How to figure out what you want to do?

Not sure your age, but feel free to message me and give me a call and we can talk about it—current analyst in IB. Here are the things that have really helped me:

1) Read about individuals who have had different jobs at the top of their field. It also can help if you read things about industries or news stories around you. For example if you are like, “oh, I find WSJ headlining deals interesting, or oh, I want to be like Ray Dalio.” Over time, you might gravitate one direction if you read enough about different types of people/ industries. 

2) Call people and just ask them what they do, the personality types that succeed, what they find interesting about their job and what broadly people in their job find to be the worst parts. You also can ask them how they found that job and why they made the decisions they did leaving previous jobs. This can help you get an idea for what different jobs are like and the types of people in different jobs. Also, from my experience, networking calls where you take the angle that you aren’t asking for a job, but rather want advice on just navigating your career, is often the best way to actually get a job.

3) Start working full time and ask yourself, “Do I envision myself being one of the people that manages me?” If you feel you want to be like the people who manage you, you might have found your calling, if not, maybe it isn’t a great fit long term.

4) Try to define the type of life you want and what are goals, deal breakers, and your strengths and weaknesses as a person. Some jobs you might not be geared for, or you might be more naturally inclined to being successful at. A great example, you likely can’t be a great banker at any level if you dislike people. If long hours leave you less discouraged than others, you might be happier working long hours than many others could be working that same job, so banking might be for you. 
 

Lastly, the truth is, very few people know what they want to do. Even 50 year olds switch jobs because they want to do something new. Your opinion will and should change as you learn and mature and that’s ok. Also, a job might be right for you in your 20s, but not a great fit in your 30s, “when” in life matters as well. You also might think you want to do one job, then meet people in it and think, “Wait, actually—this really isn’t for me.” Or commonly, you might be in your job and see someone else that you work with tangentially and think, “Actually, I really want to do their job” (I think some M&A lawyers turned investment bankers this is a common path). 
 

In short, read, learn from others, and try to pick role models rather than a job and it will pan out. It’s very normal to not know what you want to do—most people don’t. A career is people often learning and changing directions based on their interests, financial needs, and goals.