AIBU to ask you what career advice you would give a 24 year old?

[dancingstarlight]

I am very confused about my career. I have come for relationship advice before so hope someone can help me.

I think I would really like to be self employed, work from home, run a small business helping to inspire women.

How do I do this?

[quote CakeQueen87]@SueEllenMishke
Absolutely. It infuriates me how many people have set themselves up as life coaches with minimal training. Qualifying to become a careers adviser is equivalent to doing a PGCE. I don't think people realise the amount of training and how it is very very different from what is involved with becoming a life coach.[/quote]
Me too cakequeen!
When I was doing my MA I lost count of the amount of people who asked me if it was a 'real' subject!
People don't realise the wide range of subjects you need to know about - counselling, politics, social policy, education, sociology, psychology, economics....
Everyone thinks we just tell people what to do 🙄

Hang on, OP, you’ve both run and sold a successful business, AND been a teacher, and now you have another job, all by the age of 24? How have you fit it all in? (4 years from 18, minimum, to do degree and PGCE, which takes you to 22, then you’ve done the business and job stuff all in the last two years?)

Sorry, I don’t mean to sound skeptical but it does seem a bit far-fetched. If it’s all completely accurate and you’re an enormous over-achiever, then all credit to you.

My career advice to 99% of 24 year olds would be “nothing is beneath you, and toil at something tolerable - it will open doors for you in the directions you want, and in ways you would never have imagined”. I say that as someone a decade on, well-respected in a field I love thanks to doing just that (and considered to be quite young to be where I am). I am only just now starting to get the ‘inspirational’ gigs - the speaking engagements; the invites to mentor those with less experience etc. If you want to inspire as a hobby, that’s great, but it’s not a career: it’s something you do as part of another career.

So I think you need a craft, a trade before you can start your own business so you are credible. I started my own business at 27 which is unusual. I worked crazy hard from being 18, I progressed quickly in companies and built a strong network. For the past 4 years I've worked from word of mouth referrals. This is absolutely key for me.

If you want an industry that's booming I'd go into tech... There's lots to do and learn and it's cash rich.

There's so quick wins if you want to go self employed, it's not an easy option it's scary! You need to be credible and strong.

My advice would be to go out to work and work for an employer. Build your career, and pay a much as you can into a pension. Build up a slush fund for a rainy day and to support you for 3-6 months in case of loss of income. When you are financially secure is when you might think to go self employed. You could come up with an idea that would generate an income and I would suggest do it part time at the same time as your full time job. If and only if it proves financially lucrative should you give up your job and become full time self employed.

You are 24 so have plenty of energy and time to make mistakes. I would say you should go out and work 60-hour weeks in a field that pays well and that challenges you to your core. In about ten years, you should be able to be in a position where you can take steps to change lives and be inspiring. It will be a long road but it will be very rewarding! Good luck!