My entire career has basically been an accident. I majored in history thinking I'd be a teacher because it was my favorite subject and I was 18 and didn't know what else I could do with my life. Three years in, I realized I didn't want to be a teacher and most history-adjacent jobs didn't pay a living wage, so I dropped out. A bit later, I started a temp job working for the state because I needed a job and had call center experience, did a good job and managed to get hired full time. Almost 20 years later, I'm doing work I never expected to be doing but it turns out that I like paperwork and I'm pretty good at navigating bureaucracy and explaining it to laymen. Can't imagine working in the private sector at this point. I eventually finished my degree (in human services this time) but tbh it was mostly just so I'd have one for my resume.

The biggest lesson from all of it for me has been that kids really don't need to go to college right out of high school, or at all in some cases, and I'm glad the tide is turning on that to some extent. I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've done in my career and I've benefited enormously by not having a "dream job" in mind. Education is great, don't get me wrong, but so is flexibility and a willingness to learn new things outside of school.