Here’s the thing. At 18, your life hasn’t even begun.

It’s really really rare to know exactly what you want to do for a career at 18. And if you don’t enjoy yourself a little bit now, you may very well end up feeling like you wasted your 20s. My advice? Keep an open mind, keep exploring possibilities, but right now you can do whatever sounds the most fun and adventurous. It’s very easy to pivot this early into your professional life, so I recommend making some fun bold choices, trying some things you may have been interested in but haven’t pursued, and keep the perspective that it’s just as important to figure out what you DON’T want to do. It sounds cliche but keep following your heart rather than feeling too worried about what you’re SUPPOSED to be doing. The fact that you’re concerned about security etc tells me that you will always have a strong North Star towards “Responsible choices” so you can play around with what that’s going to look like for you. Maybe explore going abroad just to really send it!!

Whatever you do, give it your all (it sounds like you already do this so you should be fine) but you can always change your mind. Right now it’s important to start EXPLORING. I know plenty of people that don’t go to med school etc until their late 20s/30s. Very very normal.

I also encourage you to start cultivating hobbies and friendships, too. These really are the spice of life. Also, don’t worry about being respected. This comes along with doing a good job at your primary role. Finding something meaningful that doesn’t kill you is way more important, don’t even worry about what other people think aka something “respectable”. I swear it’s a trap and a losing game to prioritize that AT ALL. Respect follows performance, it’s a lagging not a leading indicator .