Randerolf

This is a thread about how to find the right career. Then again, isn't the key to finding a great career about finding what you enjoy doing?

I'm almost into my 2nd year of college, and I am still undecided as to what to major in. I'm not worried, but it would be nice to ahve something to focus on. I've taken tests and stuff, but they never seem to help.


There are many peopl out there deep in the working world: would you give us all some advice?

How do you find what you love doing? (if you love what you do, how did you find it?)

Feel free to discuss what brings you joy and your career. (and if you hate your job, let us know too!)

Mitzkrieg

Well, I must say that I've had a large variety of jobs. Everything from retail store salesperson, to vallet, carpet cleaner, fast food, data entry, sports marketing/operations, and electro-mechanical technician.

After experiencing all these different jobs, I can tell you that I definitely do not enjoy a job where I have to interact with "customers". I mean, I can do it, I would just rather not have to make an effort to please people I don't even know, or like some sales people, act fake to get the sale.

I'm more of a project, hands on/physical type person. I prefer a job that is different from day to day and does not get monotonous. Something where I am mostly responsible for managing myself and only have to check in with my boss every so often. I'm a natural problem solver and compromiser.

My current job as a technician pretty much is described by the above paragraph. So you could imagine that I love my job. Only problem right now is my company lost some customers and went through a lay-off period, so things are a little hectic.

I think you need to categorize yourself as to what type of person you are and that might help. you mentioned you've taken tests. Have you tried the Myers-Briggs personality test? I think if you can see what kind of person you are on paper, you can find a job that is better tailored to you.

Sleepyjack

i always loved playing computer games on consoles like snes and so i have maintained a linking for videogames evern since and hopefully end up developing them. Although, then theres also basketball as well, which i am reasonably good at, although i am a little small (6'1) to be playing small/power forward in any more professional capacity and nowadays just play for fun.

So i atm i am studying software engineering and hopefully end up developing games. To an extent, both came reasonably naturally to me and so it wasn't too much of a hard choice.

That said, i am yet to leave uni, and i imagine its gonna be quite daunting when getting out to the real world to work, atm i am still kinda in fantasy land

Jesus Pimp

I just graduated college and wondering the same thing myself. What do I really want to do that will make me happy and make me enough money to live comfortably and surive. If someone knows, please let me know..

__________________
Never date anyone who doesn't make your dick hard.

Cynthetiq

I have done as many jobs as I can since I started working at age 14. I have had my own business selling computer hardware and software, computer consulting, deli counter, fotomat booth manager, physical check filer, customer service phone rep, field service technician, field service technician manager, video game developer, video game tester, office administrator, administrative assistant, video store clerk, pattern delivery, garment marker checker, database administrator, technology director, project manager.

Of all of these, the ones that satisfied me most, was the ones where I interacted with customers directly face to face.

What I can tell you from my experience, is to always make sure that you are ready for the next job opportunity. Keep building skills sets where ever you are so that when the next opportunity happens, you will be ready for it.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

cowlick

I went into college really interested in chemical engineering. I graduated with an engineering degree in computer science. I thought I really loved writing software. After four years, my skills in writing software have increased a zillion fold and the excitement has faded.
I don't think everyone is lucky enough to pick a great job as their first 'real' job. The moden approach is to move through numerous careers.
I'm working now on building the cajones to switch careers. It's a big risk and scary as hell to leave the security blanket of my current job.

__________________
"It's a long story," says I, and let him up.

onetime2

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.

Kyo

Some people consider their jobs solely a means to an end - they may not necessarily enjoy doing it, but it will get them the money to do what they want, the connections to get a better job, public exposure (if that's their thing), etc. There are a lot of things you can get out of a job that don't necessarily have anything to do with you enjoying it. In other words, be practical.

I can't help but be practical, but it's a bleak view of your life: you just spent the first 20 or so years of your life in school and are about to spend the next 40 years of your life in a job you probably don't even enjoy, most likely making your bosses rich, just so you can have a secure retirement, where you get to do what you want because society no longer considers you a valuable contributing member.

You're likely to spend 40 or more hours a week, every week through the prime of your lives, at your job. Money is an issue, sure - if you can't eat and pay rent you probably aren't going to be very happy regardless of how much you enjoy your job (starving artists, I'm not talking to you). But money is transient - you earn some, spend some, get conned out of some, donate some, win the lottery, get a christmas bonus, etc. Time is not. Every second that ticks by can never be replaced - you can't 'win the time lottery.' So make sure you spend those seconds doing something you enjoy.

Which brings us to the question of what you would enjoy. Don't know, really. How can you know until you try? For those that are still in school (especially in college) - if you hear about something cool, try it. Take courses in things you think you might like, even if they have nothing to do with your major. I'm going to be graduating with an electrical engineering/math/physics degree, but I've gone through ethics, environmental science, far eastern culture, european languages, opera, and wine tasting - and I'm just getting started.

Another way to decide on your job is to look at your hobbies - are any of them related to jobs of some kind? And if so, are you good enough to make money from your hobbies? Or, in another take, are you good enough to be on the production end of your hobby? For instance, if you like computer games, are you good enough to program them? If you like science fiction novels, are you good enough to write them? If you like martial arts, are you good enough to teach others?

And if none of that works - try for something you're good at, even if you don't particularly like it. It will make the job easier, it will make promotions more likely, and you will have more time to do other things. Efficiency is the name of the game - if you're already ahead in some field, take advantage of it.

__________________
Sure I have a heart; it's floating in a jar in my closet, along with my tonsils, my appendix, and all of the other useless organs I ripped out.

sexymama

I am lucky I was called to teach.

However, my family did not support my career choice. I took a year off college, working in a field they thought would better suite me. I'm glad I did it as that empowered me to know that I was choosing to do what is best for me!

It is okay to take time off school and explore!

__________________
If you can go deeply into lovemaking, the ego disappears. That is the beauty of lovemaking, that it is another source of a glimpse of god

It's not about being perfect; it's about developing some skill at managing imperfection.

Battlefield

I wish I had the luxury of looking for a job I might enjoy...right now I'm fresh out of college and trying to start my career...basically doing anything related to my major.

Dunta

I've been a Network Administrator for the past 7 years. I have gotten really tired doing this kind of work. I am searching for a new career path.

Semi-Normal

I found what I enjoy through the unlikeliest (sp?) job: Burger King. While that job certainly sucked, I found I enjoyed certain aspects of it. I decided to stay in the hospitality industry, but get a real job, and I now work in a bar. I love having people to talk to while I work (couldn't stand an office job) and it often gets hectic. Strangely enough, I love being rushed off my feet. Keeps me from getting bored I guess. Funnily enough, I'm completely the opposite when I'm not working - it takes me weeks to get anything done. Maybe I have a multiple personality disorder or something.

I hope to one day own my own bar, or at least have a management role in one.

__________________
I'm not lazy, I'm "motivationally challenged."

anti fishstick

well i'm still in college. a year ago, i was at a university livin the dorm experience but i found i didn't quiiite fit in to the school as far as my major goes. (i was an art major with an emphasis of graphic design since they didn't have a straight up graphic design major)

so i took the steps to find a school i thought would fit my career path a little better. i want to apply my hobbies and talents (art) with something practical (graphic design) so i applied to a trade school art institute. go there now. fairly easy to get in. didn't even have to build a portfolio :P

there's so much i want to do. i want to learn flash.. i want to freelance web design. i want to paint murals or sell artwork on the side. and i want to get a job with a business i think i could fit in with (probably something smaller.. more independent) and work w/ graphic design.

when i was a sophomore in high school, i had to job shadow someone for this stupid class we had to take. i had no idea what the hell a "graphic designer" was but it seemed cool and art-orientated. so i decided to job shadow one. he worked for a SEWERAGE AGENCY. not exactly the most glamourous graphic design job. he had a little cubicle and just spent all day working on deadlines for projects and making brochures. he commented on how he can't even draw. he was middle-aged and listened to alice in chains which i thought was pretty cool despite working for a sewerage agency, he absolutely *loved* his job. and i could see myself there. i guess he put a big impression on me because now i'm going to school to be one..

hopefully not for a sewerage agency tho

__________________
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

Johnny Rotten

I have two recommendations.

One, try to get as broad of a degree as possible, for employment versatility. You will need it, because the job market is pretty cruel right now.

Second, get an internship. Not for job experience, however. That is secondary. What you want most is establishing rapport with influential people. Work your tail off, yes, but not to make your resume shine. Combine hard work with standard networking and you can get a genuine career job right off the bat instead of being forced into retail, foodservice, telemarketing or customer support. There are fewer more soul-sucking jobs than working a phone all day, cold-calling people about new and exciting business opportunities.

I worked as an intern at a magazine for a year, and I went straight from that to associate editor at a major Web portal. It can happen, if you have people skills, talent, and determination. But you will have to earn your rapport with all three of these elements.

__________________
"The idea that money doesn't buy you happiness is a lie put about by the rich, to stop the poor from killing them." -- Michael Caine

Journeyman

I dicked around in community college for a year and a half untill I took psychology with a flat-out astounding professor. I dunno whether it was the subject or the teacher, but I put my major down as psych and ended up taking every course offered there (grand total of 10 I think) before I realized that I would hate counseling people with problems, don't like to see people in drug-equivalent straight jackets (think Jack Nicholson in Cuckoo's Nest), and wouldn't enjoy whoring myself to major corporation R&D.

Then one day I read about neural prosthetics, wherein they can tag neurons with the task of firing off electric devices, so that you can "think" a switch on or off just like you can "think" your finger into moving an actual switch on or off. It's a new field, with a lotta potential for helping people with disabilities (or a pension for playing video games like GODS!). It'll have a decent pay in it. I could, considering the actual market compared with the amount of companies working in it, open up my own company to research and produce if I had some money backing me. It's got everything I want.

And much later, once mentally commiting myself to this, I had a great realization: Pentagon funding. Lots of veterans who need their limbs replaced, government money there. Lots of applications in military technology for direct mind-to-electronic interface, government money there too.

So now I know what I want, education comes next. Guess I sorta lucked out that way.