As a M.S. candidate at KAIST College of Business, I want to share my experience with students having trouble deciding their future path. Ever since elementary school, my dream was to become a scientist. I really liked science. But honestly, I was not 100% confident because I liked math and humanities as well. I thought, if I worked hard for what I liked, I would eventually be sure about my decision for a career and thus deferred my decision. Time passed and I graduated from middle school and high school and matriculated in POSTECH. In the nation’s best engineering school, I thought again that studying here would help me decide my path. But even after my 3rd year, I was not sure. Nothing changed from elementary school. I still liked science, but I still liked other subjects as well.
In the 2nd semester of my 3rd year, I went to UC Berkeley as an exchange student and stayed there for a year and a half. Being apart from my parents, friends and POSTECH, I had time alone to think about my future. For advice, I read some books. The biographies and autobiographies opened up a new path. I have read about the lives of famous people, such as the genome project scientist Craig. J. Ventor, entrepreneurs Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, President Abraham Lincoln, etc. It is advisable to not read from the first page, but rather from the point you find most interesting. From all the diverse occupations, I could figure out what kind of lifestyle I wanted. It provided a means of choosing my path not only considering the subjects I like to study, but what kind of life would satisfy me with no regrets. It set up a new standard for myself. Please note that it is not the result of the fame or fortune, but the process that we need to focus on. Regardless of what the outcome is, we need to think about whether the process to reach that goal would make us happy.
Even though I did not have a specific subject that I strongly favoured, I did have a lifestyle that I preferred. This strongly helped me clear out my thoughts and choose my career. I am currently working hard to achieve this goal, and hope that this method will help those who are troubled in deciding their career sort things out. Of course there are other ways to choose a career path, but please feel free to contact me at kbm1378@gmail.com for further discussion.