Job Question

[Gary Allan]

I pretty much agree with JHZR2. Train your mind for a way of thought, even if you don't necessarily apply it directly to what you're doing, it'll enhance your understanding of your enviroment. Always be critical of your environment.


I would think something in the medical field would be the most promising. I think equipment sales/service would be one thing that demographics will support for the next 30 years. Other sectors may pay more for high achievers ..but often a change in how the wind blows means the difference between a firm of 30 engineers ..and one of 7.


I also agree that choosing a career for the sake of money is not wise. There are too many miserable people that do what they do for the worship of money. It's really not worth it. Do something you like ..or are good at (usually the same thing).

We had a visit from AquaChem since we had problems with an evaporator that they sold us. They sent out a "startup engineer". He made tons of money. If he worked offshore ..he made lots more. He was probably in the $175-250k bracket.

He was also going on his third wife. Bad habits are just too hard to shake, I guess

The guy I met that did eddy current tests on exchangers had it pretty much set. Lots of property and toys. He was never at home either.

The one young guy that looked like he was hooked up pretty good was the guy who decomissioned our large bulk propane tank. He flew in ..the local bottled gas company rigged up the nitrogen manifold that he hooked up to the tank ...ran his long hoses ..lit the flame ..watched. Unhooked his stuff ..called the bottled gas company ..handed over his certification of proper decomissioning of the tank ...went home. He was talking about whether he was going to get a Z3 or Z7. Such choices. I'm sure that there was more to his skills and duties ..but it sure looked like getting dirty wasn't one of them.

 

[TooManyWheels]

quote:

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Do something you like ..or are good at (usually the same thing).

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The "usually" in this sentence didn't hold true for me, and is why I recommended the personality test. Many fields of endeavor have multiple dimensions to them, and if you have a wide range of capabilities it is likely that you can fit the job well enough to do it competently, or even excellently.

But what you like can be a completly different issue. After spending twenty five years doing logical, analytical work, and feeling increasingly unfullfilled, I recently discovered that my real interests are in other areas. Interestingly, these correspond to intuitions about myself which I once had, but which I overrode because I couldn't imagine how to make them come true, and because they didn't fit the expectations of my surrounding environment (parents, social standards, peers, etc).

It is extremely difficult, especially when you are at a young age, to know which thoughts are really yours and which are bleeding in to your consciousness from the outside. Actually, this tends to make the personality tests less accurate at younger ages. But you should march to the beat of your own drummer. This becomes increasingly important, but fortunately, increasingly easier, as you get older. In my case the "drummer" was largely masked by the fact that I was always good at what I did, but over time it got harder to ignore.

Don't get discouraged. Just take it seriously, it is one of the most important decisions you will make. And if you don't get it right the first time, career switching is not unusual anymore. Many people will have multiple careers in their lifetimes.

 

[stringsattached]

The Strong Interest Inventory is a good one too. The cost of taking either of these tests is not usually very high at all (sometimes free depending on your situation); you might want to look into one of them [make a call to a local university or consulting firm]. They can be a good starting point if nothing else.

FWIW, the happiest people I know (myself included) are those who seem to have had a good balance between solid incomes and fulfilling jobs; it's not necessarily all of one or the other. I guess I couldn't really say for sure how the lines of causality would be drawn with regards to their happiness though (fulfillment to income ratio vs. temperament vs. expectations vs. relationships vs. religious beliefs vs. community involvement vs. resilience vs. luck vs. health, etc.) Kind of chicken or the egg-ish. If you really do **** your life up, you can always become a blues musician! (Or an alcoholic.) All in all though, you’re lucky just to be living in the part of the world you do.

"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give" (Winston Churchill)

 

[Shannow]

quote:

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Originally posted by TooManyWheels:
Become a Yes Man! Prostituting yourself to the powers that be in any organization is a proven formula, so you can really pick any industry. Fawn over them, go golfing, hunting and drinking with them, tell them their every idea is revolutionary. Facilitate their every desire while subjugating any ideas you may have about what is truly right for the company, the other employees, or society as a whole. Exaggerate your skills and accomplishments while you denigrate those of others.

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I think auditor was already suggested.

 

[The Critic]

Thanks for the responses...
Honestly, I used a poor choice of words in my original post. By no means did I plan on choosing a career solely based upon $$$, I'd never do that.

I was simply curious...as money isn't everything.

[ March 07, 2006, 04:17 PM: Message edited by: 59 Vetteman ]

 

[Pontius Pilate]

http://similarminds.com/career.html

came out as a planner...

 

[stringsattached]

Ha ha! "Always Dirty" had it right: listen to Notorious on this one. I have a trucker's hat that says: "Live fast, die young, and leave a good lookin corpse" on it. Go rent "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". That's how I would live out my days if I weren't such a compassionate shmuck. Be a bank robber.

 

[schwartr88]

^
MMMMMM,Toxocara canis.