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why did you pick that career

#career-choice

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Subject: Career question for you

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Mitchell’s Answer

Honestly, I joined the military because I was bored at home after paying my rent with YouTube income, but I had no marketable skills. It's been a rocky road, like every military experience, but it has also been personally, professionally, and financially rewarding. In a couple years, I'll be getting out and going to school full time (with an income from the Navy), and graduate with my software engineering degree and no student debt (tuition also covered by the Navy). I will be in for 7 years when I get out, but you can do the same with as little as 4 years of service.

The life isn't for everone. It wasn't even for me when I started. But I made the best of it, enjoyed my time spent all over the world, and I've got a brighter future for it.
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Laura’s Answer

I would start by saying that it feels like my career has chosen me! I've been in the wide world of tech, both website and software based, for over 10 years, and as this field advances at the speed of light it can often feel hard to keep up - this is why I feel like the field I'm in dictates where my next move should be.

It all started with my father teaching me how to program at the early age of 6. I did NOT love it at the time and appreciate that I was given the opportunity to 'try on' a few careers for size before naturally coming back to tech. Whenever I left a job that wasn't a perfect fit, I'd think about what specifically didn't work out, and how would I like that to be different in my next job. This helps you narrow down which career feels 'right'.

Over the course of my 10+ years in tech I tried on a few different types of jobs for size. I began as a secretary and decided to go to night school to learn how to build websites (hand-coding HTML, CSS and JS), and rode that wave for about 5 years. During that time I took more and more advanced programming classes - and while I could do it - I found I didn't love it. I spent too much time alone with a computer screen, and missed collaborative interactions with other colleagues. From there, I decided to try my hand at web and print design, thinking that combining my creative desires with my tech background would be the perfect answer. This approach was close, but no cigar, as tech company budgets for graphic design have been dwindling and I didn't think it would be a smart choice for the long haul. My final approach has been in Product Management - I get to collaborate daily with multiple types of roles (engineers, developers, designers, UX researchers, c-level executives, and our customers) which keeps every day fresh and exciting.

Laura recommends the following next steps:

I'd start your process by brainstorming and writing down what you LOVE to do, what excites you, brings you joy, and motivates you. From there, choose a top 3 to do a deeper research dive on - what area of the country (or world) tends to have these jobs? How much money could you make at that job, and does that match what you need to make your lifestyle dreams come true? Are there many open jobs in this field, or are they few and far between? Answering these questions will help you figure out not just what will make you happy, but how feasible that job is in the longer term.
From there, find a few colleges that specialize in that subject matter and check out their programs! See if you can chat with a career advisor for those potential schools to help guide your search from a professional standpoint.
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Cristin’s Answer

Hi there,

I am a HR professional and specifically a recruiter. I LOVE my job. I love advocating for people and their career passions, I love working with the business and creating strategies to take the company to the next level. When I was a HR Manager I had to fire a lot of people, I quickly discovered that I did NOT enjoy firing people and wanted to be on the other side of the fence giving people jobs. Even when I tell a candidate they aren't getting a position I try to offer them something they can work on that will make them a stronger candidate in the future.

I make sure I only work for companies I really believe in. I always say that recruiting is half HR and half sales and if I don't believe in the company I'm working for then I'm going to be a far less effective recruiter. Also, I need to be able to sleep at night knowing that if I'm convincing someone to come to my company vs another company I am truly offering them a great opportunity.

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Mandy’s Answer

I chose to go into sales right out of college for a few reasons:

  1. I wasn't totally sure what I wanted to do long term, but knew and was advised that being in sales provides you with the environment that forces you to be fully responsible for your own success. I majored in Political Science and English, so was thinking I would later go to law school. I wanted the job experience before I made that decisions
  2. Being in sales meant to me that I would have to work really hard, be humble, and figure out the best way to close deals. Once you get hooked on closing deals, you get better and better a building relationships, which can help you in many other fields. I'm also very curious, so learning more about what people do, and how my product (whatever that product may have been) could help them reach their business goals.
  3. I finished college in 2007, which was right before our great recession. I knew that the world was changing, and that I wanted to be ready to take on positions that I was interested in that maybe didn't exist yet. The advice I was given early in my sales career was: if you're consistent, and show that you're great at your job, other positions will open up, and you'll simply be the obvious choice.

I give you these stories to say that people who know for sure what they want to do with their careers are very few. Where you start your career can change completely as you make mistakes, lose or change jobs, get burnt out, etc. Find something that challenges you, that excites you, but also have in mind where you at least think you want to go next (as opposed to where you want to end up.. because they may never happen as your interests will change!)



Mandy recommends the following next steps:

Take a myers-briggs test online. This is a personality test, and can give you an idea of what kind of jobs or career paths fit your personality type.
There are many other free aptitude tests online that can help you get an understanding of your inherent strengths, and where you can use them in a career. They might not give you the exact answer your looking for, but will at least give you an idea of where to start thinking about what you might want to do.
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Tim’s Answer

I'm a technical recruiting professional, which means I look for talented technical professionals for openings at my company. I'm usually looking for software engineers and the reason I chose to recruit in the tech industry is because I think what they do is impressive and not something I'm not skilled at. But, the main reason I chose this career is because I love finding out what's important to candidates and job seekers, and then helping them get connected with an opportunity that excites them. It's a great feeling to listen to someone's passion and career interests and play a role in getting them into a position that is exactly where they want to be.

Tim recommends the following next steps:

Use resources like your library, the internet, guidance counselors, mentors, and teachers to learn as much as you can about the various careers that exist today.
Read books about careers and even biographies of successful people to learn more about their career path, i.e. Coco Chanel, Einstein, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, etc.
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Blake’s Answer

Hey Tiy'meer,

I searched for careers that had the highest job hire percentages after graduating college.

Thanks,
Blake
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Shamim’s Answer

Hi,
That is a great question.
I picked Business in University and only liked Accounting the most as a subject matter. At the time I thought Accounting is what I wanted to pursue after I graduate and I did just that. However, when I graduated, I noticed that I loved knowing and involving myself in all aspect of the business. I simply did not want to limit myself to one subject and wanted to expand on my curiosity. This is what pushed me into Operations (Non Healthcare related).

I guess.. I really have to enjoy what I do which means I must enjoy learning what I am learning. Currently, I am learning a lot about Mental Healthcare Practice and how it operates and we will just have to see where that takes me. In most cases, I did not pick my career but I did love learning new things and still do.

Thanks and I hope this info was helpful :)


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Romain’s Answer

Hey,

In the beginning i was not really sure of my career choice. The change that i had is to work during my studies. That help me a lot to discovered the world of work and to choose witch type of career best suits me.

I encourage you to do the same if it is possible !



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