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Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:58 pm
by no_name
see the top

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:00 pm
by natureexplorer
Yes, being a spy requires keeping too many secrets.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:02 pm
by eschaef
I've known I wanted to be a teacher since I was old enough to know what a teacher was. Ask me again in another 30 years? :)

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:25 pm
by Rodc
I voted no. I first decided to me a mathematician when I was 14. I did get distracted to the point of getting a double major in math and physics as an undergrad, before refinding the light. :)

But, sure, I have wondered from time to time how a different choice would have worked out. Or a different career path after school.

Life is working out very well. Perfect? Maybe not, but more than well enough. So any thoughts never get to the point of regret.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:33 pm
by magician
My career(?) has been:

Software designer/developer (CNC machinery, GPS and deep-ocean transponder navigation, statistical analysis, cash flow analysis, investment portfolio analysis)
EFP warhead designer
Mortgage securities analyst
Project risk analyst
Teacher (mathematics, finance, project risk management, project cost management)
Magician

So far, so good.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:38 pm
by RRP
Like Magician, I have enjoyed a variety of careers. I have no regrets about my career selection, but I do wish I had more time to conquer other challenges.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:48 pm
by wingnutty
Graduate school with a teaching degree and immediately decided that I didn't wanna teach forever and that I'd burn out. Went to grad school for an MS in soils and natural resource management and couldn't be happier. I figure I chose right and got very lucky.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:01 pm
by Atilla
Absolutely no regrets. Graduated with a four year business degree from a Big 10 college and had no clue what to do with it.

Got into a very specialized area of business services on a total complete fluke thanks to my (then) wife. Earned crap for many years, survived through two bankruptcies/takeovers and was still making under $25K in the mid 1990s.

After the second takeover I saw no future for myself with the multibillion dollar bastard megacorp I was working for and took the plunge to a very small competitor I figured could handle my long term clients. They were basically the only people I could approach due to the specialized nature of the business. It was them or no one.

That was back in 1997. Now I get paid very well, work from home and am as happy as just about anyone when it comes to their job. The company has grown with me and vice-versa. When I joined the company annual revenue was maybe half a million. Before the recession in 2007 my best month was twice that. I'm good for them and they're good for me.

Did I mention I get to work from home? :sharebeer

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:12 pm
by gkaplan
Which one?

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:48 pm
by metabasalt
My only real career began when I retired. Everything else I did because I knew I couldn't make a living in what I wanted, the arts, though I did try for a number of years and have an extensive education in it.

So I guess I'd rephrase it as 'Did I ever reget my job choices?' And all in all I'd say no. After the fact I realized I might have squandered time at some jobs that were dead end. But they were never that important to me, just something to pay the bills while I got on with my life.

And some of the non-careers were actually quite good. I made good money, at least good in my view, and I enjoyed the work.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:03 pm
by wilpat
I spent 54 years in the telephone business (30 at the telephone company and 24 Manufacturing equipment for the telephone industry) I still do some consulting for them. I cannot think of a dozen days that I did not greatly look forward to going to work. I was/am one of the lucky ones.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:06 pm
by Whiggish Boffin
I knew at age 4 that I wanted to be an engineer. I just didn't know that that was what it was called.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:27 pm
by JULIE
No. It was either be an engineer or a sex worker. I think engineer turned out ok for me. :sharebeer

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:30 pm
by Imperabo
JULIE wrote:No. It was either be an engineer or a sex worker. I think engineer turned out ok for me. :sharebeer
Ever thought of combining the two? There's definitely a demand.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:48 pm
by JULIE
Imperabo wrote:
JULIE wrote:No. It was either be an engineer or a sex worker. I think engineer turned out ok for me. :sharebeer
Ever thought of combining the two? There's definitely a demand.
Ooh, that might be fun. But then I'd have to live in Nevada. :lol

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:02 pm
by fishnskiguy
Whiggish Boffin wrote:I knew at age 4 that I wanted to be an engineer. I just didn't know that that was what it was called.
Did your mother know you had the knack? :lol

Google "the knack" then drop down to the third entry- the Dilbert one. Hilarious.

Chris

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:42 am
by epilnk
Whiggish Boffin wrote:I knew at age 4 that I wanted to be an engineer. I just didn't know that that was what it was called.
That makes me feel like a late bloomer - I didn't settle on developmental genetics until I was 10. I didn't know what it was called either. Regret? Yes, but it was what I was born to be. It's hard for me to imagine taking a very different route.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 1:30 am
by BC_Doc
Emergency physician-- stressful job but I love what I do. I feel privileged to look after my patients and community.

My undergraduate degree was a B.A. in political science-- I feel very fortunate to have received a solid liberal arts education before starting a career in the health sciences.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:20 am
by Tim_in_GA
I used to regret it, but then I reached a point where I decided to quit worrying about it and just be happy to have a job that pays well. When I was in school I really enjoyed art & music, and was very good at both. But I was also taking higher level science & math since I was always testing well above my age level. I decided to major in engineering in college because A) that's what my brother did and B) I was pretty much guaranteed to earn more than someone with an art or music degree. Plus, majoring in art or music would most likely only lead to a teaching job, something I definitely did not want to do. After college engineering work was fun at first, but I soon realized it wasn't my passion. What really got tiresome was getting pulled into last-minute customer meetings by salesmen, having the ship dates of my projects determined by other people without my input (causing me long nights testing, code rewriting, etc.) and being told to hop on a plane immediately due to some site issues (because we didn't have enough time to test it out). Then mix in all the corporate BS on top of that.

I did the engineer thing for 10 years, then moved into sales for 4 years, then project management for 3 years, and now a manager for the past 3 years. The corporate BS gets even worse in management! Overall I enjoyed being a sales engineer the most and would love to go back to that but it seems like a downgrade at this point. So now I just try to be happy with where I am at and am doing everything I can to retire early.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:31 am
by JULIE
Tim_in_GA -- That's very interesting. My BIL has a Bachelor's in Music and works as a software engineer today. It seems that his is not the only case of someone who enjoys/excels in music/art doing well in engineering.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:37 am
by guitarguy
Nope not so far. I'm an engineer that doesn't have to sit at a desk and go to meetings all day but rather works 70% in a lab doing hands on stuff. Great benefits and a pretty decent income at 26. Little or no travel, little or no overtime, little or no stress, and very few people that I don't get along with (there are a couple DBs at my office but what office doesn't have those? :lol: ). I'm lucky to be home every night at 5pm to walk my dogs, have dinner with my wife and hopefully soon our children, and enjoy my life.

I moonlight/weekend as a musician in clubs, casinos, etc. Decent extra money and lots of fun. :sharebeer

EDIT:
JULIE wrote:Tim_in_GA -- That's very interesting. My BIL has a Bachelor's in Music and works as a software engineer today. It seems that his is not the only case of someone who enjoys/excels in music/art doing well in engineering.
Chalk another one up for the music/tech peoples out there! :P

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:40 am
by S&L1940
typewriter repair seemed like a lifelong endeavor with great hours and good pay

I am not sure how long I can hold out...

I have had an offer to participate in an Alien Abduction start up; anyone here have experience with this field?

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 1:15 pm
by ryuns
Isn't impossible to say? Where would you end up if you did something else?

I've been quasi obsessed with cities and city planning for a long time and took some planning classes in college from a very interesting and charismatic professor. Knew a couple planners who seem generally annoyed, one of whom had quit to start an unrelated non-profit. Got a couple good jobs out of college in a worsening economy and never had the desire to go back to college and change paths. Would my experience in the profession be like the charismatic professor or the crusty bureaucrat? Who knows? But I do know things are pretty good. I'm resigning myself to applying for (and the subsequently being rejected by) the local city planning commission every time a spot opens.

Ryan

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:03 pm
by XtremeSki2001
I voted no. I started as a System Administrator, Consultant, Auditor and now back to Consulting. I've got to travel all over the US and see how different executives and companies work and work in all kinds of different industries.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:21 pm
by Whiggish Boffin
fishnskiguy --

Oh yeah, Mom knew. When I was three, she'd take me to meet Dad after work at the university library, and he'd come out and I'd run to him --
and right past him --
to the cutaway turboprop engine in the display case, and I'd push the button to make the blades spin.

(Of course, living in the DC area, I did think about starting out as an Unattributed Source, working my way up to being a Deniable Link, and retiring as an Unindicted Co-Conspirator.)

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:55 pm
by hsv_climber
magician wrote:My career(?) has been:

investment portfolio analysis
Mortgage securities analyst
Project risk analyst
Magician

So far, so good.
Yes, I can see consistency in your career path.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:59 pm
by hsv_climber
Whiggish Boffin wrote: to the cutaway turboprop engine in the display case, and I'd push the button to make the blades spin.

Do you know any 3-year old who would not like to push buttons? :?:

I mean that your case is right from M.Lewis "Guide to the Fatherhood" where his daughters were fighting to push an elevator button.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:03 pm
by magician
hsv_climber wrote:
magician wrote:My career(?) has been:

investment portfolio analysis
Mortgage securities analyst
Project risk analyst
Magician

So far, so good.
Yes, I can see consistency in your career path.
One step follows another.

;)

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:27 pm
by chaz
Never - a happy life.

.....

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:46 pm
by Curlyq
.....

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:49 pm
by englishgirl
Regret? No.
Hated at times? Yes.

I don't regret my decisions because I believe they were good at the time, bearing in mind the available choices. I sometimes wish I'd sat down and spent more time thinking up other choices though.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:54 pm
by snyder66
Not the choice of education, bit the path I took.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:54 pm
by Rob5TCP
I was a psych major - by the time I was working towards my Masters degree, I began to hate my choice. I then went into the Garment District to work for my Father (lasted less than a week). Did odd jobs until i took an "aptitude" test. They advised accounting or computers and so I went, never to look back. Twenty some odd years later I have my own business and can not seeing my doing anything differently. Je ne regrette rien (I regret nothing).

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:24 pm
by Fallible
Curlyq wrote:One of my "careers" was doing manual labor. I worked at a ski resort in the winter and thought somehow that shoveling snow was glamorous, so I decided to do a "real" manual labor job. I wanted to see what it would be like to work on the oil fields. My sister was living in the Texas panhandle at the time, so I had free rent.

If digging ditches in the Texas clay and Texas heat doesn't inspire one to pursue another course of action, I don't know what does. This was the only job I could get for being a girl. After a month, I survived enough to where they let me go out on a crew and I operated a one-ton pipe wrench to disassemble oil pumps. Still pretty difficult and somewhat scary to be out on the Texas plain with some rough guys. So much for breaking down barriers, I doubt any reasonably smart women would ever (or should ever!) follow this path.

I got that idea out of my system and I ended up going back to college.

I'm still pretty mean on a shovel and good with a pick axe :shock: many years later, but much happier working in education.
Nicely written and interesting! Oil fields are tough even for the guys.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:37 pm
by riskonoff
Yes.

I grew up relatively poor and wanted be wealthy. Grew up miles from the CBOT and went to work there because that is what guys in my neighberhood did. When I made my money, I soon realized that money does not create happiness. That was a bit of a letdown but I am getting over it.

-Futures Broker
-Futures Trader
-Semi-retired Passive Investor (who sometimes market times 10% of his portfolio....i.e buy VTI aggressively during the August/September correction)
-?????...46 and searching for a 2nd career
-

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:25 pm
by Stuart01
Was extremely lucky - no regrets. Always interested in how things work, got Ph.D. and post-doc in molecular biology, moved from research to more "relevant" environmental issues as Chief Biologist of state pollution control agency, then state Chief of Bureau of Water Quality, then to Federal EPA as Branch Chief in water quality, then Chief Scientist with new agency development team on environmental statistics, leading to White House work on environmental data, sustainability and sustainability indicators. Also, as a side line "hobby", received eight patents for shelving and clamps. Now happily retired (no money issues - thanks Bogleheads!) and doing self study on economics and on question of how we can develop a more prosperous and fair society (still trying to learn how stuff works). :D

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:03 pm
by daytona084
If you are ~18 years old and correctly choose the optimal career for yourself, you are fortunate indeed. I contend that it's not even possible at that age to know what all the choices are.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:28 pm
by FrugalInvestor
I had a difficult time coming up with an answer for this one. There were certainly times during my career that I wondered if I might fit better in another field. But the industry I worked in, the companies I worked for and the people I worked with were all exceptional. I have no regrets so I answered no.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:51 pm
by jidina80
I should have been a horticultural scientist. My aptitude test results always read "scientist" type. Instead, I followed the money out of the university into corporate finance. It paid well, but I hated being in an office and meeting rooms most of the week.

Now, in early retirement, I am dabbling in horticultural sciences :-)

Just

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:08 am
by OnFire
I've known what I wanted to do since I was nine years old and a house in my neighborhood caught fire after a lightning strike. I watched all the firefighters come roaring down the street in their big red fire engine, run inside, and put the fire out.

I was the first person in my family to ever go to college. I was the "smart one" and my father wanted his son to get out of the physical labor market.

I spent 6 years in school getting biology degrees, psychology degrees, and spent a year in podiatry school.

I went back to shoveling asphalt for my father after dropping out because I was burnt out in school. I did some ride time with a high school friend of mine and knew within one day what I was going to do with the rest of my life.The nine year old urge came rushing back at age 25. I went back to school, got my EMT, paid my own way through the fire academy, and then again through paramedic school. I spent three years working part time and testing for municipalities. Got on, and when the big city came calling, I went and became a full-time paramedic in the "ghetto-y part of the ghetto". Crossed over to the fire side within the department when the opportunity arose, and have been loving every minute.

It's been described as "stupefying periods of boredom interjected with moments of abject terror". That's pretty apt. I have lost a few friends (killed at fires) along the way. I've finally come full circle. No regrets.

For me, there's not much I would change in my life.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:21 am
by BHCadet
No, even I didn't know how I stumbled into computer science major when I was in college long time ago, I love programming.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:35 am
by Sheepdog
The question is "did I ever regret my career choice?" My career choice in college was to be in a factory management position. That was to be via a chemical engineering degree. The word is "EVER". Yes, I did during my early management positions.
I had an engineering position for only 5 years before being offered my first management position. When one supervisor under my management resigned because of my wanting improvement, that hurt....I didn't want to appear so mean as to have him want to quit. I only wanted him to improve. I became a better and more tolerant manager because of that. However, there came a time when I had to fire an employee, for cause. It really hurt to watch him cry. I felt that management wasn't for me. I considered going to an engineering position then. I was offered an engineering position as such at the Argonne National Laboratories, but I declined. I stayed where I was, but I did change the company for which I worked....one time.
I voted "yes" because of the word "ever". As it ended, I know I had a good career. I would not have changed it looking back.
Jim

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:09 am
by gailcox
I knew from a very young age, probably around 5 or 6, that I wanted to be a flight attendant. Of course those were the days when the job was truly taking care of passengers and providing a great service. Those were also the days when the airlines really valued their front line employees! My dad was a pilot for TWA and the pride I felt when I was a passenger on the plane that MY dad was flying was indescribable! I still love to travel and provide a really good experience for my passengers. No day is a bad day for me at work. I am just now beginning to wonder what my next career will be. With AA in bankruptcy, there will be some changes that won't be good for me, so I will most likely retire sooner than later. But what to do next? I have no clue! My skill set doesn't include anything with computers or technology, so I guess I need to learn that stuff. But the last 30 years has been a fun, exciting ride!

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:45 pm
by Downeastah
I majored in history as an undergrad and now I dissect surgical specimens and do autopsies. If I could do it all over again, I'd love to be an electrician.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:55 pm
by ObliviousInvestor
I love my work almost everyday. So no regrets.

At the same time, boy physics was exciting in high school. I'm sure I would have loved pursuing that.

And French and Spanish classes were a blast. Learning another language is so neat -- getting to see all the similar word origins, the idiosyncrasies of grammar, and the way inflection is remarkably similar across (those) languages.

And the little programming I've learned has certainly been fun. Until this week it had just been html, css, and a tiny bit of php. This week I learned a bit about using ssh. I still don't even know what it is (is it even a programming language?) or how it works, but holy cow it's like a magical black screen the stuff it can do with just one command.

So, no regrets. But I bet I would have had a great time in any of several other careers.

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:35 am
by hicabob
I was a simple software engineer for years (mostly low level firmware and some CAD software) - interesting work - good companies - plenty of money etc.

Then, after company moved offshore, I declined to follow so accepted a nice package then stated a competitive biz with two other engineers.

First year - tough - Second year we start to make $$$ - third year and after - ridiculous amounts of $$$$

Not nearly as enjoyable as being a simple software engineer - even though pay is much better, and the financial independence is a nice feeling

We are being courted for a buyout currently , which would suit me very well.

My retirement small biz, if I choose to have one, will be carefully selected for low stress

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:33 pm
by JennMcNeal23
It is interesting that so many people regret their career choice. Here is a list I found of the top majors based on job satisfaction and popular appeal:

-Food Science
-Anthropology
-Physical Therapy
-Viticulture
-Foreign Language
-Actuarial Science
-Comparative Religion
-Environmental Engineering
-Film Studies
-Psychology

Funny because I don't see many people making much money with any of those bachelors degrees save for food science, physical therapy, and environmental engineering. I know they say money doesn't buy happiness but, you need to make some $$ in order to live comfortably...guess these peoples careers are more rewarding than a high salary?

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:38 pm
by hicabob
JennMcNeal23 wrote:It is interesting that so many people regret their career choice. Here is a list I found of the top majors based on job satisfaction and popular appeal:

-Food Science
-Anthropology
-Physical Therapy
-Viticulture
-Foreign Language
-Actuarial Science
-Comparative Religion
-Environmental Engineering
-Film Studies
-Psychology

Funny because I don't see many people making much money with any of those bachelors degrees save for food science, physical therapy, and environmental engineering. I know they say money doesn't buy happiness but, you need to make some $$ in order to live comfortably...guess these peoples careers are more rewarding than a high salary?

The actuary I worked for while in uni made a very decent living wrt $$$ - not so sure about his job satisfaction though - I believe it was "just a job" for him - some stress too - he was forever arguing about ridiculous assumptions with pension plans

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:33 pm
by jpkuva
I have at times wondered what it would be like or would I be better suited to another profession. I earned a BS in Accounting and an MS in IT. I spent about 20 years working with implementing large ERP systems, and was lucky enough to get some great experience with some good companies. It allowed a kid from a small PA town to see a lot of the country and some of the world. A good adventure was had along the way and I met many good people and friends. It has also provided a good life for my wife and children.

I think what has helped keep things fresh is that I was always open to learning new things and taking assignments because I saw them as learning opportunities. My latest assignment is within our process excellence group, which is completely new to me and will be an interesting challenge. Growing up I pumped gas, worked in a butcher shop, grocery store, washed cars, mowed grass......my career is so much better than all of those jobs. I am grateful. :D

Re: Did you ever regret your career choice

Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:12 am
by Mudpuppy
JennMcNeal23 wrote:It is interesting that so many people regret their career choice. Here is a list I found of the top majors based on job satisfaction and popular appeal:

-Food Science
-Anthropology
-Physical Therapy
-Viticulture
-Foreign Language
-Actuarial Science
-Comparative Religion
-Environmental Engineering
-Film Studies
-Psychology

Funny because I don't see many people making much money with any of those bachelors degrees save for food science, physical therapy, and environmental engineering. I know they say money doesn't buy happiness but, you need to make some $$ in order to live comfortably...guess these peoples careers are more rewarding than a high salary?
I have to wonder what was their sample size? If you ask one film studies person and that person is satisfied, woo... 100% satisfaction.... A bit of an exaggeration of course, but it's just the sort of thing that immediately pops in my head when I see lists like this.