u/Mental-Equipment7006

I'm a 16M who is valedictorian at my high school (1/194), about to enter my senior year... but I don't know what to pursue. I know it isn't a straight, linear path, but I literally find everything very interesting. I have that curious mindset that latches onto everything. I've done my best to narrow it down to two careers, but I still have a lot of self-doubt and questions. It's between film/animation and aerospace engineering. I could just major in film and go for the high-risk field, as I would love to direct or DP a high-grossing film, but I was also keen on NASA stuff like the Artemis II launch (could see the smoke trail from my backyard).

So, how do I decide? I love storytelling, but a film degree wouldn't be worth it considering the instability. I know that its primary goal (like any other field) is networking and finding like-minded people. However, is this worth a film degree, as the portfolio matters more than the degree, which can be really expensive at a private institution? I know public schools are still an option, including UF.

I will have the Florida Bright Futures scholarship, covering 75% or 100% of tuition and fees at public institutions for 120 credits, and I will have almost completed my AA degree by the time I graduate. Teachers have told me not to rush life and enjoy my high school years, which I am, but I have this perfectionist mindset and feel the need to prepare. If I had to make a game plan, it would be to go for a master's in engineering at FU (which I think I'll enjoy), then I could go for film on the side while I work. However, I'm very unsure, probably because I'm afraid to make a mistake. Previously, I considered attending Full Sail University or UF for film or computer animation.

Education:

• 3 years in the TV Production program, leading to the creation of weekly news, short films, and mini documentaries.
• Certifications in WordPress, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Animate, and Photoshop.
• Partnered with a local news organization for photojournalism ($200 a month).
• Co-Editor in Chief of the school publications team, where I also work on the yearbook.
• Some college classes I took are film appreciation, design fundamentals, and AICE Media Studies, which I heavily enjoyed (as well as other core education classes).
• Finished my college 5-credit course in Precal and Trig with a 90.8%. (Basically saying I'm good at math). If I continue with math & science, I will have Calc 2 and Physics 2 done by the time I graduate high school.

This is going to be a lot as I have many questions, and the more I try to do research or think about it, I got more questions and less answers. But I’m going to try to give enough personal information to help get good insights from wise/experienced people like you. It also may help me reflect and think about this while I write. I have a tendency to write a lot and go off track and ask a lot of sub question, but the main questions and focus is going to be:

- Is Aerospace Engineering a career that I should pursue?
- How will the future be like (expectations vs reality, struggles, great things, etc) when I’m 30, 40, or 50, if I do complete the degree?
- Am I able to still do the other things I love, as a person who loves to branch out to different things, such as computers, film/animation, photography, writing/journalism, etc.
- How do I overcome the anxiousness of getting into a high rigorous course? What study materials are out there?
- And probably more that I just can’t think of

I know all of these questions are up to me in the end because that’s just life. I know that for the best of my happiness and goals, I should be the one making the final decision. However, I want the most information and advice I can get before making that decision. I hope some of you guys can help me with this, as I basically have no connections and the oldest child. I am talking with guidance counselors and teachers, but I would love different perspectives. This is a repost because I thought this post was WAAYY too long, so I had to cut down a lot of things.

Alright, so a little about me. I’m 16 (M) who is about to be a senior in high school. When I was 6 years old, I was flying planes in a simulator called DCS World, and still do to this day. I didn’t know what I was going to be. Maybe a cop? Doctor? Pilot? I didn’t give it much thought because I was small, dumb, and still didn’t like to use the toilet until I was 6 or 7 (Gen Z jokes has fried my brain ;-;).

For my education and school, I was always considered a genius, which has its own upsides and downsides. I started pre-algebra in 6th grade, and now at 11th grade, finished the 5 credit course precalculus and trigonometry with a 90.8%. I have many other hobbies and interests with my other classes, including journalism, tv production, digital design, etc. I work for the school broadcast news, uploading news every week, as well as creating short films, documentaries, etc. I am also the co-editor in chief of the school publications team.

I am valedictorian in my class at 1/194, with an unweighted 3.93 GPA and weighted 4.76 GPA. Those numbers and ranks are all cool, but this is just a small charter high school. The school though, gets industry level careers, where I got my certifications from, including Wordpress, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Animate, and PhotoShop (maybe striving for InDesign or Illustrator). I even got my hands into Maya last year, which really didn’t go far since I kinda felt lost.

I don’t really do a lot of studying. Yes, I do spend quality time on my assignments and all that other stuff, but I also spend a lot of time chilling, talking with friends, playing video games, etc. Overall, I think I have a healthy balance. However, I plan to learn proper studying habits and time management skills before I graduate next year.

I will briefly talk about my jobs. I do work at a grocery store since I was 14, and now currently a cashier. I also am in a school collaborative program with the local news organization, where we cover city government meetings, and I get paid $200 a month. This is where I do photojournalism. Side note: I did get 2nd place in the youth category at a Florida Everglades photo competition, which is nice.

Now, the juicy stuff. About my future. my current plan, that I developed not even a week ago, is going to UF to finish my bachelor’s degree, since I almost will have my AA degree. This means that if I pass my classes, I will have completed Calculus 2 and Physics 2 (and of course, chemistry and other course credits). I might stay at my community college first to finish my AA degree, not sure. I will have at least 75% of the tuition covered through Florida’s bright future scholarship, or 100% if I get a higher SAT score (let’s say maybe around $213.55 per credit hour, which it covers up to 120 credits). After the bachelors, I want to get a PhD at an Ivy League school, most likely for Aerospace Engineering, but I’m open for different options. Then, I could probably come back to Florida and maybe try to work at the Kennedy Space Center. I mean, I could walk outside my house and see the Artemis II smoke trail, which was really cool.

Now, back tracking, thinking about Aerospace Engineering is quite a jump, since 9 or 10th grade, I thought I was going to probably do like film or computer animation. However, a lot of the famous directors didn’t go to college, so I thought an engineering degree would be way more valuable compared to a film degree. And, of course, getting paid good money is nice too. But that’s not the only reason why I’m going for engineering. One of the main things is to challenge myself. If I climb the tallest mountain, the other mountains will be easier to climb. And of course, I always had an interest in space, the universe, planes, etc. Although, it’s quite hard to say that because I’m honestly interested in a lot of things… too many things. Like computers, code, art, stuff, more stuff… yeah, I just have a really wondering mind.

So, this brings me to the course difficulty. I won’t lie, I’m quite intimidated. Like the math stuff doesn’t look math anymore. Science… well, it just gets harder like everything else. I know it will be a hard journey, and even with a wondering mind, I think I’ll be able to manage and lock in. The mindset I’m going with is to focus on one path and once I’m down, switch to another. For example, first engineering, then film, rather than both. Maybe I can do it as a side gig? I have zero clue how much free time you guys have, but just thinking and brainstorming.

So, what about my concerns? I’m just worried about making a mistake. Growing up in a perfectionist life style due to parents, etc, I feel the need to prepare a lot. People tell me to not rush life, especially my last senior year. I get that, and I’m trying to enjoy every last bit of it, but a deep part of me worries about what comes next. Will I like this career in the long run? What about this? That? If this, what about that? I have questions, and once I do, I want answers. I want to know, not hopefully pray and it works out… I want to know for certainty. Maybe this is already good traits for an engineer lol, but I really like going into nuance and get the best possible answer to my problems. I’ve been cruising throughout my life, and now, I feel like it’s time to change, or, at least prepare for the real world. Maybe I’m pushing myself too hard. Maybe I’m acting like I have no time, in reality I haven’t even turned 18 yet.

I feel like I can go on and on about my life, concerns, etc, but this is long enough, as I had to trim down the original post by a lot. If you made it this far, thank you. Just by you reading this, i appreciate it a lot. This was a good way to write about my problems down, even if nobody answers. I hope you can maybe share some words of inspiration or insight. At this point, maybe it can go under the rant category lmao. I’ll see you down in the comments below, and whether you do comment or not, I hope you have a great rest of your day studying, or actually changing the world.