As stay-at-home orders continue for many states, you may find yourself with some extra time on your hands. Have you run out of puzzles, is family game night getting old, or have you simply reached the end of the Internet? Maybe it is time to think about some of life’s big questions such as: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. Before you start there, consider this advice from Jaime Casap.
Jaime Casap is the Education Evangelist at Google. He promotes the power of technology and the web as tools to transform education. He is also an author and a sought-after speaker, and he has some different ideas about choosing a career path. He says the question of “What do you want to be?” is the wrong question. “What do you want to be?” leads you to pick a job that exists now, but things are changing rapidly – that job may not exist in the future. Instead, Jaime suggests focusing on the three questions below:
- What problem do you want to solve?
- How do you want to solve that problem?
- What do you need to learn to solve that problem (knowledge, skills, and abilities)?
Check out this episode of his vlog for more detail as he travels to several locations to talk about this idea. Fun tip – watch to the very end to see Jaime encounter a COVID-appropriate piece of technology (even though this video was filmed a year ago)!
Take Action
What problem do you want to solve? Start small with a problem you could tackle right now. It might not be your future career path, but it is a good exercise nonetheless. Think about the unique perspective you can bring and check out some online resources (YouTube videos, websites, or apps) that could help you build your skills. Maybe the problem right now is your mom’s cooking. If you solve that one, your family will thank you!
Here at EdMission Possible, we use interest inventories and aptitude-based career assessments to get to the bottom of your interests, abilities, and skills so that you can make a well-informed decision about your future. If you need helping figuring out your career goals, call all us today and allow us to introduce you to your real self!
Happy soul searching!
Warmly,
Burcak Deniz Cakir
Founder and President | EdMission Possible
Phone: +1(732)640-5550
E-mail: bdcakir@EdMissionPossible.com
Burcak Deniz Cakir has a B.A. in Foreign Language Education, an M.A. in English Language Teaching, and an M.B.A., all of which have laid the solid foundation for her professional experiences as an educator. She has completed the College Counseling Program at UCLA, which is known to be the most prestigious certificate program in the profession. She has previously taught English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) in Turkey and in the U.S. at Virginia Tech, Harcum College, Rutgers University (Newark and New Brunswick Campuses), and Pace University. Having taught EFL/ESL at the college level for over 20 years, Burcak can communicate effectively with college-age students from different countries. She is bilingual in Turkish and English. Her extensive experience with international students from many countries including but not limited to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Korea, and China has given her the opportunity to understand their unique problems that domestic students may not be facing throughout the college admissions process, such as but not limited to extra testing requirements (TOEFL, IELTS), the translation of high school transcripts and recommendation letters, different financial forms and statements required, visa issues, being homesick, culture shock, etc.
Burcak is an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and a Voting Member of the International Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC). She currently lives in Edison, New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, and her four-legged son. In her free time, she can be found spending time with her family, reading (lots!) about college admissions and college essays, watching her favorite movies, getting lost in design magazines, and decorating her house.
This blog post is a part of EdMission Possible’s #AskTheGuru Series. Its content was provided and brought to you by:
