Jacob Cheeks

Debra Jizi
UWRT 1102-028
12 April 2016
Inquiry Project
When you first go to college the first thing that people start to ask you is what you are
majoring in. Coming into freshman year, I had no clue what I wanted to be when I was older. I
went into college as a kid who wasnt even sure that college was a good fit for me. I honestly
was debating dropping out and joining the military. I was so scared of college that I almost didnt
even end up coming to charlotte. After being here for my first month I realized that I made the
best choice I could have made by coming here. I am so glad I made the decision to come here
and further my education and I soon found what my next step would be. That next step was even
more stressful for me than coming to college in the first place. That step was choosing a major
for my career path. The second you come to college you are constantly asked by literally
everybody that you come into contact with what your major will be. That question still manages
to elude me. That question becomes a huge source of stress for an undecided college student. I
honestly have no clue what I want to be and I dont see how people come into college knowing
what their life goals are and what they want to be. That question alone has made me want to look
into careers that I could possibly enjoy in the future. I dont want to have a job that I dont enjoy
doing. I want to have fun with any job that I choose to do. The question that I want answered is
what type of career I would enjoy doing and how could I find a way to become my own boss
when I am older.

I think that many different college students dream about having their own business or
being able to run their own company doing something that they genuinely enjoy doing. I know
that I would love to be able to be my own boss when I am older. That would be one thing that I
really want out of a career when I go looking to choose one. Research on this topic could help
me find a potential career that I would like to go into. When I first came to UNCC, this question
stood out in my mind as something that I wanted to find the answer too. There is no clear cut
answer to this question; for every single person it is different. There are many people who have
different career paths who do not want to own their own business. The first part of this question
is something that all college kids should be considering when they look for a career to go into
after they finish their major. If you get out of college and dont have a career that you enjoy to
do, then it will make your life miserable. Many kids try to major in a field that will make them a
lot of money but if you dont like the field then the money wont make you that much happier. I
would love to have a job that I could wake up every morning and not dread. If every college kid
graduated and found a career that they enjoyed it would make America a happier place.
When I first started this research, most of the things that I found about choosing a career
was to do something that you are passionate about or something that you love. That sounds like
really good advice but honestly it is unrealistic. So many different people have passions that will
never turn into a career because they are so hard to be good enough at to turn them into a career.
I wanted to be a professional football player when I was a kid and all throughout high school. I
worked my butt off and tried to get a scholarship but I didnt end up getting one. There were so
many people who were better at every aspect of the sport besides me. The chances of any kid
making it to the NFL is incredibly small so it is unrealistic for many people to get to the point to
where their passion turns into a career. So realistically, finding something you are passionate

about doesnt always turn into a career. You have to find a career you enjoy and turn it into a
passion. Pursue something that is fun and it will turn into a passion the more you work hard at it.
Some of the best career advice that I gathered from my research was by Benjamin Todd, who
specializes in giving career advice to kids who are in college or graduating college through his
business called eighty thousand hours; he said If you focus on being helpful to others it is easier
to succeed because more people want you to succeed. This resonated with me because it is true
for me in my life. Every summer since I was twelve I have gone on a mission trip called world
changers. This trip is where you spend a week improving a persons house who is not as
fortunate as you are. When I went on that trip it gives you the best feeling in the world. You feel
like you are making a huge difference in that person life during that week. It is a very fulfilling
week. After hearing Benjamin Todds work and going on a mission trip like world changers, I
can honestly say that if you do something that benefits other peoples lives that it will make your
life feel like you have a purpose.
One thing that I like about the idea of being a business owner is that I could own a
business that makes people feel great about themselves such as owning a CrossFit gym. Being an
owner of an affiliate would be a job that I would find enjoyable. In a survey conducted by the
journal of sports science done by Narell Eather CrossFit is a popular workout for adults to keep
in shape while using many different types of training. This relates to my inquiry topic because I
do enjoy being physically active in my life. This would be a dream job for me if I could find a
way to make this work. I also like how it is possible for me to help other people with their life
fitness goals. After being a CrossFit trainer for a year, I have learned that being a coach is one of
the most fulfilling things that you can do. I have had many people come up to me and personally
thank me for helping them changes their lives or reach their goals. That is one of the best feelings

that I have ever had. To see these people be genuinely happy about the progress they have made
through the year makes me love the job. I love hearing the people talk about the improvements to
their lives that they get from working out at the CrossFit that I coach at. At the end of the day, the
best part of CrossFit is helping others in life.
When you own a business you have to be willing to take chances. To be successful, you
have to take many different chances hoping that you succeed when you may not. If you allow
your business to stay the same and do not innovate for many years, then you could go out of
business or scrape by. The bigger the chances you take on your innovations in your business the
bigger upside to the way your business can grow are. Robert G. Cooper said in the journal of
Product Innovation Management the best way to reach your companies goals in growth is the
innovations that change the whole market. Take apple for example, there was many companies
who created mp3 players before they made their iPod. Now since they have come out with that
product you never hear anybody say I got the new mp3 player. They say I got the new iPod or
iPhone. Apple completely changed the market with their easy to use innovation to the mp3 player
and has had major amounts of success since then. This relates to my topic because it makes me
want to find ways to take my companies to new levels. I like the idea of taking risks to make my
company the best it could be. Yes it would take a lot of work but if you are scared of hard work
then you will never get much reward. I would like to see how my ideas turn into innovations that
could change the world. The only question that I have about that is what could I do to innovate
my business in big ways?
After all the research, the best career advice that I could find was that I should find a job
that can make an impact on other people lives. After going on a trip like world changers I have
realized that the most fulfilling thing in the world is to be able to make a direct impact on other

individual lives. The work that you do when it isnt for the betterment of yourself but for the
betterment of others gives you an unexplainable feeling. After that trip I can say that being able
to help as many people as you can in your own life will make you feel like you have a true
meaning to you life. It will make you wake up every day and be happy to go to work. I think that
the best way to be happy with your career is to find a way to make an impact on other people. I
also like the idea of finding something that you like to do and then it can turn into your passion.
If you find a job that you think is fun and enjoy, the more you are around that job you will turn it
into a passion. Hard work is the best way to turn something you enjoy doing into something you
love doing. The more that you work for a goal then the more fulfilling it is to reach that goal.
Even though it is hard to turn your passion into a career I think that turning your career into a
passion would be a great way to enjoy the job that you do every day.
I think that if many different people who were coming out of college could see the
benefits of helping others in your own life and finding ways to innovate in your company or
career could change a lot of lives. If many college students started to try to find careers that were
helping other people I have learned that the best way to go about choosing what I want to do as a
career is to find a way to help people through my work. I am a believer that if you find
something that you find fulfilling by helping other people it will make you an overall happier
person. After doing research on this topic and realizing that the best way to be happy with my
career is to help other people with their lives, it makes me want to choose a career path in that
way. I will be looking into different career paths now that I have figured out what kind of work
that I want to be doing. I would love to have the same feeling as what I get from world changers
every day in my life. To replicate that feeling every week for my working career would make me
not even want to stop working. It would make me want to continue to be there for those people

for the rest of my life. What I want to find out more about is what type of career would be the
best for me to be able to help people. What career would I be able to use my skills to find ways
to better other peoples lives? If I was doing more research into this topic I would start to focus
on myself more to see what I enjoy to do. Then I would go through all the skills of the things that
I enjoy to do and see what I could turn those skills into as far as a career goes. This research
project helped me to narrow down a huge field of potential careers into a more manageable
group because I enjoy to help people and that is the career path that I want to take.

Works Cited
1.

Bikos, L. H., Dykhouse, E. C., Boutin, S. K., Gowen, M. J. and Rodney, H. E. (2013),
Practice and Research in Career Counseling and Development2012. The Career

2.

Development Quarterly
Chesbrough, Henry. "Open Business Models." Google Books. Harvard Business

3.

School Press, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Cooper, Robert G. "Perspective: the Innovation Dilemma: How to Innovate When the
Market Is Mature." Journal of Product Innovation Management. 28 (2011): 2-27.

4.

Print.
Narelle, Eather, James M. Philip, and Revalds L. David. "Improving Health-Related
Fitness in Adolescents: the Crossfit Teens Randomised Controlled Trial." Journal of

5.

Sports Sciences. 34.3 (2016): 209-223. Print.

Todd, Benjamin. "To Find Work You Love, Don't Follow Your Passion | Benjamin
Todd | TEDxYouth@Tallinn." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.