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I have no idea what I want to do in life or at uni

I’m currently heavily interested in screenwriting for games/film. I love reading, writing and storytelling and I know that i’d absolutely love the work. I’m currently doing art at college and can study screenwriting and film at university with it. However for the past 8 years my dream job has been to be an astrophysicist/aerospace engineer. I love space and have always had an interest in science, inside and outside of school. The thought of possibly becoming an astronaut is thrilling to me, and although atm I suck at math, I know that I could better myself and then do a foundation engineering/science course at uni. But I literally can’t choose between the two as I love them both. I do worry though that I may not enjoy the work as an engineer, and am only focusing on the end goal of the chance to go to space. It’s so stressful because not a day goes by where I don’t worry about what I am going to choose to the point where it consumes all of my thoughts for hours. I don’t want to choose the wrong thing and then regret it when i’m older.
Maybe Journalism
Freelance writing
Reply 3
Original post by fareeda234
Maybe Journalism

I’ve considered it and did some research into science writing, and other things that combine the two but it doesn’t interest me as much unfortunately.
Reply 4
Original post by tinyperson
Freelance writing

Maybe, but I’m honestly not sure if I could actually balance the two
Original post by hextech
I’m currently heavily interested in screenwriting for games/film. I love reading, writing and storytelling and I know that i’d absolutely love the work. I’m currently doing art at college and can study screenwriting and film at university with it. However for the past 8 years my dream job has been to be an astrophysicist/aerospace engineer. I love space and have always had an interest in science, inside and outside of school. The thought of possibly becoming an astronaut is thrilling to me, and although atm I suck at math, I know that I could better myself and then do a foundation engineering/science course at uni. But I literally can’t choose between the two as I love them both. I do worry though that I may not enjoy the work as an engineer, and am only focusing on the end goal of the chance to go to space. It’s so stressful because not a day goes by where I don’t worry about what I am going to choose to the point where it consumes all of my thoughts for hours. I don’t want to choose the wrong thing and then regret it when i’m older.

I’m in a very similar position to you. I guess do tons and tons of research into different factors associated with each career paths: what it involves, salary, how you would attain it, difficulty, etc. Maybe find people who have those professions and discuss it with them? I don’t think you would regret it imo, because any experience especially in those fields would be beneficial. I think it would be stupid to pick something that you KNOW you would hate. Otherwise, its okay to change your career ambitions over time. Sorry if this was pretty vague and useless, and I know you’ll figure it out at some point.
Arthur C Clarke and Carl Sagan seemed to do well combining your interests. I suspect plenty of others also.
Reply 7
Original post by Anonymous
I’m in a very similar position to you. I guess do tons and tons of research into different factors associated with each career paths: what it involves, salary, how you would attain it, difficulty, etc. Maybe find people who have those professions and discuss it with them? I don’t think you would regret it imo, because any experience especially in those fields would be beneficial. I think it would be stupid to pick something that you KNOW you would hate. Otherwise, its okay to change your career ambitions over time. Sorry if this was pretty vague and useless, and I know you’ll figure it out at some point.

it’s frustrating that i’m the only career driven person in my family and friend group lol. And damn me for having so many passions at once. But i’ll continue to research for the next few months and hopefully have a better idea. I think I would enjoy both of them a lot, although if I do want to go into space sciences it will take years of studying so the sooner the better I guess. And also not useless at all! Your insight is actually helpful and I appreciate the reply, thank you!
Reply 8
Original post by ajj2000
Arthur C Clarke and Carl Sagan seemed to do well combining your interests. I suspect plenty of others also.

I’ll have a little look into them, thank you!
Original post by hextech
I’m currently heavily interested in screenwriting for games/film. I love reading, writing and storytelling and I know that i’d absolutely love the work. I’m currently doing art at college and can study screenwriting and film at university with it. However for the past 8 years my dream job has been to be an astrophysicist/aerospace engineer. I love space and have always had an interest in science, inside and outside of school. The thought of possibly becoming an astronaut is thrilling to me, and although atm I suck at math, I know that I could better myself and then do a foundation engineering/science course at uni. But I literally can’t choose between the two as I love them both. I do worry though that I may not enjoy the work as an engineer, and am only focusing on the end goal of the chance to go to space. It’s so stressful because not a day goes by where I don’t worry about what I am going to choose to the point where it consumes all of my thoughts for hours. I don’t want to choose the wrong thing and then regret it when i’m older.

Hi @hextech - I understand being torn in different directions and the subsequent feeling of guilt when you decide on one! I was torn between a career in healthcare, interior design or urban development for a little bit and feeling like I wouldn't know what the right decision would be and regret it later. I'd say that my best advice would be to research the careers further e.g. from studying the degree/ apprenticeship, what could you go into and specialise in in the future. Also, getting a day of work experience/ shadowing is so helpful as it gives you a much better insight into the job role and what you'd actually be doing! Plus, you have the ability to ask staff as many questions as you'd like :smile: There also might be a few YouTube videos you can watch about the jobs or from people who work in the fields too!

If you make a pros and cons list for both career and compare them, what seems like a better choice? At the end of the day, you're able to change course/ degree and career whenever you want to, so if you start to pursue something and decide that it's not for you, then you can always switch!

Don't forget that you can have both still in your life - hobbies are important to have as well as they can reduce stress levels and create a break from working! :smile:

I hope this helps and good luck!!

Emma
3rd year diagnostic radiography student
Reply 10
Original post by University of Suffolk student
Hi @hextech - I understand being torn in different directions and the subsequent feeling of guilt when you decide on one! I was torn between a career in healthcare, interior design or urban development for a little bit and feeling like I wouldn't know what the right decision would be and regret it later. I'd say that my best advice would be to research the careers further e.g. from studying the degree/ apprenticeship, what could you go into and specialise in in the future. Also, getting a day of work experience/ shadowing is so helpful as it gives you a much better insight into the job role and what you'd actually be doing! Plus, you have the ability to ask staff as many questions as you'd like :smile: There also might be a few YouTube videos you can watch about the jobs or from people who work in the fields too!

If you make a pros and cons list for both career and compare them, what seems like a better choice? At the end of the day, you're able to change course/ degree and career whenever you want to, so if you start to pursue something and decide that it's not for you, then you can always switch!

Don't forget that you can have both still in your life - hobbies are important to have as well as they can reduce stress levels and create a break from working! :smile:

I hope this helps and good luck!!

Emma
3rd year diagnostic radiography student

I’m relieved to know i’m not the only one experiencing this! I’m going to take your advice and do some more research into the fields i’m interested in pursuing. I’ll be up watching youtube videos for the next few weeks haha!

I never really thought about getting a bit of work experience in the fields so thank you for bringing this to my attention! :smile: That’s an excellent idea and hopefully will help me figure out what I want to do.

Also, thank you for reminding me that I can change my career path, sometimes I get so ahead of myself that I forgot how much time I really have to find out who l am, so hearing that makes me reason with myself better :smile:

Your advice has helped me tremendously, I really appreciate the reply so thank you again!
Original post by hextech
I’m relieved to know i’m not the only one experiencing this! I’m going to take your advice and do some more research into the fields i’m interested in pursuing. I’ll be up watching youtube videos for the next few weeks haha!

I never really thought about getting a bit of work experience in the fields so thank you for bringing this to my attention! :smile: That’s an excellent idea and hopefully will help me figure out what I want to do.

Also, thank you for reminding me that I can change my career path, sometimes I get so ahead of myself that I forgot how much time I really have to find out who l am, so hearing that makes me reason with myself better :smile:

Your advice has helped me tremendously, I really appreciate the reply so thank you again!

Hi @hextech - I'm glad I could help! :smile: I have students in my cohort in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s so changing careers later on is definitely an option and nothing to be ashamed of!

Good luck with making a decision!

Emma
3rd year diagnostic radiography student

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