<p>My D is a college junior and still is uncertain about what she wants to do when she grows up. She is taking a Logic course this semester, and remarked that she wishes she could be a professional Logician. (Her comment reminded me that she has always enjoyed solving problems–the summer she was six, she completed the Jump Start computer programs from first through sixth grades. I don’t think she really understood the later ones, but she figured out how to get through the puzzles.)</p>
<p>Any thoughts about what professional Logician might translate to, in terms of a real-world job?</p>
<p>One possibility, IMO, is a patent attorney or an agent (if she does not want to go to law school), but she will have to have an engineering or a science degree as well.</p>
<p>I’m a puzzler and problem-solver, and I’m an accountant. When I’m working on a complicated spreadsheet or trying to untangle a mess on a ledger, it’s just like a big puzzle to me. All the pieces are there, and I know what the picture should look like. It’s my job to put it all together, and it’s geekily satisfying when it’s finished. I love it. :)</p>
<p>I studied religious studies in college (and ancient and archaic religions at that) but discovered I have an aptitude for computers. I did take one computer class my senior year and loved it. Personal computers didn’t come out until after I graduated. </p>
<p>I work in IT now as an analyst and work at a university. My job includes translating what an area wants/needs and figuring out how technology can make their job easier. I also write queries from the system to give them the data they need. I also do a lot of trouble-shooting when they are having technical problems. I enjoy it - as others have mentioned, every day is a puzzle I get to solve, and it is very geekily satisfying!</p>
<p>We have analysts who need to be very good problem solvers. They work with large set of data and create business intelligence out of it. They look at social media, retail, finance, phone…transactions, and come up with business logic to make sense of very large data sets. They see patterns where others don’t.</p>
<p>Investigator. Taking disparate pieces of information and putting them together to tell a logical story. I was trained as an historian, and I have been doing civil investigation or analyst work in the public sector, state, Federal, public university, my whole 40-year career.</p>
<p>CPA/ Auditor-- always figuring out how a companies financial processes work and needing to creatively explain and document the system. Further need to figure out how to “test the system” which creates further challenges.</p>
<p>I would imagine being a teacher might require a lot of problem solving skills as each kid is unique and you would need to figure out how to reach the individual and the community.</p>
<p>PS. I am a CPA. My first love was Philosophy, which I minored in.</p>
<p>Amesie, Thank you for starting this thread! My son and your daughter share some similarities. My son has enjoyed solving puzzles since he was very young. Jigsaw puzzles, riddles, every kind of rubics cube (including a triangular one). When he was in grammar school, I approached his teacher about where to to to get a book to satisfy his love of logic puzzles - because he wanted one for Christmas! She sent me to the local teacher supply store. He loved it! I often wonder whether/how this will play a role in his career, but he said he doesn’t want to focus on math, even though to me, it seems to come easy to him. He’s interested in a many different areas, so I suppose time will tell.</p>
<p>How about Industrial Engineering? My older cousin switched to that from accounting and it sounds pretty neat. An industrial engineer might help design the layout of a factory or a school for maximum efficiency and solve problems in doing so. Of course they do a lot more, but that’s a basic example.</p>
<p>Amesie - Your D first needs to decide which type of problem-solver she wants to be. Keep in mind that logic-based problem solving is very different from people-influenced problem solving. One example would be the Challenger explosion. The logic-based decision was “the craft was designed to fly in temps above 40 degrees … it’s 30 degrees, so we postpone until temps rise.” Problem solved. The people-influenced decision was “we need to fly … call the Executives at the rocket manufacturer and impress upon them how important that is to us (their customer).” Again, problem solved.</p>
<p>There are plenty of careers for each type of problem-solver. But the skill set required is different for each. Keep in mind that the logic-based problem solvers are typically “back room” types (like auditors, design engineers, and operations analysts). Influencing problem-solvers are typically up front, dealing with persons that are important to the institution (like the aforementioned teachers and project managers). As my friend who owns an auto dealership once told me “when you’re trying to close a sale the LAST person you want involved is the shop engineer who troubleshoots electronics problems.”</p>
<p>I think it sounds like a terrific career. Law school is an option too - a large portion of the LSAT is “Logic Games”. She should take a look at it.</p>
<p>Didn’t particularly think I had anything of value to add but a cute fb post by a friend got me looking at Myers-Briggs personality types again this morning. I’ve always been interested in that kind of thing (in my next life I’ll be a psychologist), but I have poked around sites like this in the past when thinking about what might be good career choices for my kids: [Common</a> Careers for Personality Types](<a href=“http://www.personalitypage.com/careers.html]Common”>Personality type and careers) . Something to think about, anyway.</p>