Anxiety with work

[Kenna5027]

Hi all. I'm currently a senior in college, studying speech pathology. There really isn't any work with just a four year degree in this area (I'm in the US) which means I would have to go to graduate school - an additional 3 years of classes and clinic work and internships.

To be short, this terrifies me. I feel like three years is a LONG time, and I am scared to death that I am going to get out and end up realizing that I am not cut out for this career or good at it in the slightest. I like my classes, but I'm not absolutely in love with them - and all of my professors tell me that I need to be in love with the field in order to make it through grad school and beyond.

I briefly considered accounting, which would mean about another year of school for me just to get a degree since I haven't taken the right classes.

I also considered finishing my undergrad with this program, and applying to graduate school for gerontology. This wouldn't be a bad idea, since the program at this school is online so I could take the classes AND find work in a nursing home somewhere. Apparently the field is pretty broad, and I don't think I'd hate the work entirely.

There's not really a good gerontology department here, and I don't want to talk to my advisor as she's a speech pathology advisor and I'm afraid if I show doubt before I apply to any grad program (speech path or otherwise) she may think I'm not 100% committed and it may effect my chances of getting in. Plus, she's pretty spacey and I don't know if she'd know anyway. So I'm thinking of contacting a professor of one of the classes, to see if they can offer any guidance.

Any ideas/tips/stories to share? I'm 22 and I'm terrified of the future, especially since I'm almost out and I feel like I should know exactly what I want to do and how to get there. I just feel so lost, and it's really taking a toll on me -- I'm having headaches, panic attacks, I'm generally unhappy and miserable, etc.

[Kenna5027]

Nothing? How did others here choose their fields? Did anyone else have a panic-filled dilemma?

[Kez_miller]

Hi Kenna!

I'm not going to pretend I have an answer for you because I don't! But I can do my best at giving you some philosophical and general advice, whether you choose to take it is entirely up too you.

"Life is about choices" so people say. There is clearly a choice here you have to make and the only person whom can decide is you. Try and remember this saying. "The things we fear are the the things that don't happen"
Meaning that 80% of the time, the things that we worry about generally don't happen. And if what you fear with your education does happen then you can't be told you didn't try!

Look at it another way! If you never try, 1,5,10 years down the line are you going to be kicking yourself wishing you had attempted the things you didn't? Probably! Most of us do! But we don't realise it till its too late! Try not to make that bad decision.

The final way you can look at it is this! "When one door closes then another opens" meaning if you try and fail then maybe it's not for you. But at least you've tried and added certain things to your knowledge not only that but maybe there is another path for you in life.

Now lets look at the reasons not to go a head and try/talk to people...
...
...
Nope I can't think of any? What have you lost!? If you don't try, you fail anyway.

You get where I'm going with this...give it ago! And if you fail then you haven't lost any more than you would have by giving up :-)