Hello All- Having been on CC for a while I have seen a multitude of posts regarding the negative aspects of majoring in various subjects due to the poor job prospects or working conditions etc in those fields. Having a son and daughter who will be attending college soon, I thought a thread where parents could give examples of people they know (that satisfied individual might even be yourself) who are happy working in their chosen field would present a good balance to the posts that alert everyone to the potential problems and dissatisfaction in the world of work out there.
I think there would be a real benefit to hearing about career fields others are not aware of or have an undeservedly bad rap or perhaps just fit certain types of individuals and not others. Maybe it will spur someone’s children onto a new path.
Please no negative comments. There are plenty of warnings out there already, so much so that the scales are tipped heavily in one direction. Maybe we can correct that to some extent.
So let’s get it started. Anyone satisfied, even happy in their jobs? Or know anyone who is? I’m not looking to links to surveys or information about pay levels, just personal accounts of job satisfaction.
I was a Classics major and now run a recruiting team for a global company.
I love what I do. I don’t know what I would do when I retire. I work with very smart people; I solve pretty challenging problems; I have to be both detail focused and keep my eye on the big picture, and the work is results-oriented (I pretty much know how well I’m doing at any given point in time).
My degree taught me how to read critically, how to examine a problem from all sides (history is written by the victor- so what can we learn about the vanquished by reading the accounts of a conqueror, for example), and how to wait for evidence before jumping to a conclusion. I got an appreciation of other cultures (essential in today’s business world where the globe is increasingly flat) and I learned that every society or political grouping values different things-- but not everything in the world is of equal value. Slavery is evil, whether practiced by the Romans, plantation owners in the 1850’s in the US, or modern families in Dubai. The only way to eradicate evil is either to wait for that particular society to be conquered or to speak out until you’ve educated enough people to get the system changed.
Most of the people my company hires for HR roles have degrees in either a social science or humanities type subject. Then either an MBA or sometimes a degree in public policy. We have a few lawyers.
Not sure which fields the OP is addressing with a bad rap… I am in my pre-retirement years and most of my college friends have loved their careers… and we’ve been at it for a while! Several classmates ended up in the entertainment industry or the media business and I’d say they have been disproportionately successful from both a monetary and a satisfaction/recognition perspective. All of them were either literature or history majors.
I was a sociology/women’s studies double major who actually left college a semester shy of graduation. I’ve had a few different careers but since the late 90s have been a web/internet/app/database developer and consultant.
I fell into it completely by accident (was an office manager/designated techie person at a small company that decided it needed a web site right around the time that Netscape began displaying inline images in its web browser) and it fits me well. I’ve had offers to work for others doing this but have preferred to run my own business for various reasons and can’t see any reason to stop.
I love being a guidance counselor. It’s especially great having my own business, but I enjoyed the work itself almost as much when I was a university employee.
I majored in psychology, but I consider that a matter of correlation rather than causation. My interest in people and their problems led me to that major and to this career; I don’t think anyone hired me because of that background.
I was a woman chemistry major who went on to medical school and became an anesthesiologist. If I had known other options earlier on (so much easier now with computers) I could have made use of the biological aspects of chemistry that were not there like they are now- interdisciplinary research at top U’s such as mine in the field. I may have discovered pharmacology sooner instead of while doing my chemistry senior honors thesis research in a medical school (as opposed to pharmacy school) pharmacology lab (the professor had a chemistry PhD but since her H was in that dept couldn’t join it). I knew I wanted the doctorate level but was naïve for possibilities (wanted a harder science than biological majors). Wanted job stability (which didn’t occur, btw).
My advice is to look at comprehensive lists of careers with one’s interests as a college freshman as a basis. Everything was there at my flagship but I didn’t know it. Computers make a huge difference.
btw- you can find negatives aspects in every career. Your children need to figure out their academic level and types of fields that interest them then choose colleges that are compatible. STEM/nonSTEM leanings for college majors will be evident by HS senior year. Getting the BA/BS in any field is a key to job availability. You will find many career paths that differ radically from college majors so don’t worry what your kids major in. Life is not a straight line.
I majored in Comparative Literature and started out as an editor. Even though I was very good at it, I didn’t like the field – mainly because it was too low-paid – and went back for an MBA. I was interested in HR. I worked for a year in an employee relations position, which was not for me – too touchy feely. Segued into employee benefits, where I stayed for 30 or so years. I liked the analytics of it and the compliance requirements, but what really floated my boat was communications. I’m now semi-retired – I work from home part-time – and handle employee benefit communications exclusively. It’s as if I merged my benefits knowledge with my writing and editing skills. I love it, and I feel that I’ve got a great balance between work and everything else.
I just retired from a career in software, starting with minicomputers and ending with Macintosh. It was like being very well paid to play with Tinkertoys or Erector Set all day, pure fun. I’m continuing the fun writing apps for iPhone.
My D1 was a double major in political science & public policy, and worked in her college writing center. She got a job as an analyst with a consulting company doing higher education consulting, writing reports and researching. She has been there for four years, has been promoted twice, and manages a team. She gets paid what I consider to be a good salary now, and seems on track for further success. In her case, the liberal arts education, especially analysis & communications skills, has really paid off.
I was a biology major/chem minor, but later returned to school and got my CPA. People usually assume that I either do taxes or audit, but I have never done either. I have spent my entire career in corporate accounting and love it. Although my job is about numbers and spreadsheets, it is also much more. And contrary to expectations I actually spend a lot of time dealing with people. There are some long days, but usually only a few each month and my schedule is fairly flexible the rest of the time. I have had the opportunity to learn about the different industries I have worked in, so it has not been boring. Salary and benefits are good , too.
I was an econ major. After graduating in worked for a big, now extinct brokerage firm. I ended up hating it because it felt to me like a business about nothing. I moved into outside sales. Then I started my own business with my husband and it suits me well. I’m detail oriented, a good analyst of what the numbers mean and I handle the finances of the company and oversee the billing, compliance, credentialing.
I got an undergraduate degree in journalism but realized quickly that I didn’t have what it takes to be a reporter. I then went to law school and while I loved learning about the law, I couldn’t see myself working in a courtroom or putting in 60-70 hour weeks in a law firm. A few weeks after I graduated, I took a newly created position as an editor with a lawyers’ professional association. Aside from a few years off when my children were younger, I’ve been there since (27 years). I also do freelance editing for individuals and companies. I feel very fortunate.
I’m a professor at a smallish liberal arts college that is never discussed on CC. I love everything about the job except the commute (and grading, occasionally). I get to explore new and different ideas, talk with colleagues who have a unique take on things, and enjoy watching young people grapple with concepts that are new to them and sometimes find their passion.
As far as your question about being satisfied and happy in ones career field, I would say that I am (airline pilot). However, I work for a profitable and successful company, the pay is very high and the flexibility of when I work is extremely good. But my situation is not necessarily the same as all airline pilots, many have been through furloughs, bankruptcy, pay cuts, etc. So I can’t say the career field for everyone is great, it’s a crapshoot. For me and my husband, we enjoy our jobs and can’t imagine doing anything else. We feel like we won the lottery (as long as the health risks don’t kill us).
I am one of the few happy and satisfied lawyers out there! Undergraduate degree in business (marketing) and top 3 (at the time) law school. I mention that only because it opened some doors throughout my career ( which is silly after many years out of school, but true).
I spent my entire career in-house and never worked for a law firm. I knew in law school that I wanted to be part of a business and be a daily contributor. I have been general counsel for 3 companies but prefer the number 2 job at a big company. I started with a major railroad out of law school and am finishing with an industry leading retailer- my most satisfying and fun job yet. I’ve worked for a semiconductor giant and some manufacturers of building products (all industry leading), too.
My job is so varied and fun. Our conversations at work often start with “You can’t make this stuff up!” I do a lot of employment work, but also manage litigation in many states and deal with regulatory issues. I interact with people all day long and make myself available well past a normal workday.
The negative is there is always a risk of layoffs. Companies can have a very cyclical business or be acquired by another company. I lost a job in 2011 when housing had crashed, and interestingly my current company sailed through the last recession with continued growth and profits.
Unfortunately, these days it is almost impossible to go in-house right out of law school. You have to serve a sentence of at least 3-5 years in a law firm. Degree of satisfaction in the law firm realm is extremely low, which is sad. That’s if you can even get a job! I work with wonderful outside counsel every day. My observation is the happiest ones are in the strong regional firms (not Big Law in NYC etc) and in the labor and employment specialty firms.
Sorry for the long post. I am asked to speak on this topic a few times a year, so I have a lot to say!
I’m a nurse. It is great.
When I declared my major my grandmother said how wonderful it would be for raising my family. That idea never entered my mind; my rationale was purely altruistic.
She, of course, was correct. The flexibility was perfect. DH was the big breadwinner in a job that required some travel; I called myself a ‘stay at home Mom who worked’. I worked per diem for about a dozen years, picking up shifts according to DH’s schedule. Over the years I have added other part time gigs - school nurse sub, college clinical instructor, community clinic volunteer. Then I took a part time position in the ER; I love it - been here now >20 years - I’ll retire from this one.
Seniority perks are great, I am now at that place where I always get my preferred schedule and vacation requests are never denied.
My H worked for the fed govt for 45 years. His major was accounting because he couldn’t handle EE, but was able to work in computers, phones and electronics his whole career, which he LOVED. He got a lot of on the job training and did a ton of networking in his job.
My BIL is a dentist and loves his job – he can easily afford to retire but prefers to keep working, so he does.
I’m a sociology major who also has a law degree. Enjoyed working for 5 years in trial law, but decided the hours were incompatible with raising young kids. Enjoyed being a traffic court judge for 4 years and have loved starting a nonprofit and being a public health advocate and educator for the past decade.
Our relative loved tinkering all his life, as well as working with his hands. He’s very good at science and math, got an EE degree and has a job he loves with the fed govt working with wearable tech and drones, plus some project mgmt. He also has a part time hobby he loves buying and profitably reselling items on Amazon.
I am a retired hospital pharmacist. The core profession never fails to interest and intrigue me. But it changed so very much over my decades of working that I would find it difficult to now recommend it to anyone. Then again, a different generation might shrug and say hey, this is the way it is. I cannot speak at all to retail pharmacy other than to tell you I fled it after three years and that was decades ago. Such a waste of education, it should be illegal. But I digress…
I loved my job, I love my profession. It is ever challenging and I literally learned something new every day. If you can accept and operate within the confines of a “new way of doing things” (i.e. healthcare being taken over by corporate entities), then you would be fine.
For those who don’t perhaps get hospital pharmacy, they are the brains behind so many things! Any med questions, the pharmacist knows. They calculate, get the numbers right for us nurses, impart the details of complicated med regimes to the patients, and are on top of research so as to help both patients and the nursing and medical staff.
My ex father in law was a pharmacist, and he loved the old days of compounding prescriptions, which had some creativity to it. He worked part time in retail till age 85 or so.
I stumbled upon my profession just because I needed one, and thought I’d be living a rural life, and they always needed RNs, right? However, my career timing was very good, in terms of salary and need for RNs. I ended up in a smart town, in a very good hospital with people who really care about taking care of others in the best way possible. It has been both technically very interesting as well as personally, working with a cross section of the population, from the rural farmer, the homeless city dweller to the CEO, sometimes on the same day. I often say that I stay in it for the stories.
Yes, it facilitated a decent wage and schedule flexibility for those years of raising kids, as well as now when I’d often rather be traveling or outside. There are so many career tracks within nursing, and as long as you want to help people, there is something for everyone.