Does anyone else second guess their choice of career? *UPDATE 9/26*

[JLTraveling]

I'm firmly in the "if it's not for you move on" camp. I was taught in college that the average American has seven different careers. I'm 34. I worked my way through college at WDW and Universal. I majored in psychology and theatre. I worked in a couple of residential mental health facilities. I was working on my master's when the bottom kind of dropped out of my life, and I dropped out of grad school. I ran a remodeling/historic renovation company for a couple of years. I finally stumbled into freelance writing, and I'm now four years into a surprisingly successful and rewarding career with several regular major clients.

That seems to be the norm these days, at least among my circle of friends and acquaintances. "Stick it out" worked in the old days, but today lateral moves and complete career remakes seem more realistic. If you want to do something else, do it. The best advice I ever got? "Do what you love and the money will follow." It really does work.

 

[EnchantedTales]

Have you consider that it maybe the people you were work with, or the place, rather than career? I know you said that you were okay with your current placement but I'm just throwing a thought there.

 

[Planogirl]

More help? Sorry but there are few things more personal then picking what YOU want to do for a living. That could be a stay at home mom to someone working for NASA.. There are a ton of tools out there to give direction, plus the ability to intern, entry level jobs etc to find your path..

But if someone is sitting back and waiting for their passion in life to hit them (as you say) they will never find it.. You need to get of your duff and do that yourself.

I agree but it's hard when you're young and inexperienced. Heck it's hard when you're older.

You just don't really know what something is like until you experience it first hand.

 

[Wonders10]

Hi everyone...heading off to work, but wanted to do a quick post.

I think some of you more recent posters hit the nail on the head - its the setting I'm in that's the problem I think. Not necessarily schools, but the school I am at perhaps? It is a great amazing school, just not sure if a school setting or even this school is where I belong. I've been there 3 years - it's one of my placements that has been the same, have had a couple other schools as well - and I still don't quite feel like it is "home". I also work privately after school 2-4 days a week. I've thought about going privately but there are sacrifices to that as well since you lose out on all of your benefits and insurance (therefore I'd have to pay them myself, instead of them being "free" right now). I'm sure it will get sorted out. I've noticed this is a theme with me around this time of year, and also right after the holidays. I second guess what I'm doing and where I am at - most of you seem sympathetic and have offered your opinions and advice. Thank you for that!

Disneyfan - I'm not really sure what your problem is with what I posted. Everyone else seemed to "get it" and you apparently see me not wanting to work and have money thrown at me? All in a 3 year time period. Sorry you feel that way. I did work hard for my education which is what makes second guessing yourself even harder now that I've actually been working in the field for a decent time, not to mention clinical internships I did while in grad school.

 

[tasha99]

3 years is nothing though. that is the point and you ignored it.

But at the end of the day, if you don't like it, move I guess you can try something else.. But you might end up jumping around, many jobs, never getting ahead and always having that "grass is always greener" feeling to your career(s).

Sorry if someone telling you to stick it out, is offensive to you.

I really disagree with this advice. Three years is enough to know if you enjoy something or not, and sticking with something to "get ahead" for me at least, would be a major life mistake. I spent three years working in a law office where I learned that I didn't want to go to law school. I'm in school to be an slp (doing September student teaching right now) and every day I think, "Omg, I love this and I am so glad I'm doing what I do.) The OP isn't talking about getting ahead, she's talking about feeling fulfilled at work. I think it's smart for her to reassess rather than work for a lifetime in a job she doesn't love.

OP--have you looked into other slp jobs? Is it the kids that bother you? The school? Ever thought of working the medical side, cog rehab or in voice? Or with a different age group or population (such as residential care for kids with extreme emotional or behavior problems)? Accent reduction if you're in a big city? Aug comm? Before thinking of changing fields completely, it might be worth thinking about what other slp jobs might appeal to you.

 

[Certifiable WDW Nut]

In answer to the original post, Yes and that's why I started law school two years ago at age 43. I always wanted to be a lawyer, but couldn't make it happen earlier. There are many days I think I truly am certifiably insane and I'm certainly not at the top of my class, but I enjoy it and think I'll really enjoy it when I get out and start practicing for real.

The only time you are too old to make a change is when your mind is shot or you are dead, which is pretty much the same thing in my book.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I abandoned my original career in Finance to be a SAHM and reconsider this career choice every so often when one of my kids gets yappy. I miss getting dressed to the 9's, and going to lunch, and having my own private circle of friends, and making money, and feeling like a job is completed, and getting thank-yous.

Seriously, I try to not the the whole 'what if' thing, it's always so perfect while the reality would probably have been just as ordinary as the path I did choose. I'm sure if I continued to work I would have had all the stuff I missed but there would still be problems there, other problems maybe but there would be stuff to deal with.

Right now I am looking ahead to another chapter when my kids go off to school. A Renaissance of me where I can get another job, travel more and party with my DH because no-one will be watching and I don't have to be a good example any more... hopefully I can live in NYC! Lots of good stuff in front of me I hope, but no regrets & no looking back : )

 

[luvsJack]

Yep, that's why I just started earning a elementary ed. degree. Maybe my difference is that I always knew this is what I wanted, I just had to bite the bullet and go for it.

The line of work you are in is not one that you can just "play the part", you have to love what you do or you won't do a good job and I think 3 years is certainly enough to know if you love the work. If it is the setting, take a step in finding a new place. Just taking that first step is sometimes enough to make you feel better and have a better outlook on what you are doing. .

 

[Wonders10]

Well everyone, I have a rather unexpected update. After originally posting this thread, I spent a couple days searching for job openings in the area. Only found one, in a hospital, and I applied. On Friday, they called and want me to come and interview, which I'm doing next week. I need to do some research on the hospital and brush up on my adult therapy skills, but I'm excited. I know it's not guaranteed but I'm still trying to think about how my life would be different, in all aspects. Job hours, clientele, commuting, salary, benefits, etc.

Wish me luck!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Good luck, I hope the change is stimulating enough to help you feel better about what you are doing. Sometimes just a change in the people and place can make a big impact.

Congratulations!

 

[brenalexacamp]

good luck! let us know how it is going. sometimes in a school setting you are the only slp, it will be refreshing for you to work with a pool of slp's. Bounce ideas of each other AND............. you are not restricted by school policies/restrictions.

 

[Hutchy]

I have a friend who is a speech therapist and she does home health visits and also works in a nursing home. She has a very flexible schedule and really enjoys her work. She has some of the best stories about her patients. I hope you enjoy your new job. She worked with kids when she first started and ended up not enjoying that at all. She particularly likes dealing with brain injuries so maybe if there is an area you like to focus you can research that more.

 

[arminnie]

It took me a long time and some really bad times to come up with ONE career object: Not to hate to go to work in the morning. Anyone who had ever dreaded walking out the door knows what I mean.

Sometimes the same work in a different company can be totally different. I'll give an example and even name names as I am retired and am not now in the job market.

I worked for EDS in Dallas (company founded by Ross Perot). It was a brutal Marine bootcamp kind of environment. I was reprimanded for telling my employees that they had done a good job - after they had practically walked on water to make something succeed.

When installing new IT changes at EDS it was considered economically advantageous to skip some of the editing. If a system failed at night some employee on call would come in to make the change. People I talked to hated being on call as they had to go in several nights a week after working long hours during the day. I'd certainly been on call at other companies, but being called in seldom happened.

When I left EDS and went to work for Visa it was a totally different environment. Perfection was the only acceptable outcome. Visa could go years without a system failure. In today's world a 1 second outage could mean 10,000 transactions failing. A 30 second outage was totally unacceptable. Lots of planning and redudancy went into the systems, and we were allowed the resources to make that happen.

My job description at EDS and my first job at Visa were practically identical - managing ATM network software. The difference in the two jobs was like night and day though. Working at EDS was a living hell. I loved Visa and eventually retired from there. I loved feeling like I really got to make a difference and accomplish something.

 

[IDoDis]

I'm a special ed teacher (19th year now) and have thought at times that I wished I was an SLP. Don't get me wrong -- I love teaching, but the demands of a teacher seem to be higher. I envy the SLP's who leave after school when the bell rings. But then I think about how I'd miss teaching. I thought about the change and then thought I'd really miss the relationships I develop with the kids that I may not get if I just saw them once or twice a week for 30 min. Maybe that's what you are missing? SLP's can be lonely in a school because you have no grade level to collaborate with.

Don't let your life pass you by where you'll have regrets later on. Follow your dreams. Maybe now is not the best time to make the change due to the economy, but you can start planning ahead.