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what made you decide on your job/work or career/career path?

528 views 19 replies 20 participants last post by  sad vlad 
#1 ·
I'm just curious.
 
#2 ·
I fell into it by accident.

I wanted to be an artist in California, but ended up being a teacher.

I knew I was way to"shy" to be a teacher. My second husband (before we were married) suggested after I had just graduated with my first BA (in Art;Business Management) that I get a teaching degree so I could teach Art.

I did, then became a substitute teacher for 7 years and then an art teacher, and then got RIFFED (reduction in force-- a polite way to say laid off)--got my BS in K-8 multi-subject (elementary education)--taught health for 5 years (6th grade) then moved to Idaho and taught several different things and am currently a kindergarten teacher.

I just really sort of fell into it. :fall

Star
 
#4 ·
Leilainstar, my life is sorta headed in that direction...

Music was something I was sorta pushed into. I took piano lessons at a young age, got good and the next thing I knew I had a degree in Piano Performance and I HATED performing! I started grad school and dropped out after 2 weeks, ready to leave music behind me forever because I was burned out. Then I found a job as a pianist in my local school district. LOVED it. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the kids (and to my surprise I'm good at it!). It has inspired me to go back to school in Jan. to get certified to teach music in the public schools. I'm SO excited now! It's been a very long time since I've felt passionate about anything...
 
#6 ·
computers

I always used computers. My uncle was sort of an engineer when I was young and he lived next door to my house. He built and fixed all kinds of things. Radios, computers, tvs, heaters, cellphones, and so on.

So i liked using computers.
Then in college I didn't really know what I wanted. I liked to write, but never thought i was any good. I tried, sent stuff out, took classes, some teachers and students thought my work should be "published." Some teachers thought it was psycho and I needed some help. BUt I never thought it was any good. Then again that's how i felt about most things i've done in my life. IF I got an 98 on a test, it wasn't a 100 so i was a loser. and so on.

I started a business, promoting music when i was 19. Lots of talking. I forced myself to do this. Sometimes it was nerve racking. Other times I felt like I will overcome my shyness. I never heard of SA back then so i just thought i was SHY and had to "force myself" to do things I couldn't do.
It went from music to videos/movies/writing kind of business that was run on the internet. It was at the time the Internet boom wasn't in full swing yet. It was new and many people thought it was "crazy."

The problem always was even when I forced myself to talk, I wasn't good at it at all. So my business, while fun at times, and somewhat successful in getting events put together and promotted, never really made a profit. If i could have talked and talked well and like a salesmen I guess, maybe it would have turned out different.

The funny thing about the internet boom is the whole thing about, "programmers made millions." Yeah some did and many made great money. But many also never got paid because of "stock options" that crashed and many worked 100+ hours every week.
Many who made the big big money were not the "geeks" or programmers but rather those who were salesmen and excellent talkers.

I was never the star programmer and couldn't talk great, so I fell in the middle.

While running my unsuccessful businesses, I changed majors so many times. From Music to writing to journalism to business and accounting to multimedia to computer programming.

Computers I always used. The money seemed good. I liked certain aspects of programming. So that's what I wound up doing.

10 years later I question why I ever got into programming. While some people find it rather exciting I find it boring. I like learning new things and I like learning new technology, I'm just bored with learning new syntaxes and programming. I really don't get why I ever went into it.

Journalism seemed cool to me, but i never felt comfortable with my writing and most journalists have to be great talkers to get scoops and stories.
Business i always liked. Liked numbers. Liked figuring out finances. Liked running things. BUt again talking and talking some more.

Who knows what i really want to do at this point. I like money and making money. I like learning about everything. I like technology but not programming. I like writing.

Who knows at this point though.
 
#7 ·
since i was a child a was a good student. and i loved reading books. reading fiction felt like i was in the company of people but i didn't have to interact with them. as a child i was accused of always hiding behind books. it was a good place to hide.

plus, as a young adult, i was afraid of the "real" world, of finding a job.

so i stayed in school. did my BA and MA in literature. by then it was professors hiring me as their research assistant without me having to do anything. being a good student was paying off.

so i did my PhD. being alone writing suited me. and i got really interested in what i was doing. the only problem was the teaching part. it terrified me. made me physically sick.

i eventually made it to a doctor. got diagnosed with SA. got meds. so the teaching and PR parts got a little easier. i made it to interviews. and, after a few attempts, i found a job in my field last year.

i don't know if i'll be able to keep it, but i want to. i'm willing to work as hard as it takes to eventually feel at ease doing this job...
 
#8 ·
I started out as a computer information systems major because i loved using and working on computers when i was growing up. But I quickly realized I would be more suited being a business major, so i changed majors. After taking some accounting courses and loving it, I decided that accounting was for me. Plus I figured it would mean less interaction with other people and less of a need to have people skills. So now I am an accounting major and will start my senior year of college in the fall.

Who knows where life will lead me after graduation. Will i go on to get my mba? my dad expects me to do it but i just don't see the point... Or will i go into the job field and love it? hate it? I still don't know what area i want to specialize in (auditing, taxes, financial planning, etc). So I'm quite anxious about having a career and how my social anxiety will affect it. I have a feeling my senior year of college is going to go by way too fast...
 
#9 ·
I grew up farming so that was my first choice, but the economy and my father's failing health made it an unrealistic dream. Growing up on the farm without much money I worked with my father to repair our own machinery and equipment to cut down on expenses. After I started driving I used this knowledge to maintain and repair my own vehicle. I was always good with mechanical things, I rememeber as a child I always had an obsessive need to take things apart to see what made them work. I bought service manuals and tools and learned by doing. After graduating high school I decided to enroll in a two year community college for automotive technology since wrenching was about the only other thing I was good at besides farming. My dad decided to quit farming, so I needed a summer job to save some money up before I started school. I asked a mechanic my family had used for many years if he was looking for any help. As luck would have it he had a guy who was leaving and he needed someone to replace him. About a week later he called me and told me to come in on Monday. It was extremely difficult at first, I felt overwhelmed with everything but I learned fast. My boss understood my lack of experience and tried to find easier jobs for me to start out with until I learned everything. After four months on the job I came a long way and discovered I could probably learn far more on the job than I ever could sitting in a classroom, so I decided to postpone school just to see how things worked out. That was over 11 years ago and I've made a career out of it. I've taken a series of exams and become a fully certified master auto technician. I've held those credentials for about eight or nine years now and have to recertify every five years. I've worked with a few people over the years who went to the same two year course I was going to take. Some of them never made it and went on to construction jobs and other lines of work. I guess I've never regretted my decision of not taking higher education, but I got lucky and it turns out I didn't really need to in my case. This job is very physically demanding but I plan on doing this for the rest of my life, or at least as long as I'm physically capable.
 
#11 ·
i am a total screw up and cannot keep a job. i hate everything i've ever studied and do not enjoy working in any field. unfortunately for me i am also not very bright and have never been into computers which means i can't get jobs for 'phobes.

i am thinking of going on social assistance but i know i will just hate myself for it. i try to maintain certain jobs and studied for a career but nothing worked for me. now i just don't know anymore. i don't even have a driver's licence so i can't drive a cab.
 
#13 ·
Parents -_-

They chose my career path and I happened to get a job and I am sitting in my current job totally frustrated with how I never had a choice in choosing the career that I liked and had a passion for.

Wanted to become an artist/illustrator/designer...something that involved creativity but I am wasting away in a desk job that pays well but I don't want the money. I want my life to be interesting.

My Dad does everything for me,, he pays for every possible expense that I have and advices me to save the money I earn. Should I be thankful or hate my Dad caus he didn't support my decision to study a course in designing/illustration?
 
#14 ·
Stacking shelves in a supermarket? It was a lifelong dream that took many years of hard training to achieve
 
#15 ·
survival. i've had jobs from playing "doctor" to construction worker, factory worker to welder, corporate, rental truck mechanic, modeling, sport modeling, secretary, word processing pools.. you name it other than p-o-r-n.. those who can't cut it in show/modeling business usually go that route because it's fast money.

I figured, just my luck, one of my brothers would pop in a video and see me.. thus, i decided to go back to college or learn a new trade every few years. A DECENT trade...

Thus, i can survive without losing SOME sort of dignity. While having several certfications, as well as 3 degrees under my belt..which doen't mean crap if you don't have any common sense to go along with it..
 
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