Having a career choice is a boon

Our teenage years are perhaps among the hardest periods in our lives. We are struggling to identify ourselves and deal with the pressures of high school.

Teens face pressure from every aspect of their lives, both in school and at home.

Adding to the pressure is the need for us to decide on a career path. For many teenagers, it is just too much!

The decision with regard to what you want to do for the rest of your life is daunting and is forced on many students at a young age.

In today's world, it is easy for many adults to make career changes, thanks to a wide variety of jobs that are on offer in so many diverse fields. Having the choice of a career should be a privilege. Everyone does not get to enjoy that opportunity. So, rather than seeing it as a challenge, we should see it as an exciting opportunity.

Ashlee Barnes, Australian International School Hong Kong

From the Editor

Thank you for your letter, Ashlee. Sometimes choice brings stress. Take, for example, going to a supermarket to buy some coffee. If you lived in a poor country, there would be coffee, or there wouldn't be. But, in Hong Kong, you would have to make numerous choices before you settled on your brand. Do you want instant, fresh, decaf, or flavoured? Should it come from Africa, or America? Do you like the packaging, is it affordable and many other questions.

Unfortunately, it's the same with careers. Teens today have a choice of careers that were not even thought of 20 years ago, so it is hard to choose one. Many people believe that if they get it wrong they are doomed to fail.

But that is not true. Very few people train in one career and remain in that career all their lives. So it is not a life-and-death decision.

As you survey all the possibilities, the best thing to do is to look at what you enjoy doing. That way, you will have job satisfaction and be happier than if you try to follow trends or predict what the top jobs will be in future.

Susan, Editor