| why it's okay to not know your career path

As a languages student, I often get asked what I want to do once I finish uni. I always thought that going to Southampton would help me decide, but being honest it's just confused me further. Some elements of learning a language have made me seriously question how far I would want to take languages with my job. For example, I've really struggled with writing in Spanish this year, however I've excelled in my content modules which are conducted in English. Ironically, through doing a languages focused degree, with minors in European Studies, I've grown to love writing in English!

Naturally, this has made me panic about how useful my degree will be in the future. I'm liking my current job using French and Spanish in the hotel, but the exposure is sporadic, meaning that I have to suddenly adjust to that language, meaning that my conversation can be a little stunted at times. It's made me want to use either language on a daily basis, where I can get used to the amount I have to use it, so that the shock lessens. At the same time, I've loved keeping up with my blog posts whilst working here, I'm always keen to improve my writing and it's nice to keep the blog updated.

I often get the usual suggestions from people when saying "I'm not sure what I want to do", with a translator or a teacher. I used to be interested with the idea of translating, before realising I'd need to do a masters! As I've gotten further into the grammatical specificities of both French and Spanish, I've really started to love French and feel myself hating Spanish more and more. I'm looking forward to using Spanish in context on my year abroad, and hoping that this will spark my enjoyment of the language again.

At university we're also frequently told that language students can go into anything, which also rings true for humanities students. Languages are specific skills that take time to acquire and use in conversation. But with the increasing use of English around the world, will firms see another language as an asset? If my skills become less valued, I will be beaten out by graduates who although don't have languages skills, are excellent in other important areas.

I've started to get an idea of where I want to go purely through my long experience of working and finding out what I like and dislike about a workplace. I love working with people, and I've worked in small teams and huge teams. I'm not sure I could see myself sitting in front of a computer all day, I love travelling and writing and I want to explore more continents. But at this age I really don't need to know exactly what path I'm going down, most people discover exactly what they do by chance, by taking risks and finding they really enjoy what they're doing.

The truth is you're never going to enjoy every job you do in adult life, but it can help you shape your next step towards your dream job!

Thanks for reading! How did you decide which path you wanted to take?