Finding your Career Compass
written by Pippa Rauch
If you’re a student about to write your final exams, or maybe still busy at university or college, you probably know the pressure. You may have found yourself lying awake at night thinking, What should I study? What if I choose wrong? What if this decision sets me on the wrong path forever?
It can feel enormous. Because at this stage of life, it is one of the first big, future-shaping decisions you’re making. The mix of excitement, possibility, and fear is very real. So, if you’re feeling the weight of it all, know this. You’re not alone, and your feelings make sense.
But here’s something important to remember, your study choice isn’t a single, irreversible decision that locks you into one future. Instead, think of it like choosing a direction on a compass. You’re not programming a GPS that maps every turn for the rest of your life. You’re simply pointing yourself towards a path that feels meaningful right now, knowing that along the way you’ll gather experience, wisdom, and clarity and that you can always adjust course.
That’s what I call Career Compass thinking.
A compass doesn’t tell you every step of the journey; it gives you orientation, a sense of “north” to guide your next moves. In the same way, your choice of study can be guided by what sparks your curiosity, what energises you, the values you want to live out in your work and life, and the kinds of environments that bring out the best in you. These reflections together create the compass points of your unique career journey. When you use them, your study choice becomes less about predicting the “perfect” career and more about moving in a direction that feels aligned with who you are becoming.
The truth is, most people’s careers zigzag, evolve, and unfold in ways they could never have predicted at 17 or 18. You don’t need to have it all figured out. What you need is a sense of direction, some self-awareness, and permission to grow and adjust as you go.
So, take a breath. This choice matters, yes. But it does not need to carry the unbearable weight of being final. Think of it as choosing your next step on the journey, guided by your compass. Not the entire map of your life.
You are allowed to explore. You are allowed to change. You are allowed to find your way.
And if you’d like support in figuring out your own Career Compass, I’d love to be your Career Thinking Partner.
You can reach out to me anytime to explore this together.
