Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-11-03
CHOOSING A PROFESSION.

influence the choice of a profession: the
first is aptitude; the second, heredity;
the third. opportunity
Aptitude In the most important It is
natures index finger, pointing out the
road which we are best fitted TO pursue
II life. Almost every young person
has strong liking for some par
tculsr kind of work, and marked fa-
cility and skill in It's performance. One
will take to mechanics, another to
trade, another TO some form of art, an
other to science, another TO books and
reading, and so on. Aptitudes are very
various and il is well that they are so,
for this would be very one-sided kind
of world IL we were all engaged in the
same. or nearly the same, pursuit. Ma
ture has so arranged il by giving us
these various and marked aptitudes,
that proper balance and proportion
shall be preserved among the different
kinds of work in the world, and that
each kind shall be performed by those
who have an enthusiasm for il and
natural facility in doing it.
In the choice OF profession, then,
the first important question which a
boy or girl should ask is this: I'm what
direction does my aptitude lie2" For in
that direction the greatest amount and
most effective kind of work can be
done with the expenditure of a given
amount of energy. In the great ma
jority Of cases aptitudes are not hard
to determine; indeed, the difficult thing
Juld be TO overlook and disregard
them. Boys and girls turn to what in
terests them as naturally as the leaf of
a plant turns toward the sunlight You
may be SIRE that the boy who will make
good artist is going TO be interested in
all kinds of beautiful forms and colors
while he is young. He will notice these
things when others are blind to them,
and Mt an early age he will begin to try
TO reproduce them.
So likewise, girl who has genuine
aptitude for music will be quick to a p
preciate the language of music. She
will learn to play or sing as if by
magic and the exercise of her gift
will always be a source of keen delight
to her.
Aptitudes frequently crop out very
early in the games and amusements of
children. The born merchant will have
a passion for playing stores" the in
ventor or machinist will be always try
ing to make things" the embryo
teacher will be perfectly contented only
in the midst of her mimic school.
knew boy-now a successful minister
who was never so happy as when.
mounted upon a chair or table, he could
repeat scraps of Sunday-school wisdom
to an admiring circle Of brothers and
sisters.
Aptitudes will out. There is very
little danger Of mistake in determining
the kind of work which nature intends
we should do. But there is another
factor which should be considered in
choosing profession, and it is often a
very helpful factor when, as may hap
pen, there seems to be no particular
aptitude for any kind Of work This
second factory is heredity. 1t is
the latent. transmitted, stored-up
power of doing well what ones
ancestors have habitually done we'll
The children of musicians generally
have gift for music. The children of
mechanics have an aptitude for tools
and machinery. The sons Of ministers
especially if they come from a long
line of preachers-are apt to have gift
for public speaking. If. then, boy
displays no particular aptitude, there
is the strongest probability that success
i'm life for him will be found in his ia
TIERS profession. If he displays a liI-
ing for more than one kind of work, let
D, ,9.,,s- g
due weight with him when one of those
preferences IS for his fathers profess
sion. The chances are that boy will
succeed best in that for which he has
an inherited fitness. Asa rule. boys do
step into their fathers shoes" and n
wise arrangement it is for thus there
IS cultivated from generation TO genera
ton a faculty and skin for doing GER
tain kinds of work, which must pro-
duce, 10y the principle Of natural selec-
tion those whoare progressively better
and better fitted for performing these
tasks.
The third and least important consid-
GRAFTON in choosing profession is OPP
portunity. Sometimes all doors seem
20 stand wide open to a certain line of
work. while to all other lines they are
tightly closed. There certainly are
eases when such apparently "provi-
dental openings should not be disre-
garded especially ii the opportunity
which offers is Of n ure to enforce
hereditary fitness. Suppose, for in
stance that a hoy has chance to go
into a machine shop as assistant to his
father If Sc has no strong desire and
aptitude for another kind of work, and
is ready tx enter upon the active duties
q lie, here is certainly an opportunity
which he ought not to ignore. The
opening is one which, if he avails him
self Of il, may result in successful serv-
ice and rapid promotion
Young people may properly consider
headings Of this kind as wen as those Of
aptitude and heredity. A young mans
entire future often depends upon his
getting chance to work at a certain