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Are you Happy with your Jobs? Did you make the right choices?

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Amy’s Answer

Interesting question! I've had a lot of jobs that I've done for a career, and lots of jobs that I seem to fall into because it was an interesting opportunity. I would say that in each job I have found things to love about it, even though times may not have been the best. So, "happy"? I would by in large say so.

I think another perspective is that instead of training for a specific profession, I trained to keep learning and asking questions and noticing the cool things that just happen. It didn't matter whether I was debugging a hard problem, or setting up computers, or making sandwiches, or driving people around, or making marketing materials. It's just different things that give you more insight into how people and systems function. I'm happy that I met lots of awesome people, I'm happy I learned a bunch of really cool techniques, I'm happy that school helped me appreciate complexity, I'm happy that I came out of my shell and can connect w/ just about anyone.

Did I make the "right choices"? Hard to say. I made the best choices I thought I could do in the moment, and that I thought would open doors in the far future. I've learned that people are messy, so focus on the problem at hand rather than the emotions. But also to take note of the emotions, because that's information too. I think the best choice I've made again and again is just to say "yes" to opportunity and walk into the situation w/ open eyes. Oh, also also to say "sorry" when you really do mess up---if you didn't intentionally mean to harm people then things work out better.

Amy recommends the following next steps:

Ask yourself what makes you happy?
Ask yourself what you think makes others happy?
Find things you like to do, and research the careers in those areas that also give you maximum exposure to people, experiences, hard problems, and education.
Try to find an intersection in the above 3 steps.
Repeat every 3-5 years, you might be surprised at how your career needs change!
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Ken’s Answer

It took me a while to end up in a situation where I could say that I liked my job, so I would like to give you some helpful advice that may prevent you from going through what I did to get properly situated.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
• It really does not matter what school you attend, as the most important factors are how well you do with the school work, which is an indication to an employer about what kind of employee you will be, and the effort that you put forth in your networking to set up networking connections that will help you throughout your education/career journey. Here is an important video for you to watch: ## http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education ##
Here are some tips on reducing costs: ## http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml
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Chris’s Answer

What is good for one person, isn't necessarily good for another. I love my job - because it ticks all the boxes for me. The trick is always to work out what you want to do, based on what you want to get out of it in the longer term.

Trying to force a career doing something that you don't enjoy and that doesn't motivate you will mean you only see it as a way to pay the bills. Ask yourself and those around you what you are good at and what you enjoy and work out how to make that the backbone of your career. I like surrounding myself with people and solving problems, so I went into sales. I didn't land the job I always wanted from day one, but had an eye on what I wanted to do longer term and because my personality and skills were aligned to the role and I actually enjoyed what I do, it mean't that I was able to make a career out of it.

I was always told that the only person who can really motivate you, is yourself. So find something that works for you and don't let others knock you for your choices.

Chris recommends the following next steps:

Work out what you are good at and what you enjoy
Ask others the same question about you
Even if you don't get the job you want, keep a clear eye on what you want to do and don't stop until you get there
Thank you comment icon Thank You. Nancy
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