For many of us, turning 25 is a big deal. I never thought I'd be one to get so caught up about a certain age but thoughts of uncertainty about the future kept popping into my head when I hit the age myself. I could only describe this as my Quarter Life Crisis unfolding before my eyes. Thankfully, I've had the past few weeks to chill out and collect my thoughts on the matter. Here's what I think.

I don't know what I'm doing

As a student, the path ahead was fairly straightforward. One would go to high school, graduate university, and then get a job. But after university life isn't as straightforward as we would have hoped. There isn't someone there to hold your hand and tell you what you should be doing.

Naturally this is a very scary prospect for many people. You've got no idea what you actually enjoy doing, with an overwhelming amount of options available to you. You may even be studying a degree or working in a job you currently despise, only continuing it as it's the safe option.

So what should I do?

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you as it really depends on your situation. There is no formula out there that works for everyone. What I can do though is tell you my own story which will hopefully inform you of things to look out for.

My story

In 2017, I was stripped for cash and desperately needed a job to help pay the bills. I sent out my resume to a few EduTech organisations hoping one would stick. Eventually, I landed a role as a lead generator for a startup based in Sydney. Although not the role I initially applied for, the COO (let's call him David) insisted that I join the team. Being a young university student with ambitious goals, I was keen to expand my skillset in an area I thought I would never venture into.

For me, the greatest thing I got out of this role was the mentorship I received from David. He was not only appreciative of the sales I was bringing the company, but was also invested in helping me grow. I informed him that sales was not what I really wanted to be in, even though I was pretty good at it. He must have remembered that as he would eventually offer me work that would set the course for my future career.

One day, he brought up the idea of utilising data to improve our sales processes and decisions. He asked me to look into some data sets that had recently been made available company wide and see if we could use any of it. At first I was doing simple SQL queries to query data he found useful. It wasn't long before I started staying back late in the office to come up with my own useful data reports for David. The sense of autonomy I was given gave me a new found sense of purpose.

I soon realised that I had a knack for this coding thing and it wasn't long before I was building web applications and new product offerings for our customers. Eventually David helped me pivot into an engineering role at the company, which I am now thriving in.

Okay but how does that help me?

For me, I received my lucky break because I was willing to try different things. In doing so, I figured out what it is I actually enjoy doing. Furthermore, I was fortunate enough to have someone mentor me when it came to my career aspirations.

So, my advice would be to try different things and find a mentor. These two things changed my life for the better.

Can I do it?

You really can, but not without action and persistence! In the wise words of Arnold Schwarzenegger:

The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.

Go out there get what you're worth my fellow 25 year old.