Katherine Johnson Quotes

You know, no one steered people's careers in those days, I don't think, like they do today.

I don't get much career advice at all, and I would like some.

I mean, I knew I wanted to do this kind of thing in school, but to actually have somebody that would bring you into that world, that was really exciting, you know?

A strong mentor can help a young woman find and advance in the career of her dreams that otherwise may have seemed impossible.

When I was still a bright-eyed McKinsey consultant, I remember hitting a point where I didn't know what to do next, and someone gave me the book, 'How Remarkable Women Lead,' and I read it and scribbled in it, and it felt like a guide in helping me figure out my career.

A friend is someone who can help you with your career.

You wouldn't try and make a cake without a recipe book. Careers are just the same.

On Career Day in high school, you don't walk around looking for the cartoon guy.

The mission for the day is to encourage students to think beyond traditional career opportunities, prepare for future careers and entrance into the workplace.

I reached a time in college when I didn't know what I wanted to do. At that time, women's careers were essentially nursing, secretarial and teaching. My mother advised me to get my teacher's certificate.

When I was a kid, I thought I was going to be an architect, because when I was 12 years old I had a guidance counselor that convinced me that that was the best career choice for me.

Warren Beatty took an interest in my career at one point.

I'm not great at judging a career. Or planning one.

You need a big team to support a career.

My advice for young people is, study what you love and intern in what you want to do. And I think it's okay to pivot as many times as you need to.

As a parent, I often wonder what I should be encouraging my kids to do for a career.

I get e-mails daily from people asking me what major I chose in college, how I got started, what equipment I use, etc. Most of the e-mails are from young kids who are trying to figure out what they want to do when they grow up.

If someone had told me age 14 to start making serious decisions about my career, I'd have laughed!

I'm quite sure there are other things that I could have done in life whether it's working for Humana, teaching in college, high school teacher. Coaching stuck.

I know so many people who've been through situations where they've gone from one career to another and have had such a tough time because they didn't have any support doing it.

I started out as a lawyer and came in laterally to Goldman Sachs. So I learned myself that life is unpredictable. That you really should, in terms of your career, try to be excellent at what you're doing. I think if you focus on your job, and you focus on being broad in the context of your job, the next jobs follow from that.

Each of my career decisions has been very much about doing what I wanted to achieve in the role and then finding another challenge.

I really moved through my career based on curiosity about something. I never looked at a title and said, 'I want that.'

I have so many friends who have no idea what they want to do. They are out of college and working, but not sure they are doing what they want to do, which is normal.

Mentors provide professional networks, outlets for frustration, college and career counseling, general life advice, and most importantly, an extra voice telling a student they are smart enough and capable enough to cross the stage at graduation and land their first paycheck from a career pathway job.