Medicine and Psychology | Dear young people – you have plenty of time!

I wish someone had told me that when I was 19. Then I felt ‘burning under my feet’ to start my education. After high school, I worked in a store and as an assistant in a nursing home, before I started school at the age of 22. The years I spent working gave me valuable life experience. At work I learned perseverance, order, and what it feels like to be a good colleague.

“You don’t know now how useful this experience will be for you, but you will understand later,” the supervising physician at the nursing home once told me. She was absolutely right. I gained knowledge about old people and their stories. In the store job, I gained experience dealing with all types of customers. Through these jobs, awaken interest in meeting people.

Although the 19-year-old is of legal age, there is a lot that can change in terms of personality. Working, perhaps in different jobs as well, can help you with your choices. Relationships with co-workers can be valuable. We develop in meeting with others. Maybe it can help you choose what you want to bet on, or what you don’t want at all?

These years were not wasted, quite the contrary. A physically or mentally demanding and low paying job will definitely mean something to your personal development. You probably want to work with people you wouldn’t meet otherwise, and that way you both develop humility and an understanding of the challenges that many people face. As you get older, your experiences will give you a better basis for decision making. Then there is also a higher chance of your personality being mature.

When does a character mature?

From early adolescence until one reaches one’s twenties, significant personality changes occur. Then the character begins to stabilize. For example, how easily you feel restless, called neuroticism, or how eager you are to seek excitement, called extroversion, will usually begin to settle in in your early twenties. From the early thirties, personality traits began to become very stable. we are different. Some mature early and reach their stable level in their mid-20s. Others need more years and are between 36 and 37 years old before their personality is realized.

After medical studies, I had to choose a specialty. My professor of hormone studies offered me a job at Rikshospitalet. Although hormone theory had engaged me throughout my studies, the choice was clear: I wanted to keep meeting people in their normal clothes, not just seeing them lying on a bed in a hospital shirt. My previous work experience influenced my choice of major.

Do you think it can be a little uncomfortable when people ask what you want in your life? Maybe you can answer:

“I think I’ll get some hands-on experience while I wait for my character to mature.”

Time is never wasted.