| Topic Name: |
What careers would be best for me? |
| Message Name: |
Sounds familiar |
| Date Posted: |
09/10/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
Currently 30 y.o. programmer. ISTP for you MBTI types.
This is what I want out of a career:
1. Offers good money. Similar to programming at the least, but I would like to have a shot at the really big money (solid six figures).
2. Offers a certain level of prestige. Doctor, lawyer, FBI agent, professor, psychologist, architect, etc...
3. Lets me use my brain. I like programming because it gives me a good mental workout. I'm particulary good at solving problems and analyzing large amounts of data.
4. Does some good in the world. All I do now is contribute to my boss' bottom line. I would like to provide a valuable service to people.
5. I like to build things, but I know not what part this may or may not play. I used to like to build software.
6. I like my independence.
I've enjoyed programming, and its been a good fit, but I dread spending another day in front of the computer. I don't know, maybe I'm just burnt out with my current gig.
I've thought about a lot of different careers, but nothing seems to really be pulling me. Well, there's one - the FBI. I'm ineligible though because of some of my background partying when I was in school.
Some of the options I've been considering:
MBA in Finance -> Hospital Administration. Could always go on to get PhD and teach.
JD -> Hanging my own shingle, or working my way to partner in a smaller firm.
M.Arch. -> Seems pretty risky. Doesn't seem like a lot of architects are able to make it.
PhD in CS -> Try to get a gig at a teaching college.
Does anybody have any specific advice relative to my situation? Can anybody think of other avenues I might want to explore?
grazie! |
| Message: |
I could have written that post myself (except for the building things) a few years ago.
I'm assuming you're a guy; lots of guys (and many women too) go through a 'mid-life crisis' at thirty. Clearly you've done some research (you've got your MB type down, got a good list of things that are important to you). I'm surprised and pleased to see 'prestige' on your list - I thought I was the only one. I don't know why it's important to me, but it is, so there you go.
As I said, I've been there. I was 29. Here's what I did. I trotted out my old copy of 'What Color is My Parachute', and did the exercises. That gave me at least a vocabulary for the sorts of things I wanted to do. Then, I went out and talked to a bunch of people that I knew (difficult for you 'Introverted' types, I know, but get over it), and asked them, based on these skills that I had identified, what did THEY think I could do.
It was a very valuable experience, not only for what it taught me about things I wanted to do, but it also ruled out some things I did NOT want to do (medicine, for instance).
In my case, I eventually settled on a career in Management Consulting. Trying to break in with my background was difficult (My first year out of HS was in Theatre School, then I went and got a degree in Science, then went and founded my own desktop publishing business, and worked in that industry for a while). However, I eventually found a small organization within a much larger organization that liked my breadth of skills, my sense of humor, and thought they would take a chance on me. I stayed there for a couple of years, then went back to school to get my MBA (I started my MBA at 31). I had a difficult time getting a job after graduating, but eventually I found one. I make decent $$ working at a financial services co., doing a little bit of this and that. The prestige is pretty good, I do things that matter, and my brain gets a sizeable workout on a fairly regular basis.
So... that's my advice. First, get 'What Color is My Parachute' and DO THE EXERCISES. Next, go out and talk to people about what they do, about the sorts of things you like to do, and where you might fit. Then, try really hard to do it. Go back to school if that's what you have to do. But make sure you talk talk talk to people before you do that.
Best of luck.
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