Sunday, January 4, 2009

What Now??!?!!?


That's the big question that everyone wanted to know over the Christmas holiday. Coming on the heels of my 30th birthday and completing my MBA (finally! a lot of people go to college for seven years, they're called doctors) friends and family, doubters and pouters, and well wishers of all types want to know what my next move is. I usually have a clever answer at the ready "lottery winner!" or something similar (okay, I guess it isn't that clever) but I really don't know. I've discovered some interesting things over the last few years. This will probably ramble but I have a few thoughts on careers that I wanted to put down. I was always raised that you can be anything you want to be, and that's true to a point..but that line of thinking doesn't take in to account the finite resources that people have avaible. Specifically: time and money. Given unlimited supplies of both, you certainly could be anything you want to be. While I am aware of people that have essentially unlimited amounts of money, I don't know anybody in the world that has unlimited time, so for people like me that have too many interests, you can be anything I suppose, but you can't be everything. The education, training, job hunting, job achieving, skill development, promotions, and eventual retirement that a normal career arc takes is a really resource-intensive process. If you want to be in advertising, it takes a long time to "make it" in that career, if you decide halfway through that you want to be a nurse, it takes several years of education to switch, but then if you decide you want to be a computer programmer, it takes even more time. There just isn't the time in a lifetime to be everything I want to be.
Narrowing my interests has always been a skill that I struggle with, with that in mind I decided to sit down and write down what I want to do....just stream-of-consciousness style...I wrote it on paper several days ago and surprised myself with where my mind took me. Here is what my list says exactly:
1. FBI Agent
2. Stay at current job and try to get a college teaching position
3. high school teacher
4. homeland security
5. something in government
6. broker
7. finance job in corporate america
8. author
You can see there is a wide range of choices in there. I just wrote things down as they came to me and I've had a couple of days to think things over. Each job has it's positive and negatives, and some of them are not mutually exclusive...I could teach in college (community colllege or even some evening program) while doing another job as well. I could always write something while working practically any job. What I know is I want to do something that I'm passionate about, and I want to do something where I feel like I'm making a difference. I definately have something mind, a real direction I'm leaning...I'll keep everyone updated if there is any news.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you're blogging again!

I think you will do great at whichever path you choose.

Anonymous said...

Grasshopper, you are ready! You must purchase a black suit and dark glasses. A smelly man with dirty clothing will contact you on the street. Give him all of your change and await further instructions.
(My evil genius plan is working....)

good luck!

Uncle Scott

Unknown said...

I'm very proud of your aspirations to help people and make a difference. You succeed at everything you try (basketball, your current job, getting me to marry you...) I'm very proud of you. (I was just kidding about the marrying me part, you didn't have to work hard at that!)

Shop Girl said...

Welcome back! Congrats again on the MBA!!! Let us know when you want to go got Charlie Trotter's