| Topic Name: |
AS confused as ks0128, 2 1/2 years into my career |
| Message Name: |
stay where you are |
| Date Posted: |
07/11/2008 |
| In Reply To: |
The post from ks0128 brought back some of the same concerns i had when I was in school 2 1/2 years ago and some additional ones as well. LegalMan, your responses were what prompted me to post here.
I graduated with a C.S degree from a very high ranked public engineering school. Fresh out of school, my options were programming or consulting but at the time, my father was starting a company, needed my help and off I went. 2 1/2 years later, I've had some amazing experiences. Web site development turned to web application development turned to product management and now it's vp of marketing & development, and I co-founded a spin-off company.
However, down the line I realized that while I enjoyed the problem solving, the problems I was solving mattered to me and my customers but not the community as a whole. Sure.. we could try making money out of it, and we make our customer's lives easier but that didn't seem enough.
So now I am looking at switching careers that will ultimately allow me to make a meaningful difference in the community (education, health, communication etc.) through technology . Now, before it sounds too good, I must admit that I do like making a lot of money. I know there's no shame in that but somehow, there seems to be a conflict in what I am saying. Is there?
What would you suggest as the next step to a person with my background, that wants to ultimately start/work for companies that are developing meaningful solutions but also wants to be paid well (are they in conflict)?
My tactic so far has been to look at filling the gaps in my skill set. That happens to be in the Sales, Strategy and Finance areas but I don't know if that approach is right. Any suggestions at all or is my thinking too unstructured?
Lost...
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| Message: |
You will never find any work more meaningful that what you are doing now. You have been given a golden opportunity - most people I know have several times the education and experience you have but have never achieved that level of success...because their Dad doesn't own a company. The satisfaction of working for yourself is as good as it gets in this business. If you want to be philanthropic start a non-profit after hours - outside of the IT business...you'll have a much greater impact on people that way anywhow.
However, if my email still doesn't disuade you, one option is "green IT". There is a growing "green" movement out there to make every aspect of industry more environmentally safe....and yes, there is even a "green IT" movement. Check out onegreener.com, its a good starting point. This is all the rage right now.
So see, I gave you some realistic and pessimistic advice yet remained objective and provided you with a viable alternative.
Now, let me get back to my homework...I'm studying to finish my law degree so I can REALLY make a difference as an employee advocate. :-)
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