Everyone around you seems to have a plan.
One friend wants to study medicine. Another has wanted to become an architect since they were ten. Someone else already seems to have researched every university on Earth.
And you?
No idea?
That’s okay.
Not knowing exactly what you want to do at 15, 16 or 17 doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means you need to start exploring. Here are three quick steps to make that happen:
1. Start with yourself, not a job title
Instead of immediately searching for careers, ask yourself questions like:
- What subjects do I enjoy?
- What am I naturally curious about?
- What am I good at?
- What kind of problems do I enjoy solving?
- Do I prefer creating, analysing, organising, helping, building or persuading?
- What environments bring out my best?
Your answers won’t necessarily give you one career.
They’re clues.
2. Explore industries, not just jobs
If you love fashion, for example, your options aren’t limited to becoming a designer.The industry needs marketers, accountants, supply-chain specialists, photographers, buyers, lawyers, technologists, sustainability specialists, and even entrepreneurs.
One interest can open dozens of pathways.
3. Try things
Research helps, but experience can tell you things that Google can’t.
Attend a workshop. Volunteer. Join a competition. Speak to a professional. Visit a workplace or university. Take on a project.
You could even join Curtin Dubai’s Future-Ready Masterclass, hosted once a month for UAE school students from Grades 9-13.
Your objective at this age isn’t necessarily to find exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life.
A much better outcome is to understand yourself better, know more about what careers exist out there, and what you would want to explore next.
That’s progress.
Ready to start building those skills? Explore the Curtin University Dubai Future-Ready Masterclass for students in Grades 9–13.
