Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm 28 years old currently working in a dead in Admin job. I feel trapped, like I've exhausted all my options for a rewarding career since graduating from college 5 years ago with a BA in Advertising. My resume is all over the place and chool may be the only way to open up doors at this point get into a real career path. Here are my options:
A) second bachelors in clinical laboratory science
B) Masters in speech language pathology
C) An MBA with a concentration management info systems, supply chain or finance
D) An MPA
I have always been interested in healthcare, but have no interest in nursing. Therapy and the labs are in demand but switching to healthcare is a large investment considering I have no idea what its really like to work outside of an office or call center setting. The MBA and MPA is the easy route, but I am worried that because of my ill defined past, these advance degrees may only lead to more administrative/coordinator type jobs vs. the business analyst and financial counselor type of jobs I would want. Is my assumption right? Would it be better to invest in options A, B, or C given my situation?
I'm 28 years old currently working in a dead in Admin job. I feel trapped, like I've exhausted all my options for a rewarding career since graduating from college 5 years ago with a BA in Advertising. My resume is all over the place and chool may be the only way to open up doors at this point get into a real career path. Here are my options:
A) second bachelors in clinical laboratory science
B) Masters in speech language pathology
C) An MBA with a concentration management info systems, supply chain or finance
D) An MPA
I have always been interested in healthcare, but have no interest in nursing. Therapy and the labs are in demand but switching to healthcare is a large investment considering I have no idea what its really like to work outside of an office or call center setting. The MBA and MPA is the easy route, but I am worried that because of my ill defined past, these advance degrees may only lead to more administrative/coordinator type jobs vs. the business analyst and financial counselor type of jobs I would want. Is my assumption right? Would it be better to invest in options A, B, or C given my situation?
Hmmm....
When I was about your age and deciding what career field to ultimately pursue, I asked myself this...
What are my best traits? Working hard or people skills?
I ultimately came to the conclusion that my hard work is a better trait than my interpersonal skills. For example, I have always thrived in academic environments when I have applied myself, whether it be social science or STEM.
Now, in the real work world, both traits come into play. But IMHO, in some fields, more than others. For instance, I immediately took myself out of the running for business because of this. I ultimately decided against law for the same reason.
So, I was choosing between healthcare and engineering and ultimately decided to choose engineering because it was the shorter and less painful path.
My advice is a generalization, but I believe in general it is true. For example, if you work hard in school, get in the science prerequisites with a good GPA, and get into Optometry school, you will be rewarded with a certain job and salary.
With an MBA, your success, both in terms of your job position and salary, will depend a lot more on your interpersonal skills. My opinion at least...
The MBA and MPA is the easy route, but I am worried that because of my ill defined past, these advance degrees may only lead to more administrative/coordinator type jobs vs. the business analyst and financial counselor type of jobs I would want.
An MBA is a professional degree. It's meant to build on existing professional experience and enhance existing job prospects, not create new ones from scratch.
What do you mean by "financial counselor." Do you mean financial advisor/broker? There are specialized certifications for that (CFP or CFA), not an MBA.
Jobaba - Thanks for your insight. Based on ur advice STEM is best. My best traits are that I love analyzing, and figuring things and people out. I am good at research, investigating, and writing. I am also a hardworker when I apply myself and excel when there are set goals projects to complete.
My interpersonal skills are not the best, but I'm improving... I have been criticized in the past by different supervisors for lack of assertiveness. I am a private person who has been reprimanded for coming to work, doing my job and going home instead of sharing all of my personal info wih staff and coworkers. I enjoyed working in retail during college and like socializing outside of work, but have no passion for (and rarely excel in) any job where direct sales, schmoozing, being put on the spot, enforcing, facilitating, conflict resolution, or being fake is the highly valued. I want to be successful by being good at my job moreso than how bubbly, energetic, charming or persuasive my personality is. My impression was that marketing and hr are highly dependent on interpersonal skills, but that financial/business analysis this was less of the case. Is this correct to assume?
tpk-nyc - That being said, by "financial counselor" I mean an advisor who doesn't work in sales (def not a broker). I mean a financial analyst or cost estimator who works for a company or helps individuals (mortgage counselor). You are making me wonder now, if those jobs are difficult to attain? Would a CFA or CFP certificate help me break into those fields without related experience better than the MBA?
Jobaba - Thanks for your insight. Based on ur advice STEM is best. My best traits are that I love analyzing, and figuring things and people out. I am good at research, investigating, and writing. I am also a hardworker when I apply myself and excel when there are set goals projects to complete.
My interpersonal skills are not the best, but I'm improving... I have been criticized in the past by different supervisors for lack of assertiveness. I am a private person who has been reprimanded for coming to work, doing my job and going home instead of sharing all of my personal info wih staff and coworkers. I enjoyed working in retail during college and like socializing outside of work, but have no passion for (and rarely excel in) any job where direct sales, schmoozing, being put on the spot, enforcing, facilitating, conflict resolution, or being fake is the highly valued. I want to be successful by being good at my job moreso than how bubbly, energetic, charming or persuasive my personality is. My impression was that marketing and hr are highly dependent on interpersonal skills, but that financial/business analysis this was less of the case. Is this correct to assume?
Based on your response, I would go with clinical lab or speech pathology.
I must say first though that interpersonal skills and 'brown-nosing' are a part of every industry whether it be Chemical Engineering or Automobile Sales. However, some more than others. For example, would it be worse for your career to be an Electrical Engineer who is a shy 27 year old virgin, or one who is working sales at Fidelity Investments. The answer is obvious.
Pretty big in the financial/business industry, especially down the road you'd be taking in. If you had an engineering or math degree and were one of the financial modelers, you might be able to be a 'do your work, go home' type, but with a humanities/MBA, you'd more be expected to be one of the movers and shakers.
I would also like to add, as the other poster said, an MBA can be working in a variety of different fields. However, an MBA implies that you want to eventually be 'management'. Thus, the types of jobs they would lead to are very interpersonally oriented.
Nix on the Speech Path, you would be working with folks all day long. I would go with MBA/Healthcare emphasis, focus on informatics. That is becoming a huge field, you really could just take community college classes, RHIA, in medical coding, and get into healthcare the backdoor, and get your masters paid for, going part time...
You might want to go to a career counselor at a university and take some tests. You're stated options are very diverse and somewhat conflicted. Counseling might help you sort out your goals/personality fit before you invest in long and expensive education. I know several people who found very rewarding careers that they hand never thought of by going that route.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
