Answers.Body: <p>Actually, there is no such age for everyone, and it certainly isn't a disaster for many to be undecided. Many people just want to be educated so they study things, formally and informally with no clear "career" goal in mind. I changed my mind pretty often, but in a narrow range. </p>
  
  <p>Other people change careers many times throughout their lives. I think it is a mistake for people to push others to choose a path, especially if it would be difficult for them to change paths. Too many people go into daddy's business when they would be happier as poets or firemen. </p>
  
  <p>And early on, every boy wants (or did in my generation) to be a fireman. </p>
  
  <p>Let your life play out. Keep your options open. Learn many things, a few deeply but many others shallowly. </p>
  
  <p>As they say, you only live once. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-05-21T17:01:07.147Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-05-21T17:01:07.147Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Buffy
Body: <p>One question that children are often asked is, "<em>What do you want to be when you grow up</em>?" This really means, what employment they would like. This question needs an answer, definitely by the time one must look for work, so at the end of college, or high school, or when one stops high school and starts working, as some 16 year-olds do in the US.</p>
  
  <p>But to have the answer at those points, one must have been working on it before then, to get the necessary experiences and schooling. <strong>So at what age should a kid be able to give a firm answer as to their chosen employment goal?</strong> Of course we are all expected to have several 'careers' in our long lifetimes now, so the answer does not need to be set and unchangeable, but it has to be there in time to get the ball rolling. As the old joke goes, "Until you make up your mind, you can't change it." I have heard of many people idling around in college with no path forward. This is a disaster. They need to be desirous of something long before that. Age thirteen? Ten? When?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-05-21T17:11:37.580Z
Comments.Text: I was vacillating between closing for off-topic and purely opinion-based, but off-topic won out.  How is this related to CS Ed?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ben I.
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-05-21T17:17:41.373Z
Comments.Text: @BenI. If anything, it seems more like a question for [parenting.se]. Thought it's need some help there as well (I think).
Comments.UserDisplayName: Gypsy Spellweaver
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-05-21T17:19:04.427Z
Comments.Text: @GypsySpellweaver It wouldn't be accepted there, either.  It's still POB
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ben I.
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-05-21T21:08:18.293Z
Comments.Text: Asking kids these sort of questions do much harm. Yes we need direction, but we also need to be flexible. Watch this video on mindset. https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
Comments.UserDisplayName: ctrl-alt-delor
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-06-10T14:31:32.107Z
Comments.Text: My favorite way to answer this question is: "Older". I've been a successful code monkey for decades in many different fields and I still don't know what I want to be. And of course many people would debate whether I've grown up.
Comments.UserDisplayName: candied_orange
Tags: <student-perceptions><secondary-education>
Title: At what age should someone know what they want to "be"?
ThreadText: # At what age should someone know what they want to "be"?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2018-05-21)
  
  One question that children are often asked is, "*What do you want to be when you grow up*?" This really means, what employment they would like. This question needs an answer, definitely by the time one must look for work, so at the end of college, or high school, or when one stops high school and starts working, as some 16 year-olds do in the US.
  
  But to have the answer at those points, one must have been working on it before then, to get the necessary experiences and schooling. **So at what age should a kid be able to give a firm answer as to their chosen employment goal?** Of course we are all expected to have several 'careers' in our long lifetimes now, so the answer does not need to be set and unchangeable, but it has to be there in time to get the ball rolling. As the old joke goes, "Until you make up your mind, you can't change it." I have heard of many people idling around in college with no path forward. This is a disaster. They need to be desirous of something long before that. Age thirteen? Ten? When?
  
  **Tags:** student-perceptions, secondary-education
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: I was vacillating between closing for off-topic and purely opinion-based, but off-topic won out.  How is this related to CS Ed?  
  > **username_2**: @BenI. If anything, it seems more like a question for [parenting.se]. Thought it's need some help there as well (I think).  
  > **username_1**: @username_2 It wouldn't be accepted there, either.  It's still POB  
  > **username_3**: Asking kids these sort of questions do much harm. Yes we need direction, but we also need to be flexible. Watch this video on mindset. https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve  
  > **username_4**: My favorite way to answer this question is: "Older". I've been a successful code monkey for decades in many different fields and I still don't know what I want to be. And of course many people would debate whether I've grown up.  
  
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  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2018-05-21. Score: 1
  
  Actually, there is no such age for everyone, and it certainly isn't a disaster for many to be undecided. Many people just want to be educated so they study things, formally and informally with no clear "career" goal in mind. I changed my mind pretty often, but in a narrow range.
  
  Other people change careers many times throughout their lives. I think it is a mistake for people to push others to choose a path, especially if it would be difficult for them to change paths. Too many people go into daddy's business when they would be happier as poets or firemen.
  
  And early on, every boy wants (or did in my generation) to be a fireman.
  
  Let your life play out. Keep your options open. Learn many things, a few deeply but many others shallowly.
  
  As they say, you only live once.
  
  
  ---
  
  