how did you pick your career?

[Muushka]

In my freshman year in college I said "what the heck am I doing??". I took a preference test (you know, the gazillion question type).

It showed 95% affinity for Medical Technologist. It turned out to be very accurate. I worked in it for over 30 years and really did love lab work.
Not so much these days, things have changed, but I do love the work itself.

 

[mickeymedic]

From as far back as I can remember I wanted to be a music teacher. I started playing piano at the age of 4. I started teaching piano lessons at age 11. In high school I was in the top choirs as a singer and as an accompianist. So, it was natural for me to get a music scholarship to college. Unfortunately I ended up with really bad tendonitis in both wrists and was no longer able to keep up with the amount of piano practice that a music major must do on a nightly basis. So I switched to Elementary Education. I was still really excited about teaching. But then - out of nowhere - sophomore year I ended up doing a ride-along with my roommate who volunteered with the local ambulance service. I was hooked!

For those who said that their career chose them - I'm right there with you!!!! I immediately signed up to volunteer at the ambulance. Within a year I had my EMT card. And 6 months after that I had a full time job working for a commercial ambulance company. They paid for me to get my Paramedic training. And a few years later I was the Director of Training - which allowed me to mix my two passions: emergency medicine and teaching.

I am no longer with that same ambulance company, but I am still involved in EMS education. I'm just happy I ended up with a career that I look forward to getting out of bed to go do (most days.)

 

[Planogirl]

I decided to get into the financial industry but I have technical savvy so I got an Industrial Engineering degree. It's been a rocky road with downsizing being way too normal. My latest job has been a disaster... I got into an area just to get my foot in the door but they changed the job (again due to downsizing) and I'm stuck on the phones along with everyone else in my area. I hate it passionately so if you decide to try something else be careful and be ready for anything. A lot of companies are pretty underhanded.

 

[Pakey]

I always thought I'd go to college, major in literature, and teach at the college level. Although I did (and still do) love literature, I realized I had the wrong personality for teaching and majored in accounting. I didn't like it so went on to get my MBA thinking I'd do something else. I took an accounting job after school, found I loved it in the real world and I've stayed in the field for 30 years now.

 

[MomRN]

I worked customer service positions for several years after high school. I do like customer service, but the businesses I worked for were not of the highest integrity (one tended to fire people for "x" reason, but conveniently before they hit some kind of milestone... be it pension, raise, or vacation). The other- fast food- well, after awhile I figured I'm really too smart to be spending the rest of my life doing this, even though I liked it.

So I evaluated what I wanted from a job... working with people, ethical practices where the more experience you have is looked at as a positive, flexibility, decent pay, the ability to advance... and I came up with nursing. Truthfully, if I can't win the lottery and sit at home being really rich, I couldn't think of a better job right now. And, if this job becomes mundane or tiresome, I can move on- either to another unit, or back for my Master's.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I'm another person who is doing something totally unrelated to her training, but something that I love.

I got my BA in History and then my BEd to teach high school history and geography. I tried to work as a teacher for awhile, but couldn't find a full time contract position (my area is over-loaded with teachers right now). I went back to school and got my MA in Public History and started developing curriculum for museums.

At about the time that my last contract ended, I got involved with a large charity through my other passion, running. They needed someone to organize and coordinate their fundraising events (mainly focused around a HUGE 5K event in December), and there I was. My experience with working for non-profit museums (as far as the budgetary, fundraising, and administration side) gave me the experience I needed to do this job.

 

[tasha99]

I have an amazing friend who did most things right with her own life (sold her business and retired last year at 52, is supermom, calm, collected, the person most likely to succeed and coach her friends into success too). We were having tea one day and she said I needed a career, because being a secretary in a law office wasn't my passion, wasn't really paying the bills, and I have the ability to do more if I want to.

So we brainstormed, and she kept shooting my ideas down because they weren't lucrative enough. Not that there was anything really wrong with my choices--the world needs social workers--but I'd been barely making any money for the 10 years since my separation/divorce, and I need to play catch up on investing. So she pointed out that there are lots of helping type jobs where I could still get that emotional satisfaction and a larger paycheck, but they're in the medical field. So we looked at all types of therapy, and I decided to go into speech.

I'm going to work in schools, but I'm doing a medical internship (as well as an educational one) and I might fill in in nursing homes during summers and weekends. Who knows? I'm thinking of teaching in DoD schools because I'd get hiring preference as a veteran and some years towards retirement already squared away (not that I want to retire, but it would be nice to have the option.) I've lived in Japan and Korea before, so if I start there, I thought I might be able to do accent reduction on the side as a twist on teaching ESL--or, with my Masters, background in Korean and Japanese, and BA in English Lit, I might be able to teach a college class or something in English or accent reduction.

So that was convoluted, but I picked the career I'm working on by looking at my passions, what I'm good at, and practicality. I like it that there are so many possibilities with a speech degree (schools, early intervention, swallowing evals in hospitals, swallowing training and aphasia therapy in nursing homes, accent reduction, voice therapy on my own or in an ENT's office, working w/head injured vets etc.). It's a great field, I think, and so far I love all my clients, even the difficult ones. Especially the difficult ones.

 

[LoraJ]

It is nice to see someone else that works in the Entertainment Industry.

Like some of the others, I went to College, got a Business Degree, but I have never used it. Worked office jobs and my last job as a Legal Assistant was horrible with a boss from you know where So, my Fiance and I decided I would quit my job and work his Talent Agency and that is how I became a Talent Agent. I love it and wouldn't change it for the world. I have some of the most wonderful clients and I love that I can see all their hardwork pay of on the tube!

I knew I always wanted to work in the entertainment industry. I ended up going to a trade school for broadcasting in NYC and used their job placement program where I got a job as a receptionist at a TV studio and worked my way up to the post production department. I'm now a video editor. Part of me wishes I was editing movies so I could win an Oscar , but I still love my job.

 

[Sparx]

I'm a college student studying social work. My mother has worked in social work almost as long as I can remember, going from a worker at a domestic violence shelter, to now being a supervisor at DCS. Its a field I felt comfortable and familiar with. My university received a 55 million dollar grant to put BSWs into DCS. I'm working on becoming part of this program. DCS will pay for part of my education, and in turn I will walk into a second level caseworker job at DCS after graduating.

I don't know if DCS is where I want to say. One of my most passionate topics, however, is helping women and their children get off welfare assistance. StyleWorks and Dress for Success are non-profits that focus on preparing women for job interviews. I think I would be really happy doing something along those lines. The closest Dress for Success is across the state, so it would be possible to bring one here. However, non-profits are incredibly stressful undertakings since you have to deal with grants.

I do plan to get my MSW, and I think veterinarian social work is very interesting too. A nearby organization uses horse therapy to help children with attachment disorders. I think I would like doing that too. Veterinarian is typically a specialty though, so it requires higher education than a generalistic bachelors.

I remember when I first read the NASW's code of ethics, and I knew I had made the right decision to study social work. It reflected my own personal values. I love it, and I'm happy with my decision to study it. A BSW is so general, though that I could really work in so many different fields, so I'm not sure where I want to go with it completely but I know that I want to do social work.