Career Choices if you were starting again

[aes8]

are Wookies allowed to be jedi knights?

No

[cigarmonologues]

I should probably add my weight behind the couple of dissenters saying 'don't necessarily follow your heart'. Follow your dream, by all means, but always have a plan B...

When I left school I turned down an offer to read law at Oxford in order that I could join the Royal Navy. I'd spent the preceding two years firmly of the opinion that I should get a good degree as a back-up incase the military didn't work out... Then, in one moment of sheer idiocy (which would suggest that my offer had probably been an administrative error), I decided that three years of seniority would be more advantageous once aboard a warship. As I'd already passed my Admiralty Interview Board (for a scholarship) I just phoned up and asked to change to Naval College Entry. It was as simple as that, instead of going to Oxford, I went to Dartmouth. In some ways it was an excellent decision - I can guarantee you that my desire to join the Navy was well placed - I loved every minute of it (in a slightly masochistic way) - however, when I buggered my back up it became clear that my original line of thinking had been the more sensible one (with hindsight). I'm lucky, I should be able to just scrape under the upper age limit to rejoin, provided I can convince a medical officer that I'm fit. If not, then it's not going to be law for me - I've ended up reading international relations and security at university since the injury.

I'm struggling to think what career would feel quite as 'right' as the military though, there aren't many similar opportunities. Law would have been good monetarily, but I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it all that much. If I'm unable to rejoin the RN, then I suspect that I will look to something like the Foreign Office. There is something I believe to be very rewarding about a career which serves a higher purpose than personal or corporate profit - protecting a country and its interests, allowing people to get on with their lives and providing as solid a foundation as possible for corporate entities to grow the economy, allowing people to prosper (nothing's perfect, but it all interlinks). Save that, I wounder if HSBC are still recruiting...

[Ghabanos]

Everything is a trade off.

Wall Street may be monetarily rewarding, but it does not offer much personal satisfaction. So, my advice would be for you son to choose something that he loves/likes to do, that offers him personal rewards over monetary compensation. Everyone needs to earn a living, but its better to subside on less and enjoy your work (especially if it helps others) than to do a job you don't care for just for the money. If he is fortunate enough to want to do something that offers both...so much the better.

Agree, but for some there may be tons of satisfaction in making good money and being to provide for your family.

[Habanakane21]

These days I design and manufacture custom home furniture. I've been doing this for 11 years now....However, I have a college degree in criminal justice and thought my future would be in the FBI or CIA (it's a family thing). But I went down the road to become a professional athlete instead. 4 years in college and the another 4 years playing in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints. The money was too attractive not to give it a try. But after 2 knee surgeries I had to say goodbye to football and step into the real world. Now being involved in designing and homes...I wish i would have become an architect. I think with my creativity and design ability I would have found a great career that I would have loved.

[LeafLover]

I think the beauty of being young and starting the journey of life is that you can dream and look forward to a better life. Then you get older and you get beat down with the realities of life such as exams, bosses, taxes, traffic, $2,000 it takes to repair your car, mortgage, and more taxes.

Then, if you are lucky, you find the right person and you have kids. And, if you are like me, you have a renewed outlook on life focusing on doing whatever you have to do so your children can have a good life and raise them in the hopes that they grow up to be happy people.

I've had 3 careers thus far. My current career has lasted me 8 years to this date as an owner of a healthcare company. And I know for sure that I will be making a career change again soon.

I tell my son to just figure things out for before just starting on a major that he is not too sure about. Experience things, live your life more, then you will have more worldly experience to make a big life decision. Hopefully it doesn't take him 10 years to figure it out.

I think if I were to do it all over agini, I would be on the production side of the entertainment industry. Specifically in big budget movies. I like building things, I like the challenge of organizing, bringing brilliant people together, and accomplishing a goal. Plus, I like to tell a good story that can effect people.

Either that or open up a sandwich shop or be my own boss as a tanning specialist on a beach in Hawaii.

[Fuzz]

are Wookies allowed to be jedi knights?

No

Time to release the inner nerd!

Wookiees can indeed become Jedi Knights. Master Tyvokka was a Wookiee and served on the Jedi High Council.

[jay8354]

Time to release the inner nerd!

Wookiees can indeed become Jedi Knights. Master Tyvokka was a Wookiee and served on the Jedi High Council.

roar.mp3

"word"

Chewy out...

[Ginseng]

Hmm, I would have gone into industrial design. Tools, devices, appliances, instruments. The perfect blend of engineering (which I pursued because it was a "respectable" career) and creativity (which was not "respectable").

Wilkey

[aavkk]

Well, honestly I should have "sucked it up" and taken the college scholarship for golf. After my senior year in HS I decided that i just wanted to go to college and have fun without anyone telling me where to go, what to do, etc... I hung up the clubs and to this day wonder what would have happened if I took the scholarship and put 100% behind my golf career. I see guys I routinely competed against and beat now at the big show. It's not all glamorous- lot's of travel, pressure to make cuts and earn enough to keep you on the move week to week but the personal rewards are tremendous. You have nobody to blame but yourself if things don't work out but on the other side of the coin winning is something that you can take total credit for. Golf is mentally draining, especially at a highly competitive level but it's something I probably should have pursued. It's certainly something my wife likes to joke with me about.

Having said that, I have no regrets and am in a great place in life. We were fortunate enough to have taken 7 months off to travel and are not starving . I enjoy sales and the selling that I currently do will allow me to work remotely. I have very low stress levels and work with great people. Still I wonder what if. And everytime I do, I tell myself that at 49 I will start preparing for the senior tour. At 29 I have a bit of time to work the kinks out of the short game.

[matt14]

Bike builder, link to the 2 I have done so far,

http://himmag.com/your-girl/pretty/annie-t...u-bon-chen.html

click Trang Sau for tthe other pages at the bottom!!

as soon as I can find a cheap enough Harley I will get started on another!

[baragh]

As someone who is of the younger generation (24), I'm enjoying this thread immensely. Lots of different perspectives here.

I personally studied finance and worked for a few years at a bank, and am now furthering my studies in the same area. I actually love finance, and find it very interesting. But I must say, one thing that life has taught me so far is that enjoying a certain area is not the same as enjoying working in a certain area. I find myself in the odd position of liking what I study, but so far not enjoying working in the industry.

But then again I've only worked in one job for a couple of years, so I'm definitely not going to call it quits any time soon. Can't judge a whole industry based on a single experience

[coneatty]

Interesting comments so far.

3. who you work with does truly make a difference (Lisa, you know what I'm talking). I would never have lasted in my current career had it not been for the people I currently work for and with. I regularly get my ass kicked by the company brass, I have single handedly made the manufacturers of Advil and Gaviscon wealthy, have had to confess great depths of bitterness to my priest, YET I would not trade my current job for anything but the comfort of retirement...all because of the people, including the brass that kicks my ass.

Hope this helps.

This answer is, in my opinion, the Gold Standard. Headstand. BRAVO!

[SamuraiJack]

I am in IT, and I always wish I was doing something with my hands, and something I could forget about when I go home at the end of the day.

[Ellery]

Ive been working as a doctor for the last 8 yrs, Ive had good jobs and Ive had bad jobs. The only thing I can say is no matter what you do, try to find the job that is most satisfying. You could be a lawyer, engineer, etc but if you hate your job, might as well kill yourself. I for one don't like to give any job/profession advice...try to "shadow" someone for a day or two to see how their day is and see if it is something for you.

[pedrodepacas]

Being from Southern California I'm a Lakers and Dodgers fan and would love to be the television announcer for either of the two teams. We have been blessed to have had Chick Hearn until he passed and still have Vin Scully but if I could do it all over again I'd like to do one of those two jobs. If that didn't work out I'd like to be an anchor person for ESPN Sportscenter, from Los Angeles of course.