How can I help my daughter figure out what she wants to do with her life?

My 18 yr. old is a freshman at college, but she is having a very hard time figuring out what she wants to major in. She is very talented artistically, but can't seem to find the right niche for herself, especially one that will give her a promising career.


Any suggestions?How can I help my daughter figure out what she wants to do with her life?
I know this will be a very short answer, but here is what I did:





I took a piece of paper and a list of my prospective university's majors. I wrote down which ones I was the most interested in:





Linguistics


Communication


Business


Economics


Humanities


Journalism





Then I circled the most ';practical'; career ones within those choices:





Business


Economics





Then I circled the most interesting one out of those choices:





EconomicsHow can I help my daughter figure out what she wants to do with her life?
The good thing is that she is a freshman so she has at least a year of GenEds left to figure out a possible major and career path. I would recommend to make sure she gets involved in different organizations on campus, they might provide a clue as to something else she is interested in. If she decides to major in art I would recommend looking into a double major, minor, or a certification in something else. (I hear that it is hard to find a job in art unless you have a masters) Especially something that will help her get a job if she can't get one in the art world. Psychology, Sociology and languages seem to be pretty popular with people that I know who aren't exactly sure what they want to do.
Only she knows for sure what will make her most satisfied. Have her make a list of the topics that interest her most. Not necessarily college majors, but things that she likes learning about, reading about, doing. Then, you can help her go through the list and see if there's anything she can major in that includes one, ideally more than one, of these interests. Make sure she asks herself ';Can I see myself having a career in this? Can I envision myself in this field for the long run?';. While, yes, choosing something that has good career prospects is part of the equation, most people don't want to pursue a career they aren't interested in solely because of the money. Those who do usually find themselves feeling unhappy or unfulfilled later on down the road.





Dual majoring is also an option if she's stuck between two things and, though it takes more commitment and may take longer to achieve (not always), the job options are better.





While you can help her discuss her options, the only person who can really decide what she wants to be is her.
Nowadays information is at your fingertips. Discuss with her and find out what are her inclinations and check the university websites which often give career descriptions for the courses, especially at Australian websites. In this I think internet is a great boon in the modern age. Many universities suggest that the student contact people in the industry for discussion and advice. But the most important thing is a decision based on all the information at hand. Don't forget the reputation of the university and the campus. I made a mistake of pursuing a course (Pharmacy) which I did not like in a bad campus in India. This was in 1994. We got internet in 2000 by which time my course was over. I then did Biotechnology but it is difficult to pursue molecular biology from a chemistry (Pharmacy) background. Although I am now working on Medical Transcription and I am really glad I work as one. Hope that helps :)
Have her talk to one of the career counselors at her college. It might seem like a silly idea, but they can actually be useful. College counselors are not as focused on administrative tasks as high school counselors, so they have more time to help students.


Also, make a list of all the things she's good at (not just artistically) but things like taking care of younger siblings, shopping, or meeting new people. By combining multiple talents, she could realize she has an interest in a specific field, like if she likes babysitting and art, maybe she could teach. Or if she's an avid shopper and a great designer, fashion design or product packaging design could be possible fields.





You could also try: http://www.ehow.com/how_4398074_decide-m鈥?/a>





Good luck!!!
try not to push her to hard in a major money making career...tell her to take some classes that interest her...let her experiment....but wat she mite love and makes her happy mite not be the money maker career...so if she wants to keep art as a hobby or something its up to her...talk to her ...but if she finds the job she loves and makes her happy but it doesnt make that much...its realy up to her..try to be supportive but with encouraging suggestions u know
Well, the best answer to this is to let her do something that she loves


However, if she doesn't have a promising career in art then you should try to convince your daughter to do something else and keep art just as a hobby ( unless she is a genius in art).
Tell her to go to the career center / career advisement office. They can give her a test (now computerized, thank goodness) that can guide her to a suitable career.