How did you choose your career (semi-long)

Im in the process, I guess, of trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I am less than a year away from graduating with a BS- Info Sys Security, and did some contract work, but I can honestly say, that I really dont enjoy it, and dont have the talent to make tons of money. I am sure I could get a bs job, schlep through it and make the requisite to have 2.4 kids, a nice car/house, but it sounds boring, and I want to do something more. Ive grown up in the restaurant industry, and have designed a security system for bars/restaurants, this is what I do for a living now (along with website design, pc repair, helping with quickbooks setup etc), but I dont enjoy this either. Ive also thought about opening up a bar, but if that goes through it wont be for a while....Anyways, my question is, how did you guys fall into your career path? Do you enjoy it? What do youdo?

[FouTight]

I have personally always enjoyed workign with computers, networking, seeing things communicate and setting stuff up. I have always kinda viewed this as a big puzzle, and have always enjoyed it.

This line of work just sorta fell on me, and I enjoy it. It's honestly something I would do for fun (not 40 hours a week, but I would, on occasion, do it for fun) So, doing it for 40 hours a week doesn't bother me.

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I have personally always enjoyed workign with computers, networking, seeing things communicate and setting stuff up. I have always kinda viewed this as a big puzzle, and have always enjoyed it.

This line of work just sorta fell on me, and I enjoy it. It's honestly something I would do for fun (not 40 hours a week, but I would, on occasion, do it for fun) So, doing it for 40 hours a week doesn't bother me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this is how I got into it, I enjoyed it a lot. I started learning about computers/networking in 7th or 8th grade, progressed through high school, and knew a ton about network security etc, before my first real class. I really enjoy it as a hobby. I really dont enjoy it when I HAVE to do it 40-50 hours a week, with someone else reapign in the profits etc. Ive thought about starting up my own security firm, and do pen-testing, network assesments, but I am too young to deal with any real talent that i could hire, and do not know many people in the industry.

Lessee, I've backed into one, fell into one, gotten drunk and woke up in another, and this latest one just kind of picked me.

[FouTight]

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I have personally always enjoyed workign with computers, networking, seeing things communicate and setting stuff up. I have always kinda viewed this as a big puzzle, and have always enjoyed it.

This line of work just sorta fell on me, and I enjoy it. It's honestly something I would do for fun (not 40 hours a week, but I would, on occasion, do it for fun) So, doing it for 40 hours a week doesn't bother me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this is how I got into it, I enjoyed it a lot. I started learning about computers/networking in 7th or 8th grade, progressed through high school, and knew a ton about network security etc, before my first real class. I really enjoy it as a hobby. I really dont enjoy it when I HAVE to do it 40-50 hours a week, with someone else reapign in the profits etc. Ive thought about starting up my own security firm, and do pen-testing, network assesments, but I am too young to deal with any real talent that i could hire, and do not know many people in the industry.

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Yeah, so, start something up, nobody starts at the top bro. It's pretty easy to find people that will pay you to do anything computer related, a lot of people are afraid of it and would rather just not get involved and pay someone else to do it.

I've done a lot of work for companies and it was fun, but I enjoy working a steady job that I don't have to manage a little better right now while I'm still young enough to have some fun.

One thing I want to get into is setting up E-commerce sites for smaller buisness to sell product over the internet. Seems like such a gold mine yet a lot of buisnesses are nowhere close to having this realitivey easy process setup.

There are no streamline process to set up an e-business, which is good for us. If you do any work with a B&M looking to expand to the net, take a look at the MS POS software, you can integrate your store sales, with stuff over the net, and its very flexible/scalable. Its pretty easy to get certified to becaome a dealer, and the profit margin is relativly high. Im in the process of setting up a cigar shop with it right now, they seem to like it.

[FouTight]

Yeah, thats exactly the stuff I'm talking about. I've done a decent amount of work with POS stuff, but I like setting up web stores and stuff too, which is cheaper then most places would assume, and there is also a very high profit margin there. Making a buisness out of making buisness work is a great buisness.

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Yeah, thats exactly the stuff I'm talking about. I've done a decent amount of work with POS stuff, but I like setting up web stores and stuff too, which is cheaper then most places would assume, and there is also a very high profit margin there. Making a buisness out of making buisness work is a great buisness.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is exactly what I do now. I cant see myself doing it forever.

I went to a career fair and found an interesting field. then I got an internship with an organization in that field. When I graduated (mid-90's) the job market sucked but I was able to find an entry level position in the same organization where I interned, albeit out of my area of interest to get my foot in the door. I used my experience as an intern to bolster my qualifications.

Now that I was inside the organization, I tried to get as much exposure as possible to different people and divisions. When a vacancy opened up a few years later in the exact field I wanted, I used the experience gained working on the inside to help me through the selection process (I had a significant advantage over outside applicants!).

I've continued to try to use these principles and practices in the 8+ years I've been in my current position to advance.

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I went to a career fair and found an interesting field. then I got an internship with an organization in that field. When I graduated (mid-90's) the job market sucked but I was able to find an entry level position in the same organization where I interned, albeit out of my area of interest to get my foot in the door. I used my experience as an intern to bolster my qualifications.

Now that I was inside the organization, I tried to get as much exposure as possible to different people and divisions. When a vacancy opened up a few years later in the exact field I wanted, I used the experience gained working on the inside to help me through the selection process (I had a significant advantage over outside applicants!).

I've continued to try to use these principles and practices in the 8+ years I've been in my current position to advance.

[/ QUOTE ]


What do you do, and what fields did you like the most? What principles and practices helped you teh most?

[MercTec]

I actually have a similar background as you. Except I went to college for Music Technology and ended up just working in technology. I did IT in the finance industry up until September. Then I started my own business.

I also grew up with a family in the restaurant business so food was in my blood I guess. With the money I saved working in IT, I bought into a franchise. I've been open since November and so far so good.

Bottom line is that you need to start somewhere at least for investment capital. IT is a great place because you can jump into a decent paying job pretty quickly.

Do that, save some money, and then invest in yourself and your future in something you think you can do for the rest of your life.

[jb9]

After giving up on grad school, I was going to get evicted if I didn't get a job. I temped for 6 months, which sucked but kept me from being homeless, until I finally got a fairly generic (i.e., no special skills required) office job.

After a couple of years I switched to another company doing the same work but for more money.

I was a bit more responsible and a bit better with computers than most people doing my job, so after several years and 3 promotions, I'm supervising people doing generic office work (i.e., I'm a middle manager).

I'm now looking to switch to a new company supervising people doing generic office work. I don't even care if it's more money this time. I'm just tired of looking at the same faces every day and having the same discussions with the same people.

Not very inspiring...

New Year's resolution: new less crappy job.

[IHateKeithSmart]

Hey guids:

I have been working in computer security for about 9 years and will be happy to try and help out if you are looking to branch out/explore new opportunities in the field. It sounds like you might not be certain about the industry, but I can kick around thoughts/ideas if you want.

Jason

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I actually have a similar background as you. Except I went to college for Music Technology and ended up just working in technology. I did IT in the finance industry up until September. Then I started my own business.

I also grew up with a family in the restaurant business so food was in my blood I guess. With the money I saved working in IT, I bought into a franchise. I've been open since November and so far so good.

Bottom line is that you need to start somewhere at least for investment capital. IT is a great place because you can jump into a decent paying job pretty quickly.

Do that, save some money, and then invest in yourself and your future in something you think you can do for the rest of your life.

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Awesome, this gives me some hope. I have family that owns a chain of 30-40 Italian places around the midwest, but, honestly other than what Ive learned since I was a kid working in them, I dont know much about the industry (Im learning a lot now though, because Im settung up POS/Accounting/IT stuff in a ton of bars/restaurants). I think I am at the point, becuase I live on my own, pay less than 200$/mo in rent (my uncles building), and have little bills, that between poker/IT stuff etc, I hope to do what you did. GL with your place

[antidan444]

I had two main interests growing up -- music (singing) and sports -- and also enjoyed reading and writing. So I basically looked for careers that fit, and sportswriting seemed to make the most sense. So I joined the high school paper my junior year, then took a stringing job at the local newspaper two months after graduating and got a full-time position three years later.

I don't make much money, but I love what I do, and for me that's a whole lot more important.

[HopeydaFish]

I graduated with a B.A. in Law but didn't have the marks to go to law school, and didn't want to go back for another year to bring my marks up. I had been working in retail sales while I was in University and started working there full-time once I graduated.

It only took me a year of that to realize that I absolutely hated dealing with the public. I'd always had a strong interest in computers and decided that I wanted to go back to school to become a programmer. I took a one-year compressed course at the local College, worked a few crappy jobs to gain enough experience, and finally landed a decent job after a few years.

My job isn't terribly exciting, but it pays fairly well and I have full benefits. We play sports at lunch every day, and there are plenty of office sports teams for me to join after work. I don't always enjoy the work, but I do enjoy my job.

One thing that I keep seeing from younger posters on here is a belief that your job defines you as a person. This is only true if you are planning on working crazy hours and devoting your life to your career. I have always gone by the idiom that "nobody ever lies on their deathbed wishing they'd spent more time at work". My work pays my bills and helps me live a comfortable lifestyle, but it doesn't consume me. I don't think about my work when I am away from the office, and I spend as much time every week doing non-work related hobbies/sports as I do at work. I believe that it's important to have a good work ethic, but it's also important to try to become a well-rounded person.

[Toro]

My father was a building contractor and started taking me on jobs from when I was about 8 years old. One day I saw the building plans on the job and was fascinated with that. So much so that I started drawing design plans of different things like buildings and bridges at home. So from that early age I had already decided that I wanted to be an Engineer and the only other thing that ever challenged it was sports.

But when I realized that I just wasn't good enough to play any sport professionally, I stuck with the Engineering.

[Hornacek]

I always liked numbers and probability -> Trading.
BS and Masters in Computer Science -> Automated Trading Strategies.

[Shajen]

I went into the Marine Corps, was guaranteed Avionics. Working on planes and [censored], to you laymen. Anyway, about a month before I was to go to bootcamp, I hit a deer on my motorcycle. The Corps will discharge you all banged up, but you have to be in good health for them to accept you. My date got pushed out and I lost my contract. So, I essentially went in open contract, meaning they could make me a 5-ton driver, or a cook, or a basic grunt. Luckily I scored pretty high on the ASVAB and did well on the intel tests....they put me in IT. The rest is history.

Luckbox.

[mrkilla]

Currently I am an IT Manager for a Hedge Fund in NYC , but i started as just a screw driver jockey , and I still love that part of the job.

My Career found me. When I was younger (7 or 8) I got exposed to a Computer. I was hooked ever since... Started by taking apart my Atari and went from there when I finally got a modem for my Mac Plus I almost had heart failure.

I can honestly say I love my job I wouldnt want to do anything else. However I know its not for everyone I also hate people who do it just cause they "think" they can or because its a "job". I can fix cars but I am no mechanic yanno?
I had a friend who was a programmer , wrote programs for Grumman, Reuters etc but hated it he only did it cause someone told him to cause he could. Being smart doesnt mean you should be a rocket scientest. He did it for 6 years got a Master Degree in Comp Sci and you know what he does now, hes a car mechanic, because he loves it and it's what he's always wanted to do.



With all that in mind, if you have a knack and a love for something then do it. It could be Poker (yea I know) or that bar reasturant your thinking about. Maybe go to culinary school for reasurant mgmt? But I'll just add I never graduated college, I didn't need it knew what I wanted to do all my life college was just wasting my time

[kiemo]

I discovered early on in life I just generally dislike people and I cant small talk or bullsh1t with almost anyone.

Hence computer programmer was about the only career that fit my personality. I pretty much hate it, but its probably the only white collar career in the world for someone with absolutely no people skills to actually be sorta successful in. I could probably do some trade job that has little people contact and make more money, but I am too much of a fancy boy to do one of them rugged manly jobs.

[Paluka]

A guy I went to college with emailed me and said "Hey, my company loves people who are good at math and games, so why don't you apply". I said okay.

[callydrias]

I was a big computer geek in jr high and high school and got into graphics/game programming back then. I found out I was really good at programming and software design, so that's what I assumed my career would be. I went to college, got a degree in computer science, and started working. I've been working in the "real world" for about 8 years and it's recently dawned on me that I don't really like computers, programming, or office life. I'd never stopped to consider all of the career possibilities for me out there.

I'm not sure it's possible for you to choose a career that you'll like before you actually go out and try something. Maybe it is, but for me, I had to work for a while in a particular environment to find out if I liked it - and it took a while. Remember, what makes a good hobby does not necessarily make a good career.

What's next for me? I'm registering for community college classes this spring to clean up some admission requirements for med school in a year or two. In the meantime, I'm very strongly considering dealing p*ker to get out of the office.

[Sooga]

I hopped into a computer programming job for a big asset-management firm in Santa Monica right after I graduated. Worst. Job. Ever. Perhaps there are people who would like a job where you literally don't have to speak to anyone all day, where you're stuck in a cubicle with no windows, and you just punch away on your keyboard from morning til quitting time. But I'm not one of those people.

Eventually I just quit. Didn't have any job lined up, I just quit; I couldn't handle it anymore. Yea, this probably wasn't a bright move, but in retrospect, it was great because it was the impetus I needed to look for something different. I'd always felt I could be a good teacher back when I was in high school, so I sent out a resume and application to high schools all over the area, and I got hired a few months later, and now I'm pretty sure that's how I'm going to spend the rest of my career.

Yea, the teaching doesn't pay nearly as much as my programming job did. But I only work basically 1000 hours a year at a job I really enjoy, which gives me plenty of free time to do whatever else I want to do. Thinking back, I don't regret anything I did. If you're not sure what you want to do as a job, just try anything you think you'd like, while you still have your youth. You don't want to wake up one morning and be old and/or have commitments, and be stuck humping some job that pays ok, but doesn't make you happy.

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You don't want to wake up one morning and be old and/or have commitments, and be stuck humping some job that pays ok, but doesn't make you happy.

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This is the reason for this post. I think that this is my worst fear in the world.

[WDC]

Short version is that I was working as a manager at a restaurant and not liking my life very much; one day as I got out of may car at the end of another 12 hour day a couple of the neighborhood dogs came up to me and started to lick the meat and grease off of my shoes; i applied to law school that night

life's been pretty good since then

[jb9]

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You don't want to wake up one morning and be old and/or have commitments, and be stuck humping some job that pays ok, but doesn't make you happy.

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This is the reason for this post. I think that this is my worst fear in the world.

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Even worse is when the job doesn't pay OK...

[Sooga]

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You don't want to wake up one morning and be old and/or have commitments, and be stuck humping some job that pays ok, but doesn't make you happy.

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This is the reason for this post. I think that this is my worst fear in the world.

[/ QUOTE ]

Even worse is when the job doesn't pay OK...

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually if the job doesn't pay OK, that might be better, because then you'd have no reason to stay. I see so many older friends stay in jobs that make them unhappy just because it's a decent paycheck and they don't want to lose that kind of security. If you're old and have a sh*t paying job, then you haven't got much to lose if you decide to get up and try something completely different.

[callydrias]

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Actually if the job doesn't pay OK, that might be better, because then you'd have no reason to stay. I see so many older friends stay in jobs that make them unhappy just because it's a decent paycheck and they don't want to lose that kind of security. If you're old and have a sh*t paying job, then you haven't got much to lose if you decide to get up and try something completely different.

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That's how it is with me. I know I can't make what I'm making now in any other career field right away if I just got up and left today. I feel like I'm stuck because with this crappy job I have benefits, can afford to keep my house, buy nice toys, go out to eat. Without this crappy job...who knows? Luckily I'm not old. (Well, 28 is probably old to most of you guys...)

Got fired from 1 job so dedicated to playing football (HS and college) but needed money while did this...so took a job at a collections agency when I was 17 (sis worked there) and pay was much higher than average...did that PT til "something better" came along...failed out of college (hate school and Blood alcohol higher than GPA)

Went back to collections (waiting for something else)

Realized I was good at it...did that for 4 years

Moved to become a cop ([censored] sucked - no money)

Moved back home..back to collections bounced around couple agencies

Some old associates opened a new agency with 15 employees, Busted ass for 2 years til became one of the highest ranking managers, company head count was up to 400...told them to [censored] off after a dispute and became a collector....re-busted my ass as collector becoming the top collector for a couple months

Back into entry level management--they opened satellite for Vegas office...I offered to run it and they moved me where I am today...In vegas building a satellite office from the ground up..currently at 60people in 6 months!!!

^^^I'm actually his top collector right now /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

So, I work @ Taco~Bell during senior year in high school get promoted to night manager after 2 1/2 months got tired of that BS.

Went to work for a car dealer as a lot attendant where i learned to drive manual trans. after many failed attempts at people shwoing me i grabbed a Golf and had at it. Later the same style car I come to love plus + turbo pretty much cost me my job since I crash it after working there about 4 months they try to charge me $4000 or so for repairs i told them thats what the insurance they have is for since i was on the job and they refuse and threaten to take from my pay so I just up and quit.

Got a job @ Wal-Mart working in electronics (most of my female relatives have worked there so I was already well known) 3 months in I become night shift supervisor (more of a hey your our electronics bitch at night we need you to run this joint for big movie premiers and video games and such) so i get tired of that stuff after almost a year was i believe 11 months and a few weeks i get offered a job with the government.

I work highway construction as a laborer for the government working to expand the 95 here in Vegas. Make hella bank buy a car, buy tons of other crap i mean hell i was makeing a lil over $900 a week /images/graemlins/blush.gif, The jobs ends. They want to send me to Arizona and Alaska soon after. I dont wanna move so I cash out my pension and got a job at McCarren Airport.

Worked @ AVIS-Rent-A-Car as a customer service rep. I started doing preffered customers but i hated it so just went to regyular peoples since they are less jack asses. I rent them cars, take returns and do a minor wash her and there. Make mad bank with all the OT. Girl @ work tells me i have the best attitude for a bill colllector i had never thought of it and she told me to apply so i told her to pick an ad out for me and i would apply. She gets me an email address i then email my resume...

Now, Im working for the past 4 months @ the collections agency that Mr. Gamblegamble runs, where I a single rookie collector with no experience whatsoever has taken the spot of #1 collector in our office. Out collecting people who act so bad ass comeing out of training just because they have collected for 8 or 9 years. When they see a young guy with no experience own them I must say it brings a smile to my face.

But as far as a career I hope to establish myself in this company and if that doesnt happen well I will go wherever life takes me next.

[CheckRaise]

What is a collection agency?

[shant]

I took a computer arts class in high school, really liked what I was doing, found an art school through the class, went to art school, switched majors from special FX to design, and that's that.

By the way I reccomend everyone try to work for a design company, even if you're on the business side or an IT guy. It is the chillest industry to work in.

[ChipWrecked]

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Lessee, I've backed into one, fell into one, gotten drunk and woke up in another, and this latest one just kind of picked me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Brilliant answer, it goes for me as well. Much better than my original response that I A) hated and B) sucked at everything else I tried.

[PokerBob]

i am a high school teacher. like all teachers, i am completely unqualified to do anything else, so i do the thankless work of shaping the minds of America's youth.

[ QUOTE ]
What is a collection agency?

[/ QUOTE ]

We call deadbeats on the phone who don't pay there bills

Lotsa money if you are good at it!!!!

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Make hella bank buy a car, buy tons of other crap i mean hell i was makeing a lil over $900 a week /images/graemlins/blush.gif,

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Maybe the funniest thing Iv'e read on OOT but 47k a year is a lot to some people I guess!!

[plaster8]

[ QUOTE ]
I had two main interests growing up -- music (singing) and sports -- and also enjoyed reading and writing. So I basically looked for careers that fit, and sportswriting seemed to make the most sense. So I joined the high school paper my junior year, then took a stringing job at the local newspaper two months after graduating and got a full-time position three years later.

I don't make much money, but I love what I do, and for me that's a whole lot more important.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice. I'm a newspaper editor, and I love it. The only real drawback is the hours for me. I don't make a ton of money, but I do well enough. And besides, I'd rather enjoy what I do and make 10k or even 20k less than I would at a job I dislike.

Working on holidays isn't fun, and working until midnight some nights can be crappy, too. But I'm happy with my choice so far. (I'm almost 10 years in.)

So what paper do you work for? Are you doing mostly preps, or do you have some college/pro stuff going on?

[poker-penguin]

I kinda wandered into it.

Finished university, went to ski bum for a year, a ski bum friend asked to to write content for affiliate websites, from there another friend offered me a job working for a poker network, now they've given me a big promotion so I'm probably sticking to the industry for a couple years at least.