Careers

[jongenaro]

I’m currently in college and trying to decided which career I want to go into. I want a career though that will make me happy but at the same time will be serving the Lord. I was thinking about going into a career in the arts but I don’t think that will serve the Lord at all. Now I’m thinking about a career in the medical field. I’m just interesting if anyone out there has advice for Catholic youth like myself that are in the same situation. Thanks and God Bless!

 

[ChristopherJB5]

I’m currently in college and trying to decided which career I want to go into. I want a career though that will make me happy but at the same time will be serving the Lord. I was thinking about going into a career in the arts but I don’t think that will serve the Lord at all. Now I’m thinking about a career in the medical field. I’m just interesting if anyone out there has advice for Catholic youth like myself that are in the same situation. Thanks and God Bless!

Medicine, engineering, and any major requiring the 2-4 semesters of Calc (wink, wink) usually means breaking yourself into a strong routine, and then committing yourself to take a certain number of very specific courses each semester… a matter that your academic adviser will no doubt explain to you, probably very curtly.
If you have a passion for one of the above, that’s great. Pursue it, and maybe ‘borrow’ the Opus Dei philosophy of integrating your faith into your work. Catholic hospitals could always use more Catholic doctors.

On the other hand, remember that Catholicism needs to be explained and interpreted for a new generation. Yes, there’s priests for that, but just imagine how many people were won over to the faith and inspired by Michelangelo and Raphael. Even though they were just turtles, their good works ignited the hearts of people, simple and great alike.

Not that you need to generate masterpieces, my point is that if you have the strength to weave your faith into your daily life, then you will do a mighty good service to the Church and your fellow Christians.

 

[Apollos]

I’m currently in college and trying to decided which career I want to go into. I want a career though that will make me happy but at the same time will be serving the Lord. I was thinking about going into a career in the arts but I don’t think that will serve the Lord at all. Now I’m thinking about a career in the medical field. I’m just interesting if anyone out there has advice for Catholic youth like myself that are in the same situation. Thanks and God Bless!

Stop worrying about “serving the Lord” and do something that you love and figure out a way to make money doing it. The last thing you need is to do something that you think makes God happy according to your twisted ideas about what supposedly makes God happy.

Read your Catechism and seek spiritual maturity.

 

[jongenaro]

Stop worrying about “serving the Lord” and do something that you love and figure out a way to make money doing it. The last thing you need is to do something that you think makes God happy according to your twisted ideas about what supposedly makes God happy.

Read your Catechism and seek spiritual maturity.

For one thing, my ideas are not twisted. I’m personally trying to follow my heart and to figure out my life’s vocation. Its not all about making money but rather being happy in whatever field one chooses to go into. I was only asking for advice for myself and for others that want to serve the Lord through their career as the previous person who posted something mentioned. We live in troubled times that seem as if they’re only going to get worse, and many Catholic youth are confused.

 

[curlycool89]

For one thing, my ideas are not twisted. I’m personally trying to follow my heart and to figure out my life’s vocation. Its not all about making money but rather being happy in whatever field one chooses to go into. I was only asking for advice for myself and for others that want to serve the Lord through their career as the previous person who posted something mentioned. We live in troubled times that seem as if they’re only going to get worse, and many Catholic youth are confused.

Good answer.

First of all, what are your strengths? Are you more inclined towards math/science, or towards philosophy, or english, or arts, or something else? You should try to match your strengths with something. For example, i’m a math/science guy and I’m an engineering student. For someone that hates maths and science, I would advise them not to enter engineering. Same thing for medicine if someone didn’t like biology.

Now I’m going to contradict myself and say don’t let that stop you. Maybe you don’t like math/science, but have a passion for problem solving or building or designing or something. Not all engineers need to be math whizzes (for example, I said I like math but I didn’t really like the upper years calculus). If you are passionate about something and are willing to work hard for it, then you can do whatever you want.

Heck, I’m the same way. When looking at second year specializations (like what discipline to go into), I had no idea what I wanted. What I figured out after lots of thinking was that I didn’t really care how much it paid, but rather how much it helped society. I didn’t want to be some Dilbert-esq engineer working on the latest commercialized thing either. So I chose Environmental Engineering, because I want to make a real difference (turns out a lot of people in my class were thinking the same thing. And no, joining Greenpeace is not required ). Maybe I’ve found what I’m looking for, maybe I still have some searching to do.

What I would not recommend is spending more than a year in general arts or general science. If you haven’t figured it out after 1 year, then another year is not going to help, and it’s very expensive (especially if you end up in classes that you later don’t need).

Lastly, Eeyore is awesome.

 

[jaaraf]

I’m currently in college and trying to decided which career I want to go into. I want a career though that will make me happy but at the same time will be serving the Lord. I was thinking about going into a career in the arts but I don’t think that will serve the Lord at all. Now I’m thinking about a career in the medical field. I’m just interesting if anyone out there has advice for Catholic youth like myself that are in the same situation. Thanks and God Bless!

Medical school requires a lot of time and investment emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually. It’s definitely not one for the fainthearted, and for a Catholic, a good backround on Catholic medical ethics is a must so that one does not get any erroneous ideas when one starts practicing or even learning as a medical student.
I decided to become a medical oncologist in senior year of high school. I took biology as an undergraduate course then went to medical school. In my last year of medical school (senior clerkship) I decided I could not survive doing residency in internal medicine so I decided to become a radiologist (my next choice down the line). I’m now in the 3rd of 4 years of residency.
In whatever work you decide to do in the future, you can serve God right where you are by a life of prayer and work, having the intention of offering your work (and your studies too, in the meantime) to our Lord for certain intentions (never seeking honors or material wealth a be all and end all goal) while drawing those you work with closer to God thorugh your example and advice. That’s what St. Josemaria, the founder of Opus Dei always said.
You are free to pm me if you have any other questions.

 

[Saint_Macarius]

Medicine, engineering, and any major requiring the 2-4 semesters of Calc (wink, wink) usually means breaking yourself into a strong routine, and then committing yourself to take a certain number of very specific courses each semester… a matter that your academic adviser will no doubt explain to you, probably very curtly.

It’s all down hill after Calculus II (I thought Calculus I and III were easier than my high school freshmen algebra courses). Don’t let this guy scare you.

Do whatever you feel is right. Granted, not everyone has the ability to be an astronaut, but try your hardest in whatever career/path you choose.

 

[kslat]

I understand completely.

I spent two and a half years at a different college than the one I’m at now studying English, linguistics, psychology, physics, and French (at different times, but I usually double-majored. I changed my majors around 7 times in two and a half years!). God gifted me with abilities in a hefty handful of areas, and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do. So eventually, I realized I needed to turn it over to God, and with prayer, I discerned that I needed to leave that college and transfer to where I am now and study computer science. (I’ve been here for a year and a half now, with the same major, and I haven’t looked back. So no, it’s not just a fluke. I graduate in May, after only two and a half years. God willing.)

I’m not really sure what God has in mind yet, but I’m confident that this is His will.

Recently, at a group I’m in at my parish, the leader of the group mentioned being at a talk where the speaker said that you don’t discern for the future, you can only discern for today (or, well, the more immediate future). This may or may not be true–probably true in some cases and not in others–but I think, with prayer, you can discern the best field for you and trust that God will provide opportunities for you to use your knowledge and training in the field to serve and glorify Him, even if you’re not exactly sure where you’ll ultimately end up today, before you even begin.

But also, don’t feel like uncertainty or a major change are bad things. God’s paths are not always as straight as the paths of the world. Just because you don’t get a degree in an area doesn’t mean God didn’t want you to have knowledge in the field.

As far as Calculus II goes, if you choose a field that requires that you take it, just do your homework. If you don’t have homework but you are provided with practice problems, do them, and if you don’t even have that (doubtful), do problems anyway. The first time I took it, I didn’t do the practice problems, and I had to drop the class (cue a major change from physics to French). The second time around, besides the fact that my professor was very good the second time (my first professor was confusing), I did practice problems until I understood the concepts and asked questions when I needed to. (I got an A. And the class wasn’t really much easier. I just had to work harder.) I think it’s the same with any challenging class, or any class at all: prepare appropriately, and it shouldn’t be a problem. Some classes just require more preparation and study than others.

I hope you discover God’s will for you soon. God bless.