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CAREER DECISIONS
can be daunting. Whether you’re picking a major, looking for
an internship or your first job, or moving to a new job, we all know how we choose to
spend our working life impacts everything else.
With all the options available, it’s easy to start feeling overwhelmed. If you have
no idea what you want to do or you don’t know how to get where you want to go, you
are not alone. The competency of career management – using exploration, feedback
and reflection to manage career paths—is something you learn over time. Developing
this skill in young leaders is integral to our work at Agriculture Future of America.
YOU’RE NOT JUST WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
Perhaps the best news is that while your career will be important, it doesn’t have to
define you.
“I think many high-performing students and professionals need to be reminded
to breathe and take some pressure off when it comes to their career success,” says
their major once and 9% had changed
their major more than once. Career and
job changes are also common, especially
in the beginning of our working years.
Looking at job changes over a lifetime,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found
individuals born between 1957 and
1964 had held 12.3 jobs on average by
the time they were 52. In September
of 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported the median tenure of
employees with their current
employer was 4.2 years. For those who
were between the ages of 25 and 34,
the median was only 2.8 years.
There are many reasons for major and
career changes. We continually
learn more about ourselves. The world
continues to change. What is most
important to us and what we want
from our careers change throughout life
as well.
DECIDING IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE
AFA alum Ben Conner has had multiple
career transitions since graduating from
the University of Kentucky in 2016.
His first semester of his senior year,
he accepted a sales role with Dow
AgriSciences. He says this role was
important in many areas of his
development as a young professional,
but there was someone back in Kentucky
who was important, too.
“When I accepted Dow’s offer, I said
send me wherever you please. Within
two months of my offer, I started dating
my now wife, and so that was not in the
decision-making process when I took the
job,” he says.
Before long, Ben moved back to
Kentucky to work for the Kentucky
legislature and then the Kentucky
Department of Agriculture before
starting his current role as an extension
agent in Scott County, Kentucky.
Another AFA alumna, Ellen
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ADVICE FOR MAKING CAREER DECISIONS & TRANSITIONS
I D O N
’
T K N O W W H A T I W A N T T O D O
Whitney Kinne, who is a career coach and AFA alumna. “Work is
important, but our lives exist beyond work, too.”
Whitney graduated from the University of Missouri in 2010
and began working for the Missouri Beef Industry Council
in a public relations role. After three years, Whitney took
a role with Career Services back at the University
of Missouri. Now she is a career coach,
working with individuals and companies.
Listening to career stories, you may
have noticed your first career decision
definitely won’t be your last. We make many
career changes throughout our lives, often
starting with major changes.
YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR PATH
According to a 2017 analysis done by the U.S.
Department of Education, one-third of students
enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs had changed
by Megan Karlin, Agriculture Future of America
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