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Hopefully everyone will take a moment to respond...
If you had the opportunity to be 20 yrs old again, would you follow the career path that you did, or would you change your career/major? If so, what is it you're doing now, and what would you rather be?
Please feel free to share your story, you can rant or praise all you want
A good way to interpret this question would be are there any paths you would highly encourage your kids to pursue, or some you would tell them to stay away from?
I would've applied myself more in college, so that I could actually -have- a career in my chosen field. Unfortunately, my drive and ambition was such that - I didn't even know I was 3 credits short of a double major, until the week of graduation. I wasn't trying for a double major. I was trying to graduate with honors.
I still write, and I'm still proud to have had four years of higher learning with one of the best colleges of its kind in the country. But I didn't "do" anything with it, professionally. I could have, if I had more push to achieve something more than the degree certificate, during the four years I attended. The sad thing, is that each course I took in my chosen field of study, for all four years, resulted in an A grade. The only reason I didn't have a 4.0 average was because I had to take other subjects, like math and history. If it had been only English, writing, journalism, I would've had a 4.0.
I feel very fortunate to have followed my passion. I majored in English and journalism.
I spent 10 years working in corporate communications and the past 8 years as a reporter for a weekly newspaper. I've always wanted to be a writer and I've managed to make a living doing it.
But, my income isn't nearly what it would be if I had gone into other fields such as medicine or finance. Perhaps, I'll regret it when I get closer to retirement and my my savings/investments reflect my income.
Then again, I don't think I'd be happy earning six figures in a career that wasn't exciting to me. I look forward to going to work most days and consider this to be a blessing. And, I really don't know what I'd do if I weren't a writer. No other profession holds the same appeal for me, although I've always been interested in scientific research, especially when it's related to health-related issues.
And, who knows, if I write the next Great American novel someday when my kids are grown and I have some extra time on my hands, I could make a killer income after all.
Ah to be as fit, strong, thin as I was when I was 20.
I might take more risks especially financial ones with the view to be better off financially when I had kids. It would be nice to have the knowledge and experience of a 40yo when I was 20.
Hopefully everyone will take a moment to respond...
If you had the opportunity to be 20 yrs old again, would you follow the career path that you did, or would you change your career/major? If so, what is it you're doing now, and what would you rather be?
Please feel free to share your story, you can rant or praise all you want
A good way to interpret this question would be are there any paths you would highly encourage your kids to pursue, or some you would tell them to stay away from?
The only two things I would have done differently are 1) Not take flying lessons and 2) Stick with engineering instead of switching from engineering to geography and then back to engineering.
1) At one point I wanted to be an airline pilot so I took expensive flying lessons and earned my commercial pilot's license, multi-engine rating, instrument rating, and flight instructor's certificate (CFI). Then I quit flying. It just wasn't for me.
2) I started out in engineering but I was a total partier goof off so I switched to geography which was easier and interesting. I started to realize there weren't as many jobs for geography majors (this is about 1982). So I switched back to engineering and earned my BSEE.
I have four daughters and I strongly encourage them to pursue the sciences especially engineering. Not only does engineering help you find a job but it teaches you to think. And, engineering is very flexible - a lot of women I know have very flexible schedules or work part time or work sometimes from home. Most companies pay for a masters. My employers paid for my MS and my MBA.
Stay away from the majors that won't help you get a good job. If you like the arts for example, you can still pursue them while majoring in something more practical.
I would have traveled the world and lived a life filled with rich experiences before getting into the rat race and prostituting myself for capitalism.
I highly encouraged my children to do what they love. Keeping up with the Jone's is so overrated. Find a passion. Give it 100%. Live out loud. Don't be afraid of the road less traveled. Life isn't a race to the finish line.
If they don't know what they want to do, take time off to figure it out---but don't have children before they do. If they can't figure it out, major in anything and get it over with. Any degree is better than no degree. You can always attain a higher degree later.
And yes, I contradict myself sometimes. But my children understand what I'm saying.
My father made the mistake of trying to force us to take the safe, money making majors. My sister pursued her passion in a liberal arts major even when he cut funding because she didn't major in what he wanted. She's the one who ended up being the most successful, an amazing success.
I majored in the sciences and I wouldn't change it for anything.
I would encourage children to major in something they are passionate about, but be mindful of the need to also be financially secure. There is no point in doing something you hate and ending up unhappy in life. At the same time, if you are passionate about something that may not pay all the bills, you should be willing to find other work as needed so you can afford necessities.
I would have done one of 2 things - majored in geography because I would have enjoyed it more (not that it is very marketable); I probably would have ended up an urban planner. Or, become a PT, and OT, or an SLP. They seem to make really decent money, and have flexible hours too. As a mom, that would have been great.
I enjoyed a pretty interesting career as a nurse, but if I was to do it all over again I would study medicine.
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