Do you have a long term career plan?

When I was in primary school, I knew I didn't want to enter a neighborhood secondary school. so after primary six, I entered a fantastic girls' school.
When I was in secondary school, I wanted to go into NJC but I changed my mind to HCJC towards the end of secondary four. Therefore, in the end I went to both the schools. =O)
After JC, I thought I wanted to study Economics at NUS. Then, after considering that my elder brother would be entering NUS with me, I decided to choose SMU instead. I was regretful about my choice initially but recently I think my education at SMU has done me some good.
Now, it's time to decide what I want for myself again. Choosing a career is similar to choosing an education path. Normally, when it comes to deciding what I want to study, where I want to study, I would choose something that will open up many options. For example, I chose good schools because of the "prestige". I chose science stream because I heard that many courses in the university only accept science students. I chose accountancy because someone told me that an accountant can do what a business student does but a business student cannot do an accountant's job.

But can I use the same criteria for choosing a career?

It would be quite scary if I choose something that I don't enjoy doing and I get stuck to it because the opportunity cost of giving up is too high. Like, I choose to be an auditor, get my public accountant qualification but in the end, I decided that my passion lies in social work. Can I afford to give up my high salary for an entirely new career? I would have to start from entry level again. Or.. maybe I thought that I would like to be a policewoman but what if I find the environment loathesome after I joined the force? Worst still, what if I am tied down by employment contract?

It suddenly dawned upon me that what I choose in the first 2 years of graduation is very important. For example, many MNCs have management programs to groom potential mangers and those companies mostly take in fresh grads for the programs. If I choose to be an auditor after graduation, I'd probably not get another chance to try for the management program. I remembered PSA gave a talk in my NJC final year about their management prog. It was so enticing... I find the prospect of being able to work in many departments/offices of a big corporation very satisfying. It's like the excitement of watching what's below you when you're on the plane.

While I think that kind of job is something I like, it may not be compatible with my personality. What if I go for such program and I am not selected at the end of 2/3 years? I would probably be lagging 2 or 3 years behind my peers if I choose to return to my original profession.

I guess, eventually, it boils down to "if I don't try, I would never know." But I feel that we don't always get a second try at certain things. It feels like it'll hurt a lot if I choose the wrong course.

I aspire to be a partner. However, I know that there are very very few female partners around. Probably it's some gender discrimination. I also aspire to be a policewoman. However, I understand that if i switch career the opportunity cost may be too high. Hence, I want to find a way to reconcile both. I think one of the career paths for accountants is forensic accounting. But for that, I would have to earn another degree which means more money!!! argh!!! Like Sian said 钱不是问题，问题是钱。

Besides, given my personality - introverted and dislike excess human interaction, it totally clashes with what I aspire to be. Perhaps I've already made a wrong choice to take up accountancy in the first place.