I took a temp job when DS was 6 weeks old and I was single. Three months later I was in a perm position there and pretty much doing all of the compliance. Getting my series 7 and moving forward was the natural progression.
I did my student teaching in my last semester of undergrad and knew there was no way in hell I wanted to teach. There wasn't much out there that I could do with a degree in social science education that I was interested in, so I decided I needed to continue my education. An MBA or med school were out of the question. I considered Masters degrees in HR and Higher Ed, and then thought, what the heck, I'll just go to law school.
I figured out that it is really what I wanted to do during a summer clerkship after my 2nd year of law school. I hated law school and hated my 1L clerkship so much that I came close to dropping out and getting certified to teach. Thankfully, law school is nothing like practicing law, and it was also just a matter of finding the right practice area and right type of firm. Now I love my job and can't imagine doing anything else. I am very thankful and consider myself fortunate to love my job considering that it wasn't the most well thought out decision.
I knew I wanted to go into biology when I had a kick ass bio teacher in HS.
I just knew I wanted to go to grad school. I was really interested in learning more about my field.
After that, I sort of fell into it. This was the "early years" when bio PhDs did research, and anything else was considered an alternative career. I (gasp) chose to go into medical/technical writing and more or less sent my resume to any company nearby that might be hiring. One company took a chance on me and the rest is history.
Ever since I started babysitting in Jr High I've loved working with kids. All my jobs have been with kids. My sophomore year of college I got my first 'real' job working in a childcare center. That lead me to a career counselor at my comm college who directed me to a BA that's basically early childhood education and I got that. From there I kind of floundered for 4 years, working for the YMCA, subbing for child care centers and a school district with mostly preschoolers and elementary school-agers. This past August I got my first official job with a school district as a paraeducator (classroom aid) working with special needs preschoolers and I love it! I think I've finally found where I want to be and it feels great! :heart:
I started working for a company in a leadership development program out of grad school, and they determined that HR was a good fit for me. It stuck. I still don't know that it's what I want to do when I grow up.
I always new I wanted to work with children who needed help in some capacity.
During my internship in college, I worked with a certain population of young people and a particular child was extremely interesting to me. It lead to my interest in the field I am in now. I love my job. It does not feel like work even though it is a career that you would need to seek out in order to work in it. Not everyone is equipped.
I'm sorry I am being vague. I can't be detailed as it would reveal certain confidential diagnosis information about the population I work with. All I can say is I work in the Public School system.
What Public school job is so confidential you can't even share a job title?
Post by thinklikeajellyfish on Oct 6, 2012 0:27:53 GMT -5
I went to sea world when I was in the 9th grade. When I saw the killer whale show I decided that's what I wanted to do. During the process of getting my animal training degree I realized that I didn't want to work with killer whales, or the entertainment side of animal training. I'm currently working as a veterinary assistant waiting anxiously for when the time is right for me to pursue animal training (read: when we can finally save up enough money to move to where my dream jobs are). Hopefully that will happen in the next year cuz I'm sure not getting any younger!
ETA: this thread is really fascinating. I love reading all of these stories!
In high school I found a real interest in cooking. I wanted to go to culinary school, but my dad said he wouldn't help me pay for college at all unless I went to a regular University. I ended up going in as an undeclared business major. I wanted to get into the hospitality program, but people kept telling me what a thankless, terrible job it was to be in the hospitality industry.
I was abroad in Australia my junior year when I decided I didn't care what other people thought. I emailed back and forth with my school and advisors and came back enrolled in all the hospitality classes I needed to catch up on. I also started serving at a country club.
When I graduated I was promoted to a management position. I still really like my job and am happy with it most days. The hours and working on weekends are certainly not ideal, but it's a trade off I'm willing to take for the time being. It required a lot of soul searching, but I think I made the right choice.
I was always interested in linguistics and while I was in my final year studying French my university started a new translation certificate program. I love school and besides tourism didnt know what else to do with biligualism, so I enrolled in it once I'd completed my B.A.
I am on career # 3 post college, as a literary translator (I read and translate books for a living). Career # 1, marketing, was a means to an end. It allowed me to pay off my SLs, live in interesting places (I did some international launches) and save some money so I could do career # 2, international human rights, which is not a money-making field at all.
Career # 2 was ideal until I realized it wasn't very family-friendly. It involved a lot of travel for little pay and a lot of stress. Then I slowly transitioned to Career # 3 until I had enough contacts/projects to quit Career # 2.
I speak several foreign languages fluently, so that was kind of what led me to each career. I've used the experience I've gained in each field in different ways to help me make each transition. I could easily see myself doing something else next and don't feel like Career # 3 is the last thing I will do.
My dad switched careers several times in his life (big changes, not just job changes), so I've never felt like whatever I picked was going to be what I did for the rest of my life.
I finished UG with a double major in anthropology and Spanish thinking that I'd have no trouble finding a great job. I got a job as an administrative assistant at a small business, I moved up really quickly and within 6 months I was a manager. BUT, I was working 60 hour weeks making less $ than I paid in tuition per year. I was torn between going back for social work or speech therapy and (thankfully, since SW pays shit) chose speech. Grad school was rough, but I'm a medical SLP now. It's okay. Boston is not the place to be for it--the market is beyond saturated and I'm not sure I love it.
I'm torn between going back for an MBA and pursuing hospital administration, or switching to a school so I can follow DD's schedule (even though I have no desire to work with children).
I forgot to mention that although I had an interest in politics I really wanted to pursue comedy. I loosely planned on moving to Chicago after high school and taking classes at The Second City. Alas, my parents informed me that their will states that my brother and I must graduate from a four year institution to receive any money after they die.
I always thought I would go to law school and be a bad ass litigator. I started UG as a Poli-Sci major because it's a good feeder program and I love politics. Then my jr. Year I worked at a law firm and realized that the day to day life of a lawyer is not what I wanted. I've since worked at a couple other firms and have cemented that choice, it's just not for me. But I still live politics and policy, so I'm pursuing that right now. I love what I'm doing, it is really refreshing and I can see a future in this for me if I can find full time work soon. I'm just worried that that won't happen and I'll have to go back to the legal field since that is where my experience is and I'll get stuck. DC is expensive
I've always loved school, reading and writing, so I decided to become a high school English teacher. But sophomore year of college, I was standing in line at a crowded movie theater surrounded by teenagers who were being especially obnoxious, and I remember looking at my friend in a panic and saying, "Oh my god! I hate teenagers! What am I doing?!"
I kept the English part of my major and added journalism. I got a PR internship at an association during college, followed by one at a Fortune 50 company. I got job offers from both, picked the association and I am still here eight years later, now as manager of the department. I would loathe the type of PR job where I'd have to be the on-camera spokesperson or be at events all the time, but this is very much behind-the-scenes and I love it.
(Note: I don't really hate teenagers. I'm just painfully shy and they make me feel self-conscious.)
I started out in math and physics education with a chemistry minor. I was getting bored with the classes and found an article about pharmacists in the paper. I switched majors right before my sophomore year. Luckily the fields are close enough I didn't lose any time.
I was an English major in college, and ended up getting hired as a grant writer for a non-profit organization right after graduation. I spent 2 years at that job and realized that I really liked helping out with events (galas, golf tournaments, silent auctions, etc.). I waited for the right opportunity to come along and finally switched jobs to become an events coordinator at another nonprofit (been here almost 5 years).
SLP is consistently ranked as one of the best jobs to have. most of the SLPs I've met have high career satisfaction, and I've also met a couple other healthcare professionals (one PT and one Audiologist) who told me they wish they would have done SLP. this won me over, lol.
helping people + medium-high pay + high career flexibility + only two extra years of school = winna!
I haven't actually started yet so I don't know if it's the right thing for me. I've done some clinical practical work as a student, but I know it's not really the same.
I just graduated grad school in May, and I'm an SLP at a public school.
My only goal was to "help people". I knew I wanted to work for a non-profit and I like administration, so I signed up for bible college :-) I have a ba in religion with a consentration in admin and psych. The degree clearly had a lot of leeway.
I worked in a church for a year as an administration and children's pastor and I hated almost every minute of it. I had to take two years off work to immigrate so I did a lot of soul searching and decided my main goal was still the same, but I didn't want to work in a church. Now I work for a homeless shelter as the assistant manager of the thrift store. I love it! I do all the admin for the store, oversee volunteers, stage and decorate (which is my no.1 hobby outside work too), and manage case requests from social workers at the shelter. As clients find permenant housing we provide them with necessities - furniture, dishes, lines, etc. it's a perfect blend of everything I wanted and never knew I could find in one place.
Well, I went through 1 year of chemistry in undergrad and decided to try business but business was so boring that I went back to chemistry. I hated bio with a passion, hated organic (as I wrote many times in my book), and loved pchem so off I went to specialize in pchem. Then I didn't want to get a job anywhere at home, considered pharmacy school as well as going to grad school for meteorology, but I ended up going to grad school to torture myself with more pchem but I also tossed in my true love of environmental and magically ended up with a job that does both.
i watched a korean drama when i was about 12. i thought the major that all the main characters were in looked fun. it was a good way to do both left brain (what i am) and right brain (what i like to do and wish i could be) stuff. i took some related classes in high school and turned out to be ok at it and also enjoyed it. so majored in it once i got to college, worked in it for awhile, and even went back to [mostly unnecessary] grad school for it. i love it most days but do often think about getting out as it's high liability, long hours, and low compensation for the amount of responsibility.
I lived overseas for most of my life before turning 18 and I went into my undergrad planning on being a foreign diplomat so I was going to get my degree in International Relations, even attended the best school in Canada for that specific program. Then in first year I decided economics 105 was NOT for me. a degree in IR requires two Eco classes. So instead I did a double major in history and poli sci (focused on American and Western European foreign policy in the 20th century) and a minor in French translation. So pretty much and IR degree minus the two ECO classes!
the summer 2nd and 3rd year I got a job working at a national non-profit literacy organization. I enjoyed working in admin and education so I decided to go that route. After my B.A. I did my B.Ed. and M.Ed in Educational Administration. I have taught for 12 years and the plan is to be a vice-principal next fall. Or a mom. Or both. We will see what life brings.
I don't regret not going into the diplomatic corp. I regret not working harder or rather, believing in myself. I now have no doubt that I could have done the two ECO classes but I was 18 and was worried about 'failing'. I also don't think that doing those courses would have = working in the diplo corp. It's a hard work force to get into. Plus I never would have met/married my husband, and that would have SUCKED.
Well, I went through 1 year of chemistry in undergrad and decided to try business but business was so boring that I went back to chemistry. I hated bio with a passion, hated organic (as I wrote many times in my book), and loved pchem so off I went to specialize in pchem. Then I didn't want to get a job anywhere at home, considered pharmacy school as well as going to grad school for meteorology, but I ended up going to grad school to torture myself with more pchem but I also tossed in my true love of environmental and magically ended up with a job that does both.
We are complete opposites when it comes to chem. I loved Organic and aced all four of my organic classes... I had to take one pchem class for my major (physiology) and barely passed. You must be super smart What is your job title? I have a job not even remotely close to using my degree so I always wonder what others with science degrees do for a living
I knew I wanted to be a teacher at 5 years old. My kindergarten teacher sealed the deal. While I hit some bumps in the road during college, I knew what I wanted to be and had a goal in mind. I graduated with a liberal arts degree and then went on for my masters in education with my k-8 certification. While education has really changed over the past 10 years, I still like it. I'm not sure I want to do it long term though. I'm thinking of pursuing some sort of curriculum coach or trainer position. Over the past few years my principal and other co-workers said that I'd be good at it, I'm kind of agreeing with them! We'll see what the next couple of years hold!!
My dad was an attorney and he absolutely loved his job. We had similar personalities so I thought if he did it and loved it I would probably enjoy it. From a young age I wanted to be an attorney and I never changed my mind. From the first day of law school I knew what type of law I wanted to practice (personal injury) and I stuck with that as well. I now work in house for a company doing consulting and a small amount of litigating on the defense side. DH and I are two of only a few people in our large group of lawyer friends who actually like our jobs. I think the fact that we practice in an area of law that we actually like and have jobs that are low pressure in a pretty close knit legal community has really helped.
I started designing/drawing floorplans at 14 in Geometry class. I had to ask someone what is the name of the person who does this profession. I went around with one on career day & was sold. It was a legit profession that was well respected but also creative & challenging. Memorizing facts & regurgitating subject matter was not my thing at all. I also learned is was a major with a low amount of reading & paper writing...perfect for me! Plus I was good at everything equally...math, science, art, English, etc. I really love Architecture & have never seriously considered anything else. I don't always love practicing it & the direction the profession is being pushed but I deal with it.
We are complete opposites when it comes to chem. I loved Organic and aced all four of my organic classes... I had to take one pchem class for my major (physiology) and barely passed. You must be super smart What is your job title? I have a job not even remotely close to using my degree so I always wonder what others with science degrees do for a living
Aw, thanks, that's so nice of you! It makes me feel pretty dumb sometimes. LOL As for my job, I've given all the info I can about it. Sorry.