Help Me Decide What To Do With My Life!

[Philovitist]

Hi. I have this tendency to go into these existential crises, and my current one revolves around deciding what to devote myself to.

I'm currently a high school senior, and I'll probably be going to Duke U next year for college. I'm strong in most subjects (super in humanities and social sciences), but I'm pretty afraid of chemistry...

For the last few years, I've been in love with cognitive science and for a longer time I've been studying philosophy (though less seriously in my opinion). First I read Hunt's Story of Psychology, and then at some point later was able to get my hands on things like MIT's Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences, Pinker's How the Mind Works, Lazarus's Emotion and Adaptation, and I was captivated. It was the first subject that ever really took to me. I reorganized my entire identity around it. I can now pretty readily read graduate level works in cognitive science without much difficulty, unless it's thick in neurobiology or mathematics/computation.

I think I liked it most of all because it gave order to the turmoil that I found in my own mentation, and had this way of making mysterious and interesting even the most commonplace experiences and activities. Life...got color.

So the tension has shifted from finding something to care about to finding a career path that involves the cognitive sciences as well as the other amenities of a good career path. Like...healthy job market, opportunities to make a difference (and be recognized), good pay, and a sense that I am good at what I do.

And I'm not sure. I have such an incomplete picture of what I'm capable of.

- Can I become a great AI guy or computational neuroscientist if I'm beginning college with little programming experience?
- Can I do well in biology — premed or neurobiology — when I struggle to do well in Honors Chemistry?
- Can I develop what it takes to compete in very competitive academic job markets?
- Am I truly good at understanding cognition at this point?
- Am I just too humanistic-minded to do well in science?
- Might I make a bigger impact in some unrelated or only loosely related field?

I'm more than a little lost. I need help deciding what to go into, what to major in, what opportunities to devote my efforts to...

Can you help me?

(PS: Please don't tell me to just wait and then experiment in college. I kinda need to have a vision of the future in order to effectively function. Otherwise I feel purposeless and demotivated...)

 

[Duxwing]

Hi. I have this tendency to go into these existential crises, and my current one revolves around deciding what to devote myself to.

I'm currently a high school senior, and I'll probably be going to Duke U next year for college. I'm strong in most subjects (super in humanities and social sciences), but I'm pretty afraid of chemistry...

For the last few years, I've been in love with cognitive science and for a longer time I've been studying philosophy (though less seriously in my opinion). First I read Hunt's Story of Psychology, and then at some point later was able to get my hands on things like MIT's Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences, Pinker's How the Mind Works, Lazarus's Emotion and Adaptation, and I was captivated. It was the first subject that ever really took to me. I reorganized my entire identity around it. I can now pretty readily read graduate level works in cognitive science without much difficulty, unless it's thick in neurobiology or mathematics/computation.

I think I liked it most of all because it gave order to the turmoil that I found in my own mentation, and had this way of making mysterious and interesting even the most commonplace experiences and activities. Life...got color.

So the tension has shifted from finding something to care about to finding a career path that involves the cognitive sciences as well as the other amenities of a good career path. Like...healthy job market, opportunities to make a difference (and be recognized), good pay, and a sense that I am good at what I do.

And I'm not sure. I have such an incomplete picture of what I'm capable of.

- Can I become a great AI guy or computational neuroscientist if I'm beginning college with little programming experience?
- Can I do well in biology — premed or neurobiology — when I struggle to do well in Honors Chemistry?
- Can I develop what it takes to compete in very competitive academic job markets?
- Am I truly good at understanding cognition at this point?
- Am I just too humanistic-minded to do well in science?
- Might I make a bigger impact in some unrelated or only loosely related field?

I'm more than a little lost. I need help deciding what to go into, what to major in, what opportunities to devote my efforts to...

Can you help me?

(PS: Please don't tell me to just wait and then experiment in college. I kinda need to have a vision of the future in order to effectively function. Otherwise I feel purposeless and demotivated...)

Do you prefer research or practice?

-Duxwing

 

[Philovitist]

Well, ceteris paribus, research.

If by practice, you mean medicine. If you mean business, I don't have enough experience to be sure.

There's no greater ecstasy than coming up with (i.e., synthesizing) a good idea.

 

[Duxwing]

Well, ceteris paribus, research.

If by practice, you mean medicine. If you mean business, I don't have enough experience to be sure.

There's no greater ecstasy than coming up with (i.e., synthesizing) a good idea.

If synthesizing ideas puts you into ecstasy, and the mind fascinates you, then why not double your pleasure and become a psychological or sociological researcher? Getting the Ph.D. necessary for aforementioned research position will be a pain in the keister, but given your self-description, I can't think of a better job for you while you're young. When you're old, I suggest either rallying every fibre of your being for the purpose of writing a single magnum opus, like Jung and Freud did, or shifting your focus to gaining a professorship at a university in order to achieve greater financial security.

But don't forget your personal life. If you feel lonely after settling in at the job of your dreams, then find a good place to live and someone to share it with. The old single women whom I know seem rather mean and cranky, and I suspect that the same logic applies to men (if you are a man). Try to integrate your hobbies with your life: join a community band if you are a musician, find a book club if you like to read, team up with local hunters if stalking and killing nearby wildlife interests you. Overall, embrace your introversion as an opportunity to organize your inner world without interruption, but don't let your tendency to stay by yourself prevent you from maintaining a relationship with the outside world.

-Duxwing

 

[redbaron]

I would suggest that if you're this unsure about your own personal limitations and abilities that you can't decide what to do with your life, it doesn't quite matter what you choose. If you, 'need' to have a vision for the future just to function, what happens if the vision you chose doesn't work out? Are you going to have another existential crisis?

Seems to me like this is the most likely outcome of this scenario until you really do learn to be aware of your capabilities.

But since you really want an answer, choose what interests you and what you're good at for the moment and go with cognitive sciences. Though if you ask me interest and ability don't guarantee success by any stretch.

Resilience and perseverance (among other traits) are more important, and there's plenty of people who may not be intellectual, but for who these traits see them reach greater heights than others who are, 'smarter'.

I would elaborate and/or expand this but I don't have time.

 

[pjoa09]

I would suggest that if you're this unsure about your own personal limitations and abilities that you can't decide what to do with your life, it doesn't quite matter what you choose. If you, 'need' to have a vision for the future just to function, what happens if the vision you chose doesn't work out? Are you going to have another existential crisis?

Seems to me like this is the most likely outcome of this scenario until you really do learn to be aware of your capabilities.

But since you really want an answer, choose what interests you and what you're good at for the moment and go with cognitive sciences. Though if you ask me interest and ability don't guarantee success by any stretch.

Resilience and perseverance (among other traits) are more important, and there's plenty of people who may not be intellectual, but for who these traits see them reach greater heights than others who are, 'smarter'.

I would elaborate and/or expand this but I don't have time.

+1

The only reason they say do what you love is because you need to persevere. You can't have a fuck-this-shit attitude for your job. Once you do you know you need to quit or you'd be wasting your time.

Just don't do something you can imagine yourself burning out on.

 

[Solitaire U.]

I would suggest that if you're this unsure about your own personal limitations and abilities that you can't decide what to do with your life, it doesn't quite matter what you choose. If you, 'need' to have a vision for the future just to function, what happens if the vision you chose doesn't work out? Are you going to have another existential crisis?

Seems to me like this is the most likely outcome of this scenario until you really do learn to be aware of your capabilities.

But since you really want an answer, choose what interests you and what you're good at for the moment and go with cognitive sciences. Though if you ask me interest and ability don't guarantee success by any stretch.

Resilience and perseverance (among other traits) are more important, and there's plenty of people who may not be intellectual, but for who these traits see them reach greater heights than others who are, 'smarter'.

I would elaborate and/or expand this but I don't have time.

At the risk of stroking redbaron to orgasm, this.

I just think it's a bad idea to invite others to troubleshoot your future. I've heard too many sob stories of anger and resentment from people who were 'guided' or forced to follow paths forged for them by other people's urges.

 

[Solitaire U.]

team up with local hunters if stalking and killing nearby wildlife interests you.

-Duxwing

Heh, you so funny!

 

[Duxwing]

Heh, you so funny!

Awww, shucks.

-Duxwing

 

[Philovitist]

I've decided that I going to pursue artificial intelligence with all my might, and all my being.

I shall not rest until my life is worthy of history!

 

[Duxwing]

I've decided that I going to pursue artificial intelligence with all my might, and all my being.

I shall not rest until my life is worthy of history!

Go for it!

-Duxwing