As a kid I was almost exclusively interested in painting, literature, languages and history. But I came from an impoverished yet educated family so I understood the importance of money. Being poor sucks.
So when I was 15 I set out to determine which profession would be the safest bet to earn as much money as possible without going into crime - and the answer was engineering.
You know those kids that learn to code all by themselves, who take things apart just for the hell of it? I was not one of them. I hated those kids.
But Iām extremely good at math so I ended up being a very good engineer. I strongly believe that my disdain for the field (and my fellow engineers) helped me excel at my job.
Yep. Thatās what a job is for. Find fulfillment elsewhere.
Controller here. Majored in Finance and wanted to make $500k/year in investment banking. I loved the puzzles and the giant models I got to make. Graduated during the meltdown and never broke in. Had to pivot.
I loath accounting and took the bare minimum coursework of it in college. But Iām great at it because itās math and rules. Pretty simple stuff.
@jshaving
No matter what you choose the only universal advice I can offer you for work is: do more than youāre paid to do and be more professional than your peers.
No matter whether youāre a plumber, engineer or teacher you can set yourself apart by being the guy thatās calm when things go wrong and focuses on solving problems instead of blaming others and whining.
The ability to communicate respectfully to everyone regardless of station will make people respect you back. This will set you apart from the laborers with a chip on their shoulder about ācollege boysā and the silver spoon managers looking down their upturned noses.
Never ever turn down a special project, even if you donāt have the skillset. Be comfortable saying āI donāt have the answer at the moment, but I can get it for you.ā
@Frank_C - I know the public high school in my town has the local collegeās strength coaches come train some of their teams - the only ones I know of for sure are XC, track, and volleyball. I think the football and wrestling teams are led by the normal coaches, who from reputation, are decent at what they do. Are there any colleges in your area looking for strength coaches? May open the door to high schoolers as well, and cut out the actual teaching. Youād just be training.
No. I looked into this early on in my adult life and everyone wanted years of college experience for the entry level jobs. That meant that they wanted me to volunteer somewhere. I had just married my wife and I couldnāt go to grad school to pay thousands of dollars and volunteer all of my free time and ask my wife to support meā¦especially to get a $30k a year job.
I was just trying to keep my small family afloat and applied to like 80 jobs while working as a corrections officer after the Marines. A manufacturing plant called me up, and after walking me around the plant showing me the strange, obscure production trade, I accepted a position and havenāt looked back. Despite being from a family of neuroscientists, I have always been the black sheep, and enjoy working with my hands. I get to work with diamonds, lasers, chemical etching, microscopes, lathes, you name it. My family still tries to convince me to go elsewhere, but I love what I do, filthy hands and all.
Despite starting off doing my undergrad pre-med and later switching to get a Psych degree (minoring in Art), I worked as a commercial animator for over a decade before switching to teaching. I still did freelance animation work for a while, but eventually it was too much work juggling two full time jobs. Currently, Iām closer to retirement than not, and will freely admit that the love of the job is long gone. The education system (in NY especially) has changed quite a bit, and thereās too much BS, and a huge lack of respect as well as help for the actual educators to question why the NYCDOE canāt keep most teachers longer than 5 years.
Thanks to an incentive offered years back, I will get my full pension in 9 years, and will be out and able to go back to my art work at my leisure before my son even enters High School.
Iāve experienced this quite a few times in the engineering world. Usually this occurs when an engineer is hired right out of school and is put over technicians who have been doing a job for 10+ years. Itās an entirely different interaction when you take that same engineer, put them in the field for a year or two, and then give them the office.
Lots of good advice in this thread. Youāll notice most around here (not surprising from a lifting site) work hard and are humble. Those usually serve you well.
For what itās worth Iām a mechanical engineer by trade, but now work as a technology consultant. A lot of cool things happening in tech as industrial companies try to incorporate digital.
I totally stumbled into my job. I dropped out of law school when my first wife became pregnant. She already had a daughter, so I couldnāt see going to school with two kids to support. I taught for 4 years, worked for CPS, installed cable, worked in the retention department for a cable company. Then a friend got me into occupational medicine and have been working in that field for 7 years. I like it, it pays well, and everyday is different. Iāve been laid off once after a merger which completely rocked my world, but for the most part itās pretty stable. Iām currently a Director of Operations for a Third Party Administrator.
Edit: I should add that I am bipolar and was undiagnosed and unmedicated for a lot of those weird jumps in job fields.
Personal Trainer at a small private studio for very wealthy business owners. Eventually however, I want to get into more specialised strength coaching. But for now this is good. It is flexible, enjoys me alot of free time to work on my competitive powerlifting journey while making a modest amount of money.
I feel quite fortunate in this situation. Sure, I dont make alot of money, but its a hell of alot better than working an office job 9 till 5 everyday then drinking yourself to death every friday night complaining to your colleagues because you had a shitty work week. The 9 to 5 office grind is just not worth it to me. I would rather trade up the extra benefits and security for increased flexibility and balance in my life.