain degree then I would go to uni but currently I don't have a clue. Alternatively, if I found a career that I wanted to pursue that didn't involve going to uni then that would be fine too- I'm open to suggestions.
I just don't know how you find something you're really passionate about. How did you work out what you wanted to do?
Next year I'm doing 5 highers ( English, Geography, French, Music and Chemistry) and I just chose them based on what I liked and so they're not geared towards any particular career. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions for interesting jobs or degrees or maybe how you figured out what you wanted to do, I'd love to hear them.
Thanks