How did you decide on your career?

[nikestreetdotcom]

I've been having quite a bit of trouble deciding on what kind of work I want to get involved in. I was a general business major in college and I'veworked various areas ranging from market research to international human resources to database management. The only field that was somewhat interesting wasmarket research.

I just wanted to get an idea of how some of you decided on your career. Did you just settle? Did you follow your passion? Did you get lucky?




Alex

 

[basketballphenom11]

I would definatly go to onet.com myplan.com ediscover.com if you havnt already they are good because they say what skills and traits you will need to perform aspecific job function and what tasks you can expect to perform at that job. Also dont expect to find your dream job right away just take an entry level at acompany you want to work for because I company looking to promote will look for applicants from within rather than hiring from the outside.

 

[mf doomer]

^ those websites seem good

 

[brrraptors]

I definitely followed my passion. I've been fascinated with how things work from as young as 6yrs old, wanting to build and design objects as young as 8. Iwas more interested in function rather than form as a kid. Then I obsessed with robots as a 10yr old and it lead to engineering and robotics.

a career is something you do for 30-40yrs of your life. if you can't follow your interest and just settle for whatever, thats a large chunk of your lifespent unsatisfactorily. job satisfaction, genuine interest in the work you do and getting paid for it > making more money at a job that has less than 100%appeal

 

[a thrilla]

Dont settle for entry level if you are smart. Try to have faith in yourself, a little faith goes a long way.

 

[patmc13]

Networking...Talk to every1 you know about their jobs and you will find something interesting, and then they will point you in the right direction

 

[nikeaircobraben]

google

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

I went with what interested me and what I liked doing. That is the easiest way IMO.

 

[throwedindagame]

www.glassdoor.com

 

[mojodmonky1]

Originally Posted by A Thrilla

Dont settle for entry level if you are smart. Try to have faith in yourself, a little faith goes a long way.

uhhhhh what?

no one walks into a company fresh outta college with their bachelors degree and says "hey what positions do you have available... president? I'lltake that"

Sorry to burst your bubble homie but unless you are very well connected or have a very specific set of rare skills that are in high demand (ex. can hit a 98MPH fastball) you are starting entry level and working your way up. It's not even about "having faith" and "reaching for the stars" orsome BS like that. It is a reality. It becomes even more of a reality if you are pursuing a career in a high demand industry, say for example, becoming asports agent. Do you know how many aspiring sports agents have an Ivy League diploma? A bunch. And I'm not even talking about an undergrad degree. Weare talkin MBA's, JD's, and the likes. Yet many of these dudes still start from the bottom and work their way up.

Story: One of my boss's best friends is a entertainment/talent agent at CAA (Creative Artists Agency for those that dont know) which is one of the topagencies out there. The guy has solid credentials, went to a top level Ivy League school. Oh yea... it also didn't hurt that his father was one of theoriginal founders of the agency. Where did he start? MAILROOM. I mean I'm sure his dad had the pull to get him at a better start position but dudewanted to earn his keep and go at it like everyone else.

 

[throwedindagame]

Originally Posted by Mojodmonky1

Originally Posted by A Thrilla

Dont settle for entry level if you are smart. Try to have faith in yourself, a little faith goes a long way.

uhhhhh what?

no one walks into a company fresh outta college with their bachelors degree and says "hey what positions do you have available... president? I'll take that"

Sorry to burst your bubble homie but unless you are very well connected or have a very specific set of rare skills that are in high demand (ex. can hit a 98 MPH fastball) you are starting entry level and working your way up. It's not even about "having faith" and "reaching for the stars" or some BS like that. It is a reality. It becomes even more of a reality if you are pursuing a career in a high demand industry, say for example, becoming a sports agent. Do you know how many aspiring sports agents have an Ivy League diploma? A bunch. And I'm not even talking about an undergrad degree. We are talkin MBA's, JD's, and the likes. Yet many of these dudes still start from the bottom and work their way up.

Story: One of my boss's best friends is a entertainment/talent agent at CAA (Creative Artists Agency for those that dont know) which is one of the top agencies out there. The guy has solid credentials, went to a top level Ivy League school. Oh yea... it also didn't hurt that his father was one of the original founders of the agency. Where did he start? MAILROOM. I mean I'm sure his dad had the pull to get him at a better start position but dude wanted to earn his keep and go at it like everyone else.

No, I'm pretty sure he meant:

Don't go your whole career without getting promoted.

The company I co-oped with did not have an up or out policy. People who were useless to the firm were simply moved to useless pet projects. I'm assuming heis saying don't become one of those characters if you have worth ethic and intellectual capacity. Learn the corporate culture, learn who to suck-up too andposition yourself for vertical mobilization. Your worth ethic and intelligence only matter if people know you exist or actually want to promote you.

You graduate from Harvard, MIT, etc. undergrad, you are still going to be entry level

.

I'm sure he knows this.

 

[a thrilla]

I meant have faith in yourself not have faith someone will recognize you. Start your own if you cant latch on with someone else. You sound like you lost yourMOJO.

 

[kanyewestjayz4life]

bookm

 

[josebronx]

why is a business degree so popular? is it easy?

My father and granfather have always liked architecture but none have degrees, so I guess they were some what of an influence. But drawing this building in aart class convinced me to pursuit a career in architecture.

bilbao guggenheim museum

 

[davizzy]

bookmarked

 

[mojodmonky1]

Originally Posted by A Thrilla

I meant have faith in yourself not have faith someone will recognize you. Start your own if you cant latch on with someone else. You sound like you lost your MOJO.

hahahaha i just consider myself a realist.

Having faith (self confidence) in yourself is a given regardless of what field you go into. If you dont even got that, chances are you wont even land an entrylevel anything. You will be a McBurger flipper your entire life if you dont have even the slightest bit of self confidence and drive.

The reality of life though is that there is more to success and happiness. I'm sure it wasn't much different for you as it was with me growing up. Askids we were always told to reach for the stars, and you can get whatever you put your mind to. That is some BS. Life isnt all smiles, rainbows, and magicalleprechauns that grant wishes. That stuff that we are taught as youngers is just BS that adults tell kids to help them build confidence and increase theirself esteem because kids are not mature enough to understand and accept how the real world works.

This ties to the sentiment that many (im assuming younger or less experienced) NTers express whenever a job or career related post shows up. You see dudeschirpin bout

"start your own business so you dont have to work for DA MAN'
"if you own your own business you can work at your pace and set your own hours"
"$40K out of college? I wouldnt take that if they begged me! I'm gonna be stackin that paper once I finish HS, then go to a top tier undergradschool and graduate"

Now is it impossible to achieve these things? Absolutely not. But it takes a special person to be able to do it. Again, not sayin you aint that guy Thrilla,but by special, im talkin bout 1 in a hundred kinda numbers (if not more). Assuming that NT is a decent sample size of society, that means 1 person thatresponds in that entire post has the chops to be a self-starter, self-motivator, and bust their #@@% to succeed on their own. The other 99 of us find other(not necesarily less fulfilling or less successful) ways to get by in life. I will readily admit that at this stage in my life, i am NOT that guy. (Not thatanyone asked) I work for DA MAN, and I thoroughly enjoy what I do. Am I ballin by NT standards? Not even close. I would love to someday own my own businessand work for myself but not now. I got too much to lose (and the harsh reality of life is, that it will probably only get worse). I'm somewhat riskaverse by nature, and I got a good job workin for a great little company and a great boss (even if he is DA MAN) where I get a competitive and very stablesalary, good benefits, and great hours and flexibility. I mean sure, the upside is definitely there if I went out on my own, but there can also be direconsequeneces if I were to fail (as many small businesses do). I cant afford to miss a mortgage payment and lose the house if my company goes belly up. Maybein a few years after I build up some reserves I might be reconsider, but not now.

But back to the topic at hand.

JOSEBRONX - This is my opinion but a business degree is popular because it gives you a wide range of skill sets that can translate into a bevy of differentindustry/fields. When I first started college I came in wanting to pursue a degree in history thinking I wanted to teach and/or get into law. I eventuallydecided that wasn't what I wanted to do, but I had to pick something so I went with business. It was somewhat of a running joke at my school (cause theyhave a huge business program) that people who had no idea *%@ they want to do ended up going into business. I graduated with my degree is businessadministration with an emphasis in Information Systems. Before I even graduated I knew that was something I did NOT want to do (MIS, database mgmt, etc...),but I was able to parlay my general business degree into a job in management. That job didnt pan out (company sucked) and I was then able to transition intofinance. Obviously I had limited finance knowlege so I took an entry level job not knowing what to expect, but by sheer luck I found out that this was it. This is what I enjoy. I've been doin it now for about 5 years, stayed with the same company and busted my butt doin what I can to move up. Now I alwayssay that no one with the exception of athletes and entertainers walk into work everyday with a smile on their face, but I'm close to it. I love my job. My job satisfaction is sky high. I mean at the end of the day its still work, but I cant think of much else I would rather do for a living.

As far as architecture goes... if you hate school, then architecture is not for you. A couple of my close friends are both architects (husband and wife areboth). She is in her early 30's, he is in his late 30's, and they both spend a significant amount of time studying. Although I was good at school, Ialways hated it. I know I should go back for an MBA but I'm in no hurry to sit in a classroom or do any kind of studying. As an architect you are alwayscontinuing your education. There are these certification classes you have to take on a somewhat regular basis if you want to keep moving up in that field. Thanks... but no thanks. 5pm hits on a Friday afternoon and I'm headed to the bar for some happy hour to drink a beer or twelve and relax and kick off myweekend. I am not spending my weekends hittin the books thats for sure.

For OP - Again, just my opinion, but some of it is just luck. Some people just know what they are going to do and they go for it. My brother for example wasalways big on comic books and video games. As a kid he loved to draw (and was really good at it). Growing up he always said he wanted to either draw/writecomic books or make video games. He graduated college and got an entry level job at a small video game company. Since then he's bounced around a bit, butalways stayed in the industry and has been doing it now for about 10 years. Currently he is living overseas working for a video game developer in Asia. Ilike America just fine and it would take a lot for me to move to a different country, but for him, this was his passion and that was a great opportunity totake another step up the ladder so he took it.

Then their are people like me who try their hand at a buncha different things until they kinda fall into something that they like.