by Haley Miller

According to the Huffington post, Walt Disney, the creator of our beloved childhood, was once a newspaper editor. That was his beginning career. he was told he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. Julia child is a chef at thirty -six that cooks French delicacies. She used to be a CIA Intelligence officer (basically known as a spy). A chef and a spy are vastly different, but they both need their hand-eye coordination to thrive. The difference in their starting careers and present careers have no comparison, yet they still found their dream job.

Many actors we see on TV every day, also switched careers. Ellen DeGeneres was originally a paralegal and oyster shucker. Two low-down jobs. We now her as the TV host for her own show. Ken Jeong, known for his hilarious acting skills in The Hangover, was once a doctor. He sometimes still plays roles as doctors in TV shows and movies. Sylvester Stallone had a couple careers before he became an actor. He was first a deli-counter assistant. Then he became a lion cage cleaner as the Central Zoo. After that caged-in career, he was a boxer. He is most known for being a boxer and an actor for obvious reasons. Another TV host had a different career before her now well-known career. Joy Behar, who host The View and The Joy Behar Show was an English teacher till the age of forty.

These two singer songwriters had career changes as well. Elvis Costello was once a computer programmer in an office operating an IBM 360. He is now a singer songwriter. Andrea Bocelli, a singer, graduated from Pisa University as a lawyer. He was a defense attorney until the age of thirty-four, when he became a singer. There is a great difference between being a lawyer and a singer. A lawyer has many years of schooling, hours of studying and case work, internships, stress and decisions to make. A singer has a passion, a talent and a way to go. Career changes do not always happen at the beginning of our choosing. Sometimes it happens a few years and decisions later.

A student goes to college for a career whether it is community college, a university or online. They pick the major they think is the best fit and meet with their advisor for class pickings. In there for 8:30 am class, they question why they are there. In their 10:30 am chemistry class, they wonder why they need that class for their major. After weeks of classes and plummeting grades, they question their major choice. After a tough decision, they decide to change their major to something else. During this time, they are not sure they made the right choice. They contemplate and keep trying classes to figure out what is right for them. They finally find the perfect major. It is one they have never thought of before. This is the common process among most college students that are just beginning their career choice. And even then, they do not have to stick with the career they choose later in life. Some individuals do not find there career till later in life.

My brother, Hunter Miller, wanted to go into physical therapy. The physical therapy college path is a long one and did not fit his lifestyle. He has a son, and needed to have a quicker job. The career he chose was athletic training. He still gets to do treatments and help healing patients, but was able to finish college in four years. He got his first job as a medical assistant at the Orthopedic Center in Lynchburg. It is not athletic training, but it is his foot in the door. While interning at Sweet Briar his senior year with athletic training, he figured out that he wanted to go into schools and work with student athletes. He still helps out at the all-girls college when they need him. His new job allows him to still have the helping feel while having a full time job to support his growing family. He will have to wait a few years of experience before he is able to work his dream job of athletic training.

The percent of students who switch majors varies across different majors. According to studentresearchfoundation.org, fifty-two percent of math, forty percent natural science, thirty-seven percent education, thirty-six humanities, thirty-five stem and thirty-two engineering majors switch their major in college. The lowest percent of major changes are from health services and computer/ information science majors. The reason twenty-eight percent of computer/science majors switch is because of already knowing about computers. The reason for only twenty-six percent of health services majors switching is because the major itself attracts individuals who want to help people. This mentality does not change in the individual, which allows them to stick with their original major. This change effects their career later in life as well.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, people change on average of eleven point seven times in their life time. This statistic is from the time they start working till their final retirement. The age difference effects how any wanted to change their careers. The Huffington post says that individuals in their twenties change jobs eighty percent. This is because of being so young and having no experience to fully decide on a job. Sixty-four percent of individuals in their thirties change their career. Fifty-four percent change their career in their forties. The older the person got, the less likely they are to change their career. The experience the individual gained over the years made it easier to keep a specific career. More jobs need experienced workers to do the task, causing younger individuals to not the get the career they were achieving in college.

This is a common trend among most people. Most individuals we look up to everyday have changed their careers over time from the career they studied in college. Parents, grandparents, singers, songwriters, actors, and many more. As individuals go to college, they think they must stick with their original major they picked to make things easier. This is not the case. Many of the known actor and actresses had very different careers before purusing acting. Some of the songwriters and singers today did not even think of being singers and songwriters when finding their careers. When young adults stress about choosing their careers, they should look up to their role models and see if they had the same problem. The likelihood is that they have had trouble in college picking the major that is right for them.

My mother, Cynthia Miller, is a customer service representative for Centra. For fifteen years, she worked at a nursing home as an accountant and office manager. She loves numbers, and helping people. At the nursing home, she was helping patients manage their money and finances. The job itself was fine, but the environment was sad and depressing. She would get attached to the sick patients before their passings.this environment was toxic to her and she needed to get out. During tax season, she found a love of doing taxes. The process came naturally to her. It was not a full time job, so she could not do it year round, but she enjoys it as a relief. Her new job is still working with the elderly, but with no attachment to them. She helps them get their medication and health needs. After fifteen years at the same job, she now feels less pressure doing her job. This is the job she was meant to be doing all of her life.

No matter what, the career you end up with is what you choose to do,even if it is much later in life. you can stick with that career forever, or only for a little while before deciding to try something else. There is no age limit on a new career (unless physically posted) and no permanent mindset on a career either. And individual is successful as long as they are happy with what they are doing in life. Career changes occur for many different reasons. Environment, lifestyle, salary, location, and time. These are the top reasons careers change at any age.