| Topic Name: |
What careers would be best for me? |
| Message Name: |
Prestige & Money |
| Date Posted: |
09/11/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
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. |
| Message: |
It seems like the majority of career books view money and prestige as being shallow objectives. I think that's why they screwed me up even more. I've since adopted Al Franken's philosophy:
"Take, for example, bestselling author Anna Quindlen, who at a commencement address a while back said this: 'If you win the rat race, you're still a rat.' It's cute, cute, but if you think about it, it's really nothing more than an all-purpose excuse not to succeed. My version of that quote goes, 'If you win the rat race, you will never have trouble feeding your family.'"
http://www.commencement.harvard.edu/franken.html
|
|
