“What do you want to become” is one of the most commonly asked and least useful questions a student can get. It assumes there's one right answer. In conversations with students we notice that many people only discover what fits them by trying it.
Do you have to pick your sector before you start working?
No, and that's where the pressure many students feel comes from. You don't have to make a final choice before you start working: a working-student role is a low-threshold way to explore a sector without committing to it for years right away. A fixed-term contract ends on the agreed end date [1].
Where do you start if you really have no idea?
Don't start with sectors, start with what kind of work gives you energy: digging into numbers, convincing people, building things, bringing structure to chaos, working creatively. That drive fits several sectors at once. Someone who gets energy from bringing structure can thrive just as well in finance as in operations or project management.
Is trying it out really better than thinking it through?
Often, yes. A few months working in a sector tell you more about whether it fits than weeks of research and conversations beforehand: you discover how the pace feels, what kind of people work there and which part of the work you enjoy less.
What if you find out a sector doesn't fit you after all?
Then you've got exactly the information you were looking for. A year-long working-student role in a sector that doesn't fit still delivers experience, skills and a network, and you know it before you graduate.
How do you make that exploration concrete?
- Choose a working-student role based on the kind of work, not just the sector's name
- Talk to people already doing the work, and ask about their daily reality, not just their job title
- Give yourself permission to change direction after a year if it turns out not to fit
- Watch for patterns: what kind of tasks give you energy, whichever sector you find them in
How VOIDS deals with this
A match profile that looks at who you are and what drives you, instead of a sector you happened to mention once, makes this exploration easier [2]. You don't need to know what you want to become to sign up.
Sources
- wetten.overheid.nl: Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 7, artikel 667, geldend per 1 juli 2026, accessed 11 October 2026.
- VOIDS: Talent: community, jobboard en talentpool, accessed 11 October 2026.
Transparency: VOIDS connects working students with organisations and therefore has an interest in this topic. We back up facts with sources and connect research and trends to our own experience from practice.
