Change your Career!

[Will]

Let's say right now that you were suddenly given the opportunity to get education in a totally new area in order to pursue a totally new career direction. You can finally go after your dream job.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I'm unemployed (don't worry, I have plenty of savings). My previous job was as an administrator/manager at a local non-profit. It was honest work, helping out the less fortunate, but it never felt like my "calling", or a career that I felt fit me perfectly. I've been going through what I once went through at 17, deciding what I want to do with my life career-wise. I'e narrowed it down to four options:
- Journalism: I know this is a difficult game to get into, especially now that media is shifting and corporate media has trouble telling entertainment from news, but what better time to get into a system so one can change it? I've always been fascinated with world news, politics, economics, and such, and truly the free media should be the great check on government and corporate power. I'm not a gifted writer, but I have a knack for objectivity. I think I'd be happy providing people with the news.
- Green housing: Ever since reading old fairytales about houses built into the ground, into a cave, or into a great tree, I've been fascinated with the idea of building more eco-friendly homes. Only recently has the green movement really kicked into high gear, and they're looking for people with new and original ideas to test. I've personally always dreamed of designing a perfect house for myself, entirely off the grid and self-sufficient, capable of taking care of many, many generations instead of only being built to last maybe 60 years. Back in school, I loved applied mathematics, and I think architecture and design would be something very rewarding, enjoyable, and lucrative.
- Civil rights law: This didn't really even enter my mind until I started paying attention to politics and the law under the Bush administration. It's too bad it took someone taking away civil rights for me to realize how important they are, but now that I am aware I feel compelled to do something about it. After talking with friends and ruling out a career in politics or lobbying, we settled on civil rights attorney. I'd have to work the hardest for this, because I'm really not that good at memorization and the law is almost nothing but, however the reward of defending some self-evident rights would be incalculable. I could even set precedent that protects people long after I die.
- Teaching: I absolutely adore knowledge. I love learning and teaching. The first career I ever wanted was to be a music teacher, but unfortunately it would have been incredibly difficult to afford to stay in the San Francisco bay area on a public teacher's salary, so I ruled it out. Now that the housing bubbles are bursting, though, it's much more financially feasible to teach.

What job or jobs would you want to pursue? Why?

[joeactor]

Hey Will,

Interesting topic...
(now would be a good time to start your own religion, btw ;-)

My choices thus far have been part aptitiude, part opportunity, part random chance.
A high school guidance councelor told me once "We can only tell you what you're good at, not what you want to do..."
Damn!  That made it tough!

So, let's see.  I was a programmer for quite a while.  Now I'm a voice actor.  I think next for me is a fitness job of some sort.  Not necessarily a body builder, but maybe fitness competition.  In an ideal world, I might pursue physics or chemistry, but that's a pretty steep curve to climb.

So many choices, so little time!

JoeActor

[Chimera]

I feel pretty happy that right now I am able to go after what I consider my dream job. I've always wanted to be able to help the sick and injured, so I'm going into a registered nursing program. I did a fast-track medical assistant course a few years ago, but it was hard to get into that career and you're pretty limited as to what you can actually do. I think I'll be much happier as an RN.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to do voices for cartoons or do something like Matt Groening or Stephen Hillenburg and make my own show. That would be cool too.

[MariaEvri]

I always wanted to be a national geographic wildlife photographer
I will know heaven is true when that comes to be-never
I also always wanted to be a tornado cahser... buuuut we dont have those here so scratch that!
a marine mammamologist was also a dream f mine, but I suck at math and a bit of chemistry (I rocked at biology though)

[MommaSquid]

Excellent topic, Will.  (Sorry about the job loss.)

I would have to go into a career where I didn't encounter a lot of people.  I don't have the patience to be around people all day any more.  Too many years of retail has worn me down.  Or maybe I'm just old and bitchy.  

So what careers sound good?  I'd have to say something creative.  Writing.  Editing.  Photography.  Artist.  (Not that I'm particularly talented.)  JoeActor has a creative job.  Gee, maybe he can teach me how to get into voice-over acting.

Too bad being a housewife doesn't come with a paycheck.

[joeactor]

JoeActor has a creative job.  Gee, maybe he can teach me how to get into voice-over acting.
Too bad being a housewife doesn't come with a paycheck.

... most days being a Voice Actor doesn't come with a paycheck  

Step 1: acting - gotta have it.
Step 2: business - no go without it.
Step 3: rejection - get used to it.

MommaSquid and Chimera: I'd be happy to help.  I didn't start seriously(ha!) doing it until my mid-40's.

If you'd like a little glimpse into the day-to-day, check out Julie Williams VO forum:
http://www.voice-overs.com/forum

Off to pump some iron (dang wrinkled clothes!),
JoeActor

[Will]

These are some really interesting answers.

Joe, my little brother is taking online classes to become a personal trainer. He took to health in his teens and he very well could turn a career out of it.

Chimera, you're really fortunate to have not only found but earn your dream job. If you're one of those few RNs that actually has free time, voice acting would probably make a really good second job or hobby.

Maria, I actually wanted to be a war photographer for years, but I found out it's not really a career per se. If you have a few weeks of vacation, you can arrange a trip to somewhere exotic with a nice camera and go nuts. Maybe you'll snap a picture of a chupacabra or something and find yourself on the Nat Geo payroll!

Momma, I bet you'd make a great writer. Find a topic that really interests you and just spend your free time on it.

Excellent topic, Will.  (Sorry about the job loss.)

No worries! I was well compensated and I love below my means to I have about a year's worth of money saved up (I can live on like $1400 a month when I budget). And I knew the job wasn't going to last forever. I'm really happy with how my job went, other than the occasional religious nut volunteering (I've gotta hand it to religious people, they love to volunteer).

[Whitney]

I have been thinking about this a lot since if the architecture world doesn't turn around by early 2010 I'm going to think about a (temporary) career switch.

If money were no option, I'd go back to school and get a law degree then try to get an ACLU job or something similar.  I might do this later in life it still sounds like a good idea. A law degree would be helpful to have as an architect anyway since people like to sue us.

Practically, I can go into teaching without going back to school (I'd just have to take a fast track course and pass a couple tests).  It would be rewarding but isn't my calling.

[i_am_i]

My choice would definitely be psychology, since I'm fascinated by the mind and what it does and can do. Ever since I've been dealing with psychiatrists and psychologists, which is for about fifteen years or more, I've done a lot of research on my own and have become something of an amatuer psychologist.
So definitely psychology.

[McQ]

Good topic, and a tough one to answer, for me. I seem to always want to be doing something other than what I'm currently doing. I've done one of my dream jobs, which was to be a real, honest to goodness aviator, and which is something I can pick up again any time I want.

But the things that seem to keep coming back to me throughout my life, and which give me a sense of purpose or personal joy are:

Marine Biology
Photography (wildlife is great, but I do mostly sports...trying to gravitate over to Nature stuff though).
Teacher. I love to share knowledge, like Will. And to be a bit self promoting, I'm pretty good at it. Taught Astronomy for the oldest and one of the largest Astronomy Clubs in the U.S.
Also would love to teach Geography.
And I've been playing guitar and percussion since I was 8 years old. It is one of those things that makes me forget all about the stress of life when I do it.

So for now, I have to settle for Demigod, and just be happy.  

[AlP]

Do you have a PhD Will? If not, although it's no doubt ridiculously expensive in the US, there's a whole other world out there where people pay more taxes and inexpensive education is more readily available. I hear Germany is especially generous, even with foreign nationals according to some stories.

I got lucky. I taught myself how to program computers starting at 8. I started writing computer games. Until last year I was a professional video game programmer and I loved it. I decided to move into something more lucrative though. Still programming, still happy.

[jrosebud]

I still don't know what I want to do.  It seems like every job decision I've made in the last eight years has been about how flexible the schedule was (and what kind of discount I could get - half off at Half Price was amazing).  My primary focus is my daughter's and my family's well-being.

I really want to go back to school, but the goal isn't about the job I could find afterward.  I'd rather just be a campus fixture until I stumble on something I could be passionate about day after day.  When I do go back, I plan on taking classes in the hard sciences, the social sciences, literature, math, and philosophy.

[Will]

Do you have a PhD Will? If not, although it's no doubt ridiculously expensive in the US, there's a whole other world out there where people pay more taxes and inexpensive education is more readily available. I hear Germany is especially generous, even with foreign nationals according to some stories.

That's an interesting idea. Though I probably couldn't get a law degree specializing in US civil rights abroad, I could study journalism, architecture, and teaching. I hadn't even considered that. Thanks!

[Whitney]

Do you have a PhD Will? If not, although it's no doubt ridiculously expensive in the US, there's a whole other world out there where people pay more taxes and inexpensive education is more readily available. I hear Germany is especially generous, even with foreign nationals according to some stories.

That's an interesting idea. Though I probably couldn't get a law degree specializing in US civil rights abroad, I could study journalism, architecture, and teaching. I hadn't even considered that. Thanks!

If you decide to go for an architecture degree abroad make sure that it will be accepted by NCARB when you get back to the states (assuming you decide to come back).  Some people who become architects in other countries have to basically start from square one with school/internship/testing to be an architect in the USA.   But you should definitely go into architorture  

[Kylyssa]

I'm already sort of doing my dream job - ghost writing and writing custom erotica.  The downside is that I can't figure out how to make it pay better - the hours to dollars ratio sucks.  I used to have a home marine aquaculture business that was awesome - I'd love to get back into it, unfortunately there's not enough room in my apartment.  (I'm still breeding five species of seastars and culturing some fungia coral but its about all I have room for.)

If I could go back to college I'd pursue a degree in marine biology.  I'd like to work on species conservation through aquaculture.  I'm very adept at breeding marine species of fish and invertebrates and culturing coral (SPS, LPS, softies, the works), getting a degree would increase my knowledge and put my skill level in a whole new category.  

In my fantasy world, I'd sell some of my science fiction including a novel or so.