There are few decisions more daunting than purposefully choosing a path in life.
Making a choice means accepting responsibility for your actions. Just “letting life happen to you” seems far easier.
So this week each Launchpadder took a courageous step in imagining “for real” what he or she would choose as a vocation at age 25. Each chose a job that could be landed just after college.
Some of the early picks:
- An Art Director Creating Video Games
- A Political Campaign Staffer
- A Pre-K Teacher
- A Marriage and Family Counselor
- A Biotech Scientist
- A Program Director for a non-Profit designed to stop the Animal Abuse
- A Photographer.
In each case, Launchpadders had to pitch the job, providing proof of talents and passions and explaining which apprenticeships and college degrees had prepared them for the position. In doing so, the twists and turns and path dependencies of early choices became clearer.
Each Launchpadder also presented a salary distribution from Salary.com for his or her position, and the audience acted as employers conducting a job interview, ultimately deciding to make an offer or not. Those with no offers would start the Personal Finance Quest as a Gap employee at the mall or flipping burgers at McDonalds.
Thankfully, everyone eventually received an offer. Final salaries ranged from $28,000 a year to $70,000. Many were surprised that society values video game designers more highly than teachers.
Next Launchpadders will make decisions about houses, apartments and insurance, so to better understand the expenses of real life, and what you can afford on a teacher’s salary. Money isn’t everything; but it does clarify hard choices.
One thing is for sure. Our Launchpadders are far ahead of most college graduates in finding a calling, and will be making far more informed trade-offs and decisions, as they compare one path to another.