Career Choice Essay

Sabrina Smith
Pre-AP English 2
November 4, 2014

Career Choice Comparative Essay

    Ever since I was younger, my parents pounded into my head that I’d work in the medical field, but being my ignorant 6-year-old self, I thought nothing of it and brushed them off. Now, I realize maybe they were right. As time has progressed, I eliminated careers that didn’t fit my passionate, considerate, and analytical personality as well as my interest in helping people. In doing this I narrowed my search to three widely deviating occupations, one relating to what my parents had tried to instill so long ago: lawyer, architect, and anesthesiologist.

    In making my decision, I compared the colleges that offered my chosen career, the salary, abilities needed, future prospect and the benefits of the job, and it turns out my parents were right. The medical field, specifically the career of anesthesiology, seemed to be the field that best fit me, me desire to help people, and the idea that through surgery, science, and medicine, I am part of someone’s second chance.

The comparison chart below provides a clearer view of the criteria I used in making my choice:

                                              Lawyer                                            Anesthesiologist                                          Architect

Source:  Careers.org. http://www.careers.org . 25 October 2014.
Career Profiles. http://www.careerprofiles.info . 25 October 2014.
Career Index. http://www.educationnews.org . 25 October 2014

    Although being a lawyer provides ample pay, seen in the chart above at $145,600, averaged annually, the chance of my getting the  job without special connections right out of college are rather slim: at a growth rate of 10% in the next decade, but with approximately 5,082 colleges and law programs offered nationwide, so many people graduating with law degrees will make the chances of getting the job with such a low increase will make finding work even worse because the initial struggle to get accepted into universities isn’t as limited. Even with this obstacle in mind, becoming a lawyer was something I considered as something I’d have liked to do in my future because I’m providing another person with either the chance to expel themselves of false claims or find justice and closure for the person who has been wronged.

    Another idea I took into consideration was the possibility of becoming an architect because art has always been an interest of mine, and the thought of having public, usable, original creations of mine for many people to use and the idea of that success would be fulfilling in that I’m putting myself as well as my work for the world to critique in hopes that it’ll be successful. Although the job has the lowest pay of all the careers chosen, $119,400 on average annually, it’d be worth the lower pay to be viewed by many people after a construction projects completion. In addition, I possess many of the abilities needed in order to work as an architect: visual technological skills, communication, analyzing, and organizational skills. I considered architecture because it seems to fit a part of my personality in how I’m producing something from the ground up, and similar to lawyers, architect majors are available in many colleges and programs, but the job outlook is greater: at a 17% increase in the next ten years, combined with the amount of colleges available, makes the only problem the demand for construction. Although architecture came close to being the career of choice, I didn’t see it as a fit.

    A strong case can be made with the income and the amount of colleges that offer architecture and becoming a lawyer as part of their curriculum and how both professions are very service-oriented in their purpose to help people is beneficial whether that be in the public eye, a person’s health, or privately on a more emotional level. Though I still find that I would have to choose anesthesiology as my career because it appeals best to my ideals about helping people and passion for improving people’s lives.

    To provide a clearer picture of why I chose anesthesiology, other than the fact that my parents turned into psychics, it happens to have the best income of the three careers, at $321,686 after the first year working, and I’ll be helping people through their surgery. I feel that if I’m the person who is able to do that, then I should. Though not many schools offer anesthesiology majors compared to lawyer and architect majors, approximately 160, the job prospect is highest of the three, at a 19% increase over the next decade, but the opportunity to help people in need is all it took to sway me.

    I’ve always wanted to help people, and anesthesiology gives me that opportunity. I never realized that my parents could predict where my heart belonged career-wise, and it made me appreciate them so much more because they knew that no matter where i strayed, I would end up back in the medical industry. Although I considered all three careers, part of me was thinking anesthesiology the entire time. In addition, I already possess many skills needed to get a job as an anesthesiologist: compassion, dexterity, patience, etc. All-in-all, anesthesiology seemed to come running at my heart, and I couldn’t resist the call.