Expert: Christine Fader - 4/7/2010

Question
Hi!!
I am an ace student, very sincere in studying and all. but ever since i have completed my 10th grade board exams, i have become very tensed as i must now start thinking about my career and i am really confused about it. by the way, i live in india. so here, its like we need to give an exam at the country level after completing 10th grade (i dunno abt the system in other countries, seriously). and for the next two years i'll be having physics, chemistry, maths and biology as my main subjects ( i have chosen them, as i like to get into the science stream). now i have the following questions:
1) i want a good job where i can earn well. preferably i would like to work in India. what would you suggest me to do after 12 th grade? is biotechnology a good option?
2) i am very interested in writing. i mean i just love to settle down as a writer in english, ultimately. can u please mention any exams and stuff that i can write in India so that i can make a career in writing successfully? also, how do i go abt writing while pursueing my main career?
please help
thanks a lot!!

Answer
Hi,

This advice won't be specific to India because I haven't lived or worked there but I'll do my best with your other questions.

Re:  what's a good job to do after science in high school?

As you've probably figured out by now, "what career choices are best?" is not an easy question to figure out for yourself. It's also not the easiest question to answer really specifically without knowing you better, however, I will do my best.

With regard to the science subjects you are taking, it may be that you can head towards careers that use mostly one of them (and you use the other ones in your hobbies and spare time) or you head towards something that is a "braid" of some or all of them. Careers that use a braid of your interests in science, math and writing might include: science writer, teacher, professor, engineer, physician, test pilot, astronaut, pharmaceutical company executive, forensic scientist, researcher, occupational therapist, hospital administrator, psychometrist, test technician...and so on. If you took only one subject, like math, for instance, you might be interested in careers such as banking, investing, finance, real estate, insurance, logistics, planning, or management, just to name a few.

I know these ideas are a bit general but that's because the subjects you have mentioned are very broad so think about which parts of them you like best. For example, in science, do you like physics or biology or chemistry or all of them? And in each of those, which sub-topics are your favourites (for example, if you love biology, does the brain fascinate you or plants or animals?) All of that information will help you get a better, more individualized list of career options that match your unique interests.

You may be a stage where you don't have enough information yet to know what's interesting. In that case, I would suggest finding (use a phone book!) and setting up interviews with people working in fields that interest you. They might be strangers but most people are happy to talk to students about what they do and it gives you a great chance to ask lots of questions and peek in at jobs to see if they really are what you imagine. Often, these people will also invite you to follow them around or "job shadow" them for part of a day. This "trying on a job" really is helpful and will assist you to choose career choices that are a better fit for you.

With regard to getting into a writing career, I'm wondering what kind of writing you like. Are you more of a creative writer who makes up new characters and takes them on journeys and adventures? A technical writer who explains complex concepts to people in simple language? An editorial writer who comments and gives opinions on issues? An investigative writer who digs deeper into events or people or issues to find out the truth behind the image?

As you can see already, there are many different types of writers and for each, many places they can apply their skills. Some of the very directly-applicable places you find writers are in Public Relations departments; newspapers, television and internet companies (these are people who write content); technical writing departments or organizations (e.g. the people who write text that helps you understand how to program your TiVo!); script writing for television, movies, advertising, commercials and politicians.

In addition to these very specific places to use writing, the good news is that many, many jobs have writing as a major component of what you do. For example, as a career counsellor, much of my work involves writing. I write everything from instructional handouts to curriculum to web content to books. It's a major part of my job. In a previous job when I was recruiting physicians, I was writing proposals, letters, reports, strategic plans...lots of writing again!

One handy thing if you'd like to break into fiction or non-fiction writing is to start building a portfolio of your work.  You can do this while you work at another job or go to school. Ideally, this is published work. One of the best ways to get published is to start sending articles/stories to newspapers or newsletters because they need a lot of content and will often accept articles from new writers. Pick ones that align with your topic areas. In newspapers, you may especially have luck sending in items to the "letters to the editor" section. Some newspapers also have an "essay" section that you can submit to. Then, when you do get around to approaching magazines or publishers about your ideas, you'll have lots of published work to show them. Also look for contests ("best children's story" etc.) to enter. There are many contests that allow new writers to break in to a particularly type of writing and get even short works published that way.

One of the things to think about if you are interested in non-fiction writing, is what other subjects/topics interest you as writing can be used in a wide variety of fields and it will be more interesting for you to write about something you already like to think about. For example, I know someone who's interested in medicine and and she works at a hospital writing everything from speeches for the hospital CEO to the hospital newsletter.

A couple of suggestions for ideas (they are Canadian but you can probably find comparable sites if you live elsewhere). These are two sites that contain a bunch of writing-related/communications jobs and they can show you the wide variety of options you may have after gaining some writing experience:

www.jeffgaulin.com
www.mediajobsearchcanada.com

Good luck and best wishes pursuing your science and writing dreams!

Christine
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Christine Fader
Career Counsellor
Author, "Career Cupid:  Your Guide to Landing and Loving Your Dream Job"
www.careercupid.com
Follow my blog at:  www.careercupid.blogspot.com