If you have a career you love, how did you find it?

[Saartje]

I'm struggling with this right now. I'm loving being at home with Ishie, but I don't think I want to continue this way indefinitely. (If doing otherwise would mean putting him in someone else's care, that would be a different matter; but if I work, DH will be a WAHD.)

I started with a double major in college; I dropped one because I wasn't enjoying it, and grew to despise the other as well -- which is especially unfortunate, since it didn't qualify me for any jobs I want to do, either. (In my defense, I havesince realized that the problem with the first major was the inadequacy of the program at my university.) Now, going back to school will be expensive, but we can do it. I just want to be sure I'm going to like what I do before I spend that money, because I have a history of being really enthusiastic when I start something, and getting bored with it when I get good at it.

So, if you love what you do, please tell me how you got started doing it, and why you love it.

[psophia17]

I fell into mine - sort of.

I have always been a reader, so it seemed to make sense to me to major in English Lit in college. I went for a semester abroad in London, and part of that was an internship - I interned for Penguin Books for four weeks in their publicity department and between the free books and the expense accounts, I was pretty starry-eyed. But I decided that I was more an editor-type person, so I decided to apply for editorial jobs when I graduated. Being an editorial assistant stank - no money, no "real" work (although it may just have been the company I worked for), and no room for advancement.

So one day, fed up after a year and a half of a dead-end job, I posted my resume online. In four days, I was hired as a "production editorial assistant" in a job where I fixed typos and made book production schedules all day long. I was eventually promoted to "assistant production editor." It was, and is, the perfect job for me, just ask any of my close friends and family how often I correct them. ;) I also truly loved the scheduling. I am a scheduling and organizing fiend with the right material, and I work best with a deadline, all of which being a production editor had. Combine that with correcting people (including famous authors) and well, what's not to love?

Now, I'm a SAHM, but I'm working on getting my freelance career as a copyeditor/proofreader going, and in the meantime I'm working on writing a book...

[jk3]

I am currently on leave and while I have mixed feelings about returning to work in September, I love my job. I am an elementary school teacher in a diverse public school. I feel fortunate to spend my time with a community of children from all walks of life. Teaching is challenging and I enjoy the intellectual aspects of creating a curriculum and setting up different learning environments. I was a double major in college: Child Study + Sociology. In addition to working with children, I spend time working with families and the Sociologist in me enjoys this. Additionally, I enjoy working with my colleagues - something I definitely miss at the moment.

Teaching is never a boring endeavor. TIn fact, there is always too much to do. It's not the type of job you leave when you walk out the door. In addition to work, I often spend time thinking about the kids, especially if there are any issues. This piece makes me nervous about returning to work now that I'm a mom. It would be easier to be able to mentally check out when I'm at home. We'll see how it goes!


Jenn
DS 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[jk3]

I am currently on leave and while I have mixed feelings about returning to work in September, I love my job. I am an elementary school teacher in a diverse public school. I feel fortunate to spend my time with a community of children from all walks of life. Teaching is challenging and I enjoy the intellectual aspects of creating a curriculum and setting up different learning environments. I was a double major in college: Child Study + Sociology. In addition to working with children, I spend time working with families and the Sociologist in me enjoys this. Additionally, I enjoy working with my colleagues - something I definitely miss at the moment.

Teaching is never a boring endeavor. TIn fact, there is always too much to do. It's not the type of job you leave when you walk out the door. In addition to work, I often spend time thinking about the kids, especially if there are any issues. This piece makes me nervous about returning to work now that I'm a mom. It would be easier to be able to mentally check out when I'm at home. We'll see how it goes!


Jenn
DS 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030603/2/5/1/-5/.png

[jbowman]

What a timely question--I just gave the last lecture in a course yesterday and said, "I love my job. I get to talk about art everyday!"

I found my career in art history when I was a teenager (I'm now a professor). My twin sister and I traveled to Denver with my dad for a business trip. Since he was occupied during the day, we just ran around and went shopping, out to lunch, etc. My dad was concerned that we weren't doing anything "educational," (what was he going to tell my mom when we returned, LOL!) so he told us to go to the Denver Mint or the Denver Art Museum. We went to the Mint and it was closed (I remember we high-fived each other), so we begrudingly walked over to the museum.

The moment that I saw the paintings by Degas, Cassatt, Dubuffet, and so many others, I knew immediately what I wanted to do with my life: work with art. Following that visit, I dedicated myself to studying art history--first on my own while I was in high school, and then later in college and grad school. I can honestly say that I never wavered about my career chance (well, ok, I did wonder, "what have I done?" when I was eating peanut butter sandwiches and driving a crummy car while my accounting major best friend was driving a Volvo!).

I majored in art history in undergrad, worked as a docent and volunteer at the university museum, and interned at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. (a great museum, BTW). In graduate school, I traveled abroad quite a bit--my Ph.D. is in Italian Renaissance art. I was fortunate enough to live in Rome for an academic year, which was one of the happiest times of my life! I researched my dissertation at the Vatican Library, which was extraordinary!

Sorry for the long response, but I truly love what I do and feel so grateful for all of the wonderful experiences that I've had! My enthusiasm is still boundless. I get chills whenever I walk in a museum!

I've already taken Ellie to a few museums. Of course she screamed the whole time, LOL (I remember saying to a museum guard as she started wailing at a JMW Turner exhibition, "Obviously she doesn't care for early Turner.").

Good luck!

[jbowman]

What a timely question--I just gave the last lecture in a course yesterday and said, "I love my job. I get to talk about art everyday!"

I found my career in art history when I was a teenager (I'm now a professor). My twin sister and I traveled to Denver with my dad for a business trip. Since he was occupied during the day, we just ran around and went shopping, out to lunch, etc. My dad was concerned that we weren't doing anything "educational," (what was he going to tell my mom when we returned, LOL!) so he told us to go to the Denver Mint or the Denver Art Museum. We went to the Mint and it was closed (I remember we high-fived each other), so we begrudingly walked over to the museum.

The moment that I saw the paintings by Degas, Cassatt, Dubuffet, and so many others, I knew immediately what I wanted to do with my life: work with art. Following that visit, I dedicated myself to studying art history--first on my own while I was in high school, and then later in college and grad school. I can honestly say that I never wavered about my career chance (well, ok, I did wonder, "what have I done?" when I was eating peanut butter sandwiches and driving a crummy car while my accounting major best friend was driving a Volvo!).

I majored in art history in undergrad, worked as a docent and volunteer at the university museum, and interned at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. (a great museum, BTW). In graduate school, I traveled abroad quite a bit--my Ph.D. is in Italian Renaissance art. I was fortunate enough to live in Rome for an academic year, which was one of the happiest times of my life! I researched my dissertation at the Vatican Library, which was extraordinary!

Sorry for the long response, but I truly love what I do and feel so grateful for all of the wonderful experiences that I've had! My enthusiasm is still boundless. I get chills whenever I walk in a museum!

I've already taken Ellie to a few museums. Of course she screamed the whole time, LOL (I remember saying to a museum guard as she started wailing at a JMW Turner exhibition, "Obviously she doesn't care for early Turner.").

Good luck!

[ellies mom]

I started working in the semiconductor industry in 1991, while I was going to school. I noticed the guys that repaired the machines had a really cool job. So, I changed my major to electronics and became an equipment technician. I loved it. I got to repair very complex equipment, I was always learning new things, not only about semiconductor equipment but computor software, developing training programs and so on. DH does the same thing.

One of the reasons I'm staying home with DD is because the hours are not exactly conducive to daycare. I don't really know what I want to do when I go back to work. I don't exactly enjoy electronics for electronics sake, and the "side-shoot" program I'm interested in isn't offered in the area.

I know you can take courses on finding a direction you can head in. When I was laid off, I took a class that gave a job interest test that was pretty cool. I'd talk to someone at a community college and see if they offer a class that can point you in the right direction before you start doling out tuition again.