The New Career Shakedown
19. Jun, 2008 
12 Comments
This is part 3 of 5 on a series about my journey. You can read Part 1 here: Escapism: the Dirty Word that Keeps Us Doing What We Loathe and Part 2 here: Making the Time and Money Connection. Stay tuned for Part 4 tomorrow.
Back in my corporate life, I would read book after book on business self-help. You know the kind. How to make more money, how to manage the change process, how to deal with toxic work environments. There was one book that stood out for me: What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There. This clever book talks about how the skills that got you promoted won’t necessarily translate into what it takes to be a good manager. In software companies (my industry) this is particular prevalent. Take for instance, the genius programmer who excels at solving problems, over delivering and working as a member of the team. They get noticed by management, plucked from their comfy cubicle and dropped head-first into management. If you’ve ever had a boss that was a former staffer, you’ll know you this can go one of two ways: they will be the best boss ever, anticipating your needs and clearing roadblocks or (and I suspect this is more common) they fail miserably at the job, eventually end back up in a cubicle, where they were happiest anyway.
This book stands out for me even now, because I found it useful outside of the corporate world, especially as I tried to decide what my second career would be. Armed with a growing savings account and the determination to pick something I truly loved, I found that those things that had gotten me to my current position, would be the very things that would send me down all of the paths of least resistance. When considering my new life, I considered many options, but it wasn’t until later that I realized that I was simply re-hashing my old career, hiding from change, and seeking something comfortable.
To better illustrate the point, here are some of the potential careers I considered, but ultimately were all wrong for me:
The Contenders
1. Start a small business. With my background in business, this sounded like a natural fit. But I just couldn’t nail down something I felt strongly about. I researched everything from brick oven portable pizza ovens to catering businesses to opening a franchise store.
Outcome: FAIL. I was trying to cram my business experience into something else. Instead of thinking outside the box, I was building a new one.
2. The Bed and Breakfast. We literally drove to Maine for a long weekend and looked at properties. I called a real estate agent about a lovely Ellsworth, ME property that had 20 rooms. I spent hours trying to talk my husband into it. I was sold on the idea from go.
Outcome: FAIL. This falls under the I don’t know what to do, so let’s hid in Maine genre. It actually felt like a safe option for me, until I realized what my sneaky subconscious was trying to pull off. Instead of finding something that I loved, I found something that I could safely do.
3. Go back to school, get a PhD. I thought a sociology PhD in new media would be a good fit. The idea of learning still resonates with me, even the part about being like Peter Pan in the academic bubble.
Outcome: FAIL. There are obvious reasons most people avoid this route: taking on personal debt, bleak career outlook, long years of study, demanding path to tenure. If I had really wanted it, I wouldn’t mind those things. This one failed because it didn’t spark any excitement in me, and I was considering only because it a respectable route.
4. Build a Real Estate Empire. I have to admit, the title Real Estate Mogul is appealing. I’ve read dozens of books on this, and spent many hours researching it. If you are organized, research well and smart with finances, this one is still a good choice. (Well, perhaps not now, with the current housing crisis).
Outcome: FAIL. Yes, I could have made money this way, but that’s all it would have been. Instead of thinking of a career, I was just thinking of a way to make money. And don’t let those real estate gurus fool you, this is a full time and half job.
5. Freelance and Travel. Not a bad option. Just take the corporate job online and the world is your office. Perhaps we could buy an RV, hook up a satellite dish and travel along the coast– surfing in the morning, working during the day.
Outcome: FAIL. I wasn’t even picking a new career, I was trying to fit my current one in my new world view. A great option if that’s what you want, but I had already decided I wanted something completely new.
In the end, I took my ego on a long walk off a short pier. I was trying to set myself up for success, and in the process, I was picking all things I was confident I could do. I was trying to:
1. Do what I know, not what I love
2. Hide from the challenge
3. Do what I thought would be easy
4. Do what others have done
5. Avoid the question.
Ultimately, this original attempt was leaving the well traveled path, and picking a new slightly less used path, that was well documented and had step by step guides.
My only saving grace was that I knew if I was going to make the leap I had to feel great about it. It had to be something that sounded better and better over time. It had to be something I would do even if I didn’t get paid. I had to find my passion. What did I pick? Becoming a freelance writer and photographer.
What would be your perfect career? Which ones did you leave on the side of the road?
What did you end up actually doing for work or are you still trying to figure that out? You write pretty confidently, so I assume you have made some choices and found new work.
I made a choice similar to #5 on your list as I didn’t want to become overwhelmed with risk and change. There’s something to be said for having the stability of a boring day job while you travel the world.
Then again, if money is no issue…
Robert Evanss last blog post..Hamstrung by Knowledge
Robert-
Thanks for visiting the site! I ultimately decided to become a freelance writer and photographer– a career choice that is neither safe nor easy.
What I was trying to get to in this post was that I went through a process of considering lots of things… none of them a great a fit. I didn’t want to go through all the trouble of quitting my corporate job just to slide back into something that similarly left me unsatisfied. As I considered the options, I noticed that my first inclination was to do just that. You can take the girl out of the corporate office, but you can’t take what got her there out quite so fast.
For other folks new the site, This post is a good place to start.
Thanks! Christine
I am currently working in my perfect career so that makes me happy…photographer and writer. Can’t get much better than that. I’d like to expand the photography business, but for the moment I’m taking things slow because I know I’m improving the photography side of things constantly and growing the bus. side of things will come when I’m ready
What is your career? For some reason I thought you were a freelance writer.
Kyles last blog post..Because Lactose is Vital
Kyle: I’m the same as you, just flip the order: writer/photographer.
My former career was a manager at a large software company. I quit that job recently and pursuing my new career full time now.
I have no interest in having a “career”. I’m very interested in many, many things but there is nothing I have found that holds my interest so deeply that I’d want to do it for the rest of my life, or even a large chunk of it. That’s not to say I’m opposed to working. I’ve been working since I was in high school, but the longest I held onto the same job was when I worked at the zoo for three years way back in high school. Since graduating college, I’ve spent a year teaching English abroad, a year doing research for the Holocaust Museum, a year doing editing and web work for a nonprofit, and now two years editing for the Smithsonian. I have a short attention span I guess, but it’s okay because I’ve never really felt a desire to climb the ladder, have a fancy job title, or make mucho money. I’m actually, oddly enough, terrible at spending money, so that works out okay
And, I also think I’m very balanced by my husband, who seems to have always known what he wants to do and is one of those lucky people who doesn’t consider his work to be work.
But to directly answer your question. My perfect career would be writing novels. It’s at least the next career I plan to try post-trip.
Hi Teresa: I would love to read that book when you write it. And I agree, career is such a loaded word, it’s hard to separate the the connotations of slaving away for 40 years. I need a new word! It’s not just a job– a mini-career? Or as my mom would say, a phase? Or how about my current project… [Ok all of those are terrible. Suggestions needed obviously...]
I am personally going through that process now. I hope to have my own list soon… with FAIL and SUCCESS clearly marked.
Great post!
This is your best article. It is very applicable to almost anyone. About the only person who won’t get a lot out of it are the people who have already found their calling.
I’m working on #1 right now and kind of #5 (writing part). Hopefully, I will be working on #4 in a year or so. The ultimate goal to be able to quit my regular job and have control over my life.
Chad @ Sentient Moneys last blog post..Is More Oil Really the Answer?
this is exactly what i need to figure out. what is it i really want to do? i have also made that inevitable list of job options, and they’re all things i’m only capable of, not things i’m capable of AND passionate about. there’s a happy medium to be found here, somewhere…
Thanks for posting this.
I’ve spent the last 2+ years dealing with exactly the same set of issues.
After contemplating 1 through 5 in only a very slightly different order than you have them listed, it did dawn on me; None of them really do-it for me. I especially like the idea of “start a business” because it’s a set of challenges and things to learn. I just can’t get excited enough to do it.
Here’s to hoping I find something soon.