Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Finding What You Enjoy: Finding the Right Career

onetime2 · 09-18-2003, 05:16 AM

Obviously there is no easy answer. It's going to take experimentation for you to figure out which way you want to go.

I've been out of college for about a decade now. I've done everything from landscaping and farming to strategic planning for a Fortune 200 firm interacting with Presidents of billion $ plus corporations.

I am now working in the pharmaceutical industry interacting with mid-level managers. I have to say I prefer dealing with the "big boys" much more as they weren't so concerned that I was going to do their job better than them and advance beyond them. They were a lot more demanding and there were definitely some egos that you better not tread on but I got to learn a lot about what it takes to be a great leader.

Overall I have learned that I hate the fact that I rely on other people to run the company correctly so that I will still have a job in the future. That's why my goal is to get up enough money/experience to open my own business (I have several viable business plans but have not yet taken the leap). With that in mind, I see my current job (and future ones in the short term) as ways to make cash. More money gets me closer to my goal.

So, my advice would be to try new things. Go on lots of interviews and talk about the positions and try to market yourself for any that you have an interest in (whether you have the experience or not, enthusiasm counts for a lot). I look at interviews as learning experiences. Whether I am offered the job or not (and whether I actually want it or not) I get to review my experiences, learn about companies I'm not familiar with, get an understanding of positions (not just the one being interviewed for but also every person that interviews you as I always ask them about the structure of the department/company and what their role in it is), and it's free (so long as you don't have to take unpaid time off work).

Good luck!

09-18-2003, 05:16 AM	#7 (permalink)
onetime2 Junkie Location: NJ	Obviously there is no easy answer. It's going to take experimentation for you to figure out which way you want to go. I've been out of college for about a decade now. I've done everything from landscaping and farming to strategic planning for a Fortune 200 firm interacting with Presidents of billion $ plus corporations. I am now working in the pharmaceutical industry interacting with mid-level managers. I have to say I prefer dealing with the "big boys" much more as they weren't so concerned that I was going to do their job better than them and advance beyond them. They were a lot more demanding and there were definitely some egos that you better not tread on but I got to learn a lot about what it takes to be a great leader. Overall I have learned that I hate the fact that I rely on other people to run the company correctly so that I will still have a job in the future. That's why my goal is to get up enough money/experience to open my own business (I have several viable business plans but have not yet taken the leap). With that in mind, I see my current job (and future ones in the short term) as ways to make cash. More money gets me closer to my goal. So, my advice would be to try new things. Go on lots of interviews and talk about the positions and try to market yourself for any that you have an interest in (whether you have the experience or not, enthusiasm counts for a lot). I look at interviews as learning experiences. Whether I am offered the job or not (and whether I actually want it or not) I get to review my experiences, learn about companies I'm not familiar with, get an understanding of positions (not just the one being interviewed for but also every person that interviews you as I always ask them about the structure of the department/company and what their role in it is), and it's free (so long as you don't have to take unpaid time off work). Good luck! __________________ Strive to be more curious than ignorant.