Who Followed Their Career Passions?

[Leigh 87]

I'd advocate a balance. Don't go purely based on salary - salary fluctuates with time and location. But unless you have a substantial trust fund that you can live on for the rest of your life (do you?), you do need to give employability SOME thought IMO. Especially as, as ES says, you're not even 100% sure what you'd really want and keep changing your mind. If you had believed that you had been cut out for some career path for years, then I would've told you to follow your dreams.

 

 

I have a flat and my parents support me but I will worked in aged care soon as I am quickly getting through the certificate and there is plenty of work available.

 

So I will be paying utilities of about 75 a week once I work again, and that is it. I don't have pressure to have to "work to live" like most people of my age. Hence I can afford to study full time and only choose to work say, two five hour shifts per week in aged care. Or I don't have to work at all, I just want to. I think I am in a good place to begin a bachelors degree. I don't have financial pressure and I can 100% focus on the degree at hand.

 

I have always "known" I am more into chemistry and life sciences, I have always been motivated to study hard enough to do well in these areas. I am also the most "interested" in anything scientific. I like global issues but who doesn't follow them? I don't want to make a career out of it in say, foreign relations or anything. The month I was in my food science degree I was getting perfect marks and was thrilled with the course work. It is just as soon as I found out math was a compulsory course, I quit. I assumed I .."didn't have what it takes" to learn math as a mature adult, and start from scratch.

 

With humanities based degrees something was missing. I know anything without at least 50% science is not for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Given what I know, I am most passionate about being able to work with anything to do with diseases/diagnosing them in any capacity/ and/or treating disease. I know I don't want to go into research as a straight science degree is too broad and results in dire employment prospects. I have seen it happen 1000 times......

 

Therefore, I am definitely certain that the optimal area for me to study in and gain employment in a hopefully similar field to that of my degree, is" any APPLIED science degrees with a SPEFIFIC job outcome. The applied science degrees that focus on something SPECFIC and actually have clinical PLACEMENT.

 

I happen to live near a local uni which has a great track record with their student placements..... in both medical imaging degrees and podiatry dergees I REALLY love how students get 1000 plus hours of work in their field.

 

Given that I have no idea if I like or am even good at physics or math since I never gave myself that chance to develop those skills, I think a degree like podiatry is ideal for me. Medical Imaging degrees are physics HEAVY which is a bad idea for me since I have no idea if I have an inclination towards physics.

 

My local campus has the degree, they have 1000 hours of placement, it is ALL medical/anatomy/physiology/biomechanical based. Students often walk into jobs and although the job market can change, I LOVE that podiatry is a small industry, there are not a great deal of us floating about and I do believe that, pit of all careers, we have reasonable prospects in the future of finding work.

 

 

 

What I most like is that in podiatry, you get to use your technical expertise to actually diagnose and treat people. It is one on one patient care, you work by yourself mostly, and you can go on to open your own practice after you have gained experience and want to move up a level.

 

 

 

I do think I have at least a fair idea of the academic areas of pursuit that I have a good inclination and aptitude towards, that would be challenging but doable; both the degree and career aspects.

[Leigh 87]

Balance.

 

To me balance is:

 

- following your true academic interests

- ensuring it is not out of your grasp and being honest with yourself about what your true limits are in terms of what course work you can actually pass

- ensuring that there are reasonable employment prospects and forecasts and use common sense; for instance, there will always be sick people, overweight people, people with diabetes and people who get cancer and need their medical images dealt with by medical imaging professionals.

 

As I said, the degrees I narrowed it down to ALL start on similar starting salaries: medical imaging jobs AND podiatry and also the oral health therapy degree that is at my local campus and is also a medical style of degree.

I can definitely seeing myself in each career only, I have no idea if I like or am good at physics and therefore medical imaging shouldn't even be something I consider until I get some basic physics 101 lessons via a tutor.

I am factoring in, first and foremost, is my strongest areas of interest. Diagnosing and/or treating patients or at least working with disease in some capacity.

 

I am much more certain I can not only pass but get high distinctions in anatomy, physiology and cell biology. Podiatry is therefore a degree in which I feel secure in actually passing and excelling in, one would hope.

 

I have NO idea if I would flop or fly through a medical imaging style of degree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I quiet honestly would just enjoy becoming a professional at anything pertaining to disease diagnosis and/or treatment.

 

If the reasonable pay was not there I would still do that over humanity based professions; even if teachers or social workers got the big dollars I would still MUCH rather work as a low paid medical/health care provider. I guess you could say that I WOULD still go down the medical imaging OR podiatry route even if they were low paid, simply because it beats the heck out of working in the humanities to me, personally. It is still important to factor in employment prospects but they are not the be all or end all, as long as I feel there is a reasonable chance I can actually SECURE employment.

[Els]

To me balance is:

 

- following your true academic interests

- ensuring it is not out of your grasp and being honest with yourself about what your true limits are in terms of what course work you can actually pass

- ensuring that there are reasonable employment prospects and forecasts and use common sense; for instance, there will always be sick people, overweight people, people with diabetes and people who get cancer and need their medical images dealt with by medical imaging professionals.

 

Regarding the bolded points... I have two degrees (yes, unfortunately, I made the wrong choice for my first). IMO, whether or not you can pass or tolerate or enjoy the coursework of your degree is not anywhere near as important as whether or not you can tolerate and enjoy the actual relevant WORK that you'd do after your degree. With enough effort and time spent, most people can technically pass most degrees, even if they scrape through and fail a few times. But working in a career for years... that's much harder to cope with and should be your primary consideration.

 

That is why shadowing is so important. If my 18-yo self had actually had thought about shadowing someone at work for a week, I would not have chosen the degree that I did at first (even though I graduated with a pretty good GPA). Fortunately I was able to salvage some of it via a fast-track second degree for graduates, but it wasn't an ideal pathway by any means. So, learn from my mistakes.

[MidwestUSA]

I started out in engineering. At the two year mark, decided I didn't want to transfer. So I talked to my counselor about what degree I could pick up staying where I was, and it turned out I was 100% on track with chemistry.

 

So, my first degree was somewhat by default. I used that degree in industry for thirteen years, banking some good money in the process. But, there wasn't anything passionate about it. Meanwhile, my dog was very sick with a pretty rare and exotic illness. I spent a lot of time at the library reading about it, and got interested in medicine.

 

 

Went back to school for nursing at 33; graduated at 35 (all my science stuff transferred, even after that length of time. What didn't, I Klepped out of).

 

 

Been doing that for another thirteen years. My heavy science background equipped me to advance to places that just an RN wouldn't. Was thinking about going back to school one more time, but opted to focus on planning my retirement instead. Acquired second husband in the process, and have the mental and emotional support I didn't have the first time around.

[Leigh 87]

I have seen a days work of a podiatrist and a medical imaging specialist.

 

The jobs both look like something I could do long term.

 

May I ask, what made you want to do your first degree? And could you easily get a job or, did you just not like the job?

 

Did you have any placements as a student? Both degrees I'm interested in have 1000 plus hours work placement.

 

I don't think I will suddenly walk into either hypothetical job from either degree and suddenly realise that " I hate the job".

[Els]

Not sure if this was addressed to me, but I'll answer anyway.

 

I have seen a days work of a podiatrist and a medical imaging specialist.

 

The jobs both look like something I could do long term.

 

Was this your friend's job, and did you follow her for at least one entire workday (preferably more)?

 

May I ask, what made you want to do your first degree? And could you easily get a job or, did you just not like the job?

Due to the shortage of that profession in that country, I was guaranteed a job upon graduation (this was a big part of my reason for choosing it). I loathed the job, was more miserable than I'd ever been in my life, suffered from severe insomnia, depression and anxiety - but I went through with it long enough to get registration.

 

Did you have any placements as a student? Both degrees I'm interested in have 1000 plus hours work placement.

I did, in my 3rd year, but by then it was too late to turn back as my credits would not have been transferable.

 

I don't think I will suddenly walk into either hypothetical job from either degree and suddenly realise that " I hate the job".

I hope so.

[MidwestUSA]

Yes. Mum has told me to start getting out of the house more and start showering

 

 

 

You know, Leigh, if your mom has to point this out at your age, it probably is a good time to take a break. :eew:

[MidwestUSA]

I have seen a days work of a podiatrist and a medical imaging specialist.

 

The jobs both look like something I could do long term.

 

May I ask, what made you want to do your first degree? And could you easily get a job or, did you just not like the job?

 

Did you have any placements as a student? Both degrees I'm interested in have 1000 plus hours work placement.

 

I don't think I will suddenly walk into either hypothetical job from either degree and suddenly realise that " I hate the job".

 

 

Not sure if this was addressed to me either, but...

 

Like I said, the chemistry degree was by default, and it turned out to be something I was very, very good at. I worked as an intern during my junior and senior years, and stayed on with that company for a bit after graduation. I quickly moved and to yet another large company. After a short stint there, I ended up working for the largest brewer in the world (no names). This enabled me to quickly build my nest egg, after which I went back to school (while still working 40-50 hours a week) to do something I was more passionate about.

 

As it so happened, both of these fields had high demand, and I never had any trouble moving from one company to the next. Of course there were days I hated my job, I'm not sure anyone escapes that. But my focus was on benefits and long term security. I paid off my first house at 27 and single. The market was great back then, I probably won't see those days again in my lifetime. So glad I did it when I could.

[Kamille]

While in my first year of university, I took a course in my current field. I loved it, and couldn't believe people dedicated their careers to doing research on a topic that had always been my passion anyway. (Most of my high school papers were somehow related to the topic).

 

I didn't consider the job market until I entered the PhD. (By then, I was providing my own income through scholarships, research assistantships and loans). I didn't even pick my thesis topic based on job opportunities - but, it turns out, I picked a very marketable topic. I landed a position 3 months after graduating. Had I not landed a position as professor, I could have recycled into policy or community work. Basically, I knew what I wanted to do, knew I was frigging hard working, and figured that all came to worst, at least I would have gotten to do work I was passionate about throughout my 20s. There is one thing though: I have held a job and gotten rave reviews from every single one of my employers ever since I worked picking strawberries at the age of 16.

 

Landing my dream job? It's not about the passion. It's about dedication. You've heard the saying: Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. I think what got me where I am is that I stuck through the "bad" research contracts. For example, I remember I saw the positives in spending a summer transcribing data. While some colleagues would whine about how tedious it was, I would get caught up in the participant's stories and eventually ended up participating in the analysis of the data.

 

If I can translate this to your current situation Leigh: you need more than inspiration to succeed in your chosen field. You need to learn stick-to-itedness. Motivation follows action, not the other way around.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Kamille

[GemmaUK]

I wanted to be a soccer player in my youth and when that didn't materialise, nothing took its place. I was a straight A student, studied Physics at university, graduated, and now 5 years later (at 25)...I'm a postman!

 

I just can't get passionate about the thought of any regular career, being a teacher/lawyer/doctor/accountant etc..

Being indoors all the time would kill me.

 

At the moment I'm getting paid just to walk around in the great outdoors delivering mail, I can listen to my romance language recordings whilst doing so for some intellectual stimulation and to boost my fluency in them.

 

There is zero stress and no work to take home or worry about. I can work all the hours I like, and if I were to do say a fifty hour week, that would come to 27k a year, but I could earn more if I wanted. Newly qualified teachers start on around 20k, with huge stress, working 12+hour days and taking work home with them.

 

Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out and should be getting into a career as all my peers are doing - posting their success and grand titles all over facebook.

But should I really when I have such a nice job and no real work related passion?

 

My brother was a postman for a long time!

He also worked in Sudan for 6 months as an English teacher before he became a postman.

 

He had a degree in history and wanted to do something with it - a degree in 'something' was needed to work in Sudan.

 

He adored the teaching but when he left he broke into the Principal's office and weapon cupboard. My bro worked at girl's school which also had femae teachers and my brother could not abide that the pupils and also female teachers would get whipped if they behaved incorrectly.

 

He then spent six months with barely any money nor possesions travelling back from Sudan.

He spent Christmas day alone in Paris having the ocffee he could just about afford and eating the bread rolls they laid out which he thought were free.

He was good at running!

He called us at 6pm on Boxing day from Victoria Station...he was home!

 

He became a postman, met a girl, fell in love, had a baby and then studied to be a teacher.

It was tough but he did it.

He know lives in Australia, the country of his birth..and teaches.

 

Me?

I never took a degree.

My Mum had ust passed away and I wanted to be there for my father.

I left college and found a job.

 

I hated maths.

My first job was in accounts.

I have tried other things but I love working with numbers and something you can 'finish'

I like deadlines.

I end up in roles that were never there before though...my roles have always been something that 'transpires' over time.

Maybe I do actually have creativity as well as Excel and spreadsheet geekiness!

Also though I adore psychology and learning (I'm like #5 in that kids film I adore 'input' - those are my hobbies now.

I love writing too.

[Kamila]

I just wanted to get a degree (master's) and to get as far as possible.

See it as maximizing your potential to its fullest.

 

Who wants to live with the regrets of what one could have achieved ?

I also didn't want my lack of degree to be a hurdle of finding a well-paid job with responsibilities, respect of colleagues and growing chances.

 

My advice would be to get the degree you're most suited for and study hard.

[Leigh 87]

I didnt stick to social work because I feel very strongly against pursuing a degree with absolutely no science. I only switched to social work because I assumed I was too mature and removed from high school math and physics to hack a science degree.

 

After a month or knew that I couldnt stand humanities based degrees. I regretted dropping the health science degree and I wished I had stuck it out and faced the challenge of re learning maths as an adult.

 

I know first hand how awful it is to deviate from something you truly enjoy when the going gets tough and then trying something that may be easy but you have no academic interest of fire for.

 

It would have been an awful mistake if I had pursued social work. I am adamant and not even a fraction worried that I will have any problems committing to a medical style of degree like podiatry or radio imaging.

 

Back when I was studying a degree I loved, u was very mentally fragile and didn't have friends, nor did I know how to interact socially. I had been isolated due to a mental illness.

 

Now I have progressed in life and have friends, a decent boyfriend and my life is finally normal. The only thing normal I yearn for is starting and finishing a degree and landing a professional job.

 

My affairs are mostly in order now and I have no doubt that I am ready to find a degree that lies in my area of interest and stick to it.

 

I have seen my podiatrist friend at work. I know what she gets up to. It's not all fun and games, I realise that she doesn't always deal with interesting cases of foot alignment gone haywire whereby she gets to use her expertise in biomechanics to correct a genuinely challenging problem. She spends her days cutting toenails and treating feet. For me, that is a fine career. I like the pace and of her work and the fact that, after the intensive degree, it isnt always full on...not very challenging work most of the time and that suits me fine. It's a good income, not fast paced and just generally a relaxed and pleasant environment. TO ME. I can see why others may want more of a daily challenge in their work.

 

 

I have always enjoyed going to my friends work. It's a nice atmosphere. People aren't running around with their heads cut off. There is no real stress or challenge about her daily job. My favourite element of the job is dealing with diabetics. She gets to counsel them in their health and lifestyle choices and help them understand how to manage their condition. Podiatrists learn a lot about diabetics since the illness can result in foot disorders.

 

 

 

All in all, I like the repetitive nature, the fact that after the intensive and very challenging degree you can start a more laid back job and the one on one patient care especially diabetic patients. I would also feel really good about myself in simply being knowledgeable enough to diagnose and treat disorders.

 

Medical imaging is also a career I have looked into where I definitely enjoy the sound of their daily work life. It is also repetitive which I like but everyone works in a team compared to podiatry, where you can just carry out the diagnosing and treatments autonomously.

 

 

 

 

All in all, medical imaging would be more academically challenging for me.

 

I don't know if I like or if I am good at physics so it is probably a bit far fetched of me to start a degree that contains physics for the first year and uses physic based concepts thereafter. What if I turn out to have physics?

 

I always enjoyed math and prefered it to writing essays. Sadly, I haven't done math for many years nor have I ever learnt physics at all during high school.

 

 

 

 

 

My dream career is to help people in the area of medical science. Be it podiatry or using medical imaging to help diagnose disease.

 

 

 

 

Both career are very attractive to me and infinitely better than a non science career pathway in different areas that are not science based.

 

 

 

 

 

I think I am doing the right thing in going back to college, not wasting more time, and going for a degree in my area of interest even though it will be challenging.. Applied science style degrees can be very demanding in the pace at which they move and concepts such as physics for a person like myself, who will need to learn from scratch.

 

 

 

At this stage, even low pay and repetitive or boring work are so much more exciting to me than a career in another field or area entirely.

 

It just so happens that I like the pace and nature of what I have seen so far of both jobs, and they both pay well enough post grad and beyond there is goof potential to earn more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am very strong on my decision. I am just SLIGHTLY more interested in the remarkable types of topics such as nuclear medicine and I would love to get all technical and learn to process images and inject people with radioactive materials in order to get images.

 

 

Seriously though, the job outlook for nuclear medicine is SO dire that it is wiser for me to go with podiatry. At least it's in an area that I am interested in albeit not my first choice but a very close second.

[Leigh 87]

While in my first year of university, I took a course in my current field. I loved it, and couldn't believe people dedicated their careers to doing research on a topic that had always been my passion anyway. (Most of my high school papers were somehow related to the topic).

 

I didn't consider the job market until I entered the PhD. (By then, I was providing my own income through scholarships, research assistantships and loans). I didn't even pick my thesis topic based on job opportunities - but, it turns out, I picked a very marketable topic. I landed a position 3 months after graduating. Had I not landed a position as professor, I could have recycled into policy or community work. Basically, I knew what I wanted to do, knew I was frigging hard working, and figured that all came to worst, at least I would have gotten to do work I was passionate about throughout my 20s. There is one thing though: I have held a job and gotten rave reviews from every single one of my employers ever since I worked picking strawberries at the age of 16.

 

Landing my dream job? It's not about the passion. It's about dedication. You've heard the saying: Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. I think what got me where I am is that I stuck through the "bad" research contracts. For example, I remember I saw the positives in spending a summer transcribing data. While some colleagues would whine about how tedious it was, I would get caught up in the participant's stories and eventually ended up participating in the analysis of the data.

 

If I can translate this to your current situation Leigh: you need more than inspiration to succeed in your chosen field. You need to learn stick-to-itedness. Motivation follows action, not the other way around.

 

 

 

 

It would have been a grave mistake to have stuck with social work.

 

It would have been great if I stuck out the food science degree. With low job prospects, I could have transferred into another science degree or done a masters to get me slightly different work with more prospects.

 

I didn't stick to social work because it was very wrong for me. I am very sure that my interest loss in science and medical based subjects. I don't think I will have a problem sticking to it this time around because I am ready to tackle math and physics if I rears its ugly head.

 

There is a reason I didn't stick the the first, initial science degree I loved. It wasn't because the degree wasn't right for me. I was just not in the state to tackle real problems. I was struggling with my life.

 

 

 

 

I start college next year so I have time to mentally prepare and get a tutor I like.

[TheFinalWord]

How many of you did a bachelors degree you were 100%, the most enthused with out of all the degrees on offer, EVEN THOUGH there were not prospects or very LOW prospects of work?

 

Alternatively, how many of you did a degree you were less interested in (but still excited about), because it had good employment prospects, even though it wasn't your first choice of career?

 

Go after your academic passions with low prospects employment wise?

 

Or do your second choice of "degree you are mot interested in" and get a good shot at stable employment at a decent wage?

 

Please discuss.

 

First generation college grad. I had no clue what job I wanted to get or how to get there. I only know my mother's advice, "an education is the one thing no one can take away from you" and her one regret, "I wish I had gone to college"

 

Once I completed my first two degrees, I obtained a job which I worked at for about 5 years. In the midst of this job, I completed a master's degree. During this time I found a passion for teaching and research; similarly my job opened up a new realm of interest to me. I was at a crossroads b/c I had a career laid out before me, which I could have continued to do...or I could quit and go to school full-time. I decided to pursue my new career interest...(I am also a man of faith and multiple signs helped clarify my decision).

 

I researched schools and undertook a MS/PhD. My passion for the field definitely helped me, as well as doing my homework to find the right advisor before committing.

 

Now I am a tenure-track prof. and I have the opportunity to help students find their passions. My question Leah (I have not followed all your other threads), can you engage in shadowing with the degree program you are interested in? Shadowing is where you follow around a professional that is currently employed in the occupation you are interested in. I find it is helpful to have a few courses under your belt before doing this so that you can have some basic knowledge of what they do.

 

I had one student the other day that started out wanting to go into gastroenterology. After shadowing, she quickly abandoned that idea and is applying to Pharmacy school.

 

From what I am reading, you are a bit torn. Shadowing can help a lot with clarifying your decision. Best of luck.

[anne1707]

I was uncertain of what I wanted to do when leaving school and going to university so I chose a "general" subject. However once I started working, my natural skills & personality took me down a route which I enjoy. The qualifications I have since had to study for this career were not always enjoyable but I saw them as a necessary evil and worth it long-term. I could work in a wide range of businesses but the sector I have chosen is one I am very passionate about. I know that my work contributes towards making the lives of many, many people far better than it would be otherwise.

 

Leigh - the courses you are looking at would take you down a much narrower career path. I highly recommend that you do some more shadowing (and maybe not with a friend who may be giving you a slightly biased outlook ) before you decide on your course. You need to think not so much about the next 3 years but about the next 10/20/30 years - that is what this is all about.

[Kamille]

Leigh, I'm glad you feel ready. I'm happy to learn your mental health is doing better. Doing a degree will likely you do you a world of good. I suspect that, in your case, it could be very grounding. I often get the impression that you get lost in cyclical train of thoughts - and that you eventually convince yourself that what you feel about something is the reality about something. This might explain why many of us want to make sure you think about what your future job will imply in the day to day. That way, doing the tasks well will be real - and what you feel about them will be less important.

 

You don't have to defend your past. In fact, in my field, we have a saying: when it comes to work, guilt about yesterday is irrelevant today. Every new day you get to do your best all over again.

 

My message was meant to say: once you start your degree, focus on what you like about it. There will be aspects you might find less interesting. Try, even with those, to find something positive about it. Take responsibility for what you do well - AND what you struggle with. When faced with a challenge, ask for help. Avoid convincing yourself out of it because of how you feel and focus on being proud of your work.

[Leigh 87]

Leigh, I'm glad you feel ready. I'm happy to learn your mental health is doing better. Doing a degree will likely you do you a world of good. I suspect that, in your case, it could be very grounding. I often get the impression that you get lost in cyclical train of thoughts - and that you eventually convince yourself that what you feel about something is the reality about something. This might explain why many of us want to make sure you think about what your future job will imply in the day to day. That way, doing the tasks well will be real - and what you feel about them will be less important.

 

You don't have to defend your past. In fact, in my field, we have a saying: when it comes to work, guilt about yesterday is irrelevant today. Every new day you get to do your best all over again.

 

My message was meant to say: once you start your degree, focus on what you like about it. There will be aspects you might find less interesting. Try, even with those, to find something positive about it. Take responsibility for what you do well - AND what you struggle with. When faced with a challenge, ask for help. Avoid convincing yourself out of it because of how you feel and focus on being proud of your work.

 

 

 

Very helpful advice as usual. Thanks for all your helpful comments.

 

I actually do know where my natural area of interest lies..... I am not trying to convince myself of anything. medical applied science degrees are the ones that I have always been most interested in. This is not just something I am trying to tell myself.

 

 

Social work was something I just tried to convince myself I liked. As was social science. I did them because I was too scared of a science degree earlier on for the reasons I've outlined repeatedly. In the case of those degrees, I felt terrible about dropping the original science degree and I was trying to convince myself that " well I have to avoid math and useless subjects that don't even pertain to my dream career yet the course forces me to do". I was angry.

[CarrieT]

How many of you did a bachelors degree you were 100%, the most enthused with out of all the degrees on offer, EVEN THOUGH there were not prospects or very LOW prospects of work?

Not just a bachelor's but I even got a Master's degree in Fine Art knowing that employment prospects were nil.

 

And a week after getting my Master's (with massive student debt), I went and enrolled in cooking school - just because of the passion. Now with the latter, I know there is work to be had, but not for someone in their late 30s (at that point) who can't afford to work at minimum wage in a slop-house, or diner.

 

I have only ever pursued my passions, regardless of potential income. My income has come from my peripheral employment as an Executive Assistant - and there is no college degree for that other than the need for good math, linguistics, etc.

[Leigh 87]

I was uncertain of what I wanted to do when leaving school and going to university so I chose a "general" subject. However once I started working, my natural skills & personality took me down a route which I enjoy. The qualifications I have since had to study for this career were not always enjoyable but I saw them as a necessary evil and worth it long-term. I could work in a wide range of businesses but the sector I have chosen is one I am very passionate about. I know that my work contributes towards making the lives of many, many people far better than it would be otherwise.

 

Leigh - the courses you are looking at would take you down a much narrower career path. I highly recommend that you do some more shadowing (and maybe not with a friend who may be giving you a slightly biased outlook ) before you decide on your course. You need to think not so much about the next 3 years but about the next 10/20/30 years - that is what this is all about.

 

 

 

I have looked into.both careers..i have watched day to day going on, on utube.

 

I don't know how I could go from happy with the idea to suddeny hating the career.

 

I don't care if the career ends up getting repetitive and boring.. I would find sometimes good about it..i am.a positive person and I would just be glad to be done with school and earning a proper full time pay check, of which I have never had...i have never gotten the Aussie minimum wage or equivalent in my life for my full time jobs.

 

 

I need to apply after the 6 the of August or else I won't get a first round offer and I would have to pay big for a second round offer.

 

 

 

 

I am 28 and I refuse to fast about. It's very important to me that I begin studies next semester and it's not worth having to pay twice as much to apply at the later date. No thanks..

 

 

I am fairly sure that I won't hate the jobs. That is all I require. A job I don't hate and that pays the bills would make me very happy.

 

 

 

And i dont know how I would suddenly realise that I " hate " podiatry when I have looked at my friend work several times. What could possible pop up that suddenly makes me.absolutely hate the job? I may not end up enjoying it as much as I thought I would but I can't see myself HATING it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I already mentioned that I prefer the more repetitive jobs that are not extra demanding and challenging on a daily basis.

[Leigh 87]

Not just a bachelor's but I even got a Master's degree in Fine Art knowing that employment prospects were nil.

 

And a week after getting my Master's (with massive student debt), I went and enrolled in cooking school - just because of the passion. Now with the latter, I know there is work to be had, but not for someone in their late 30s (at that point) who can't afford to work at minimum wage in a slop-house, or diner.

 

I have only ever pursued my passions, regardless of potential income. My income has come from my peripheral employment as an Executive Assistant - and there is no college degree for that other than the need for good math, linguistics, etc.

 

Interesting.

 

 

Well I don't want to pursue a degree I know has no job prospects. I want a full time pay check. In an area I am interested in. I'm really not even fussy about what the job is.

[clia]

I'm changing my previous advice after browsing through some of your older threads. Honestly, Leigh, I think you should focus on employability and job prospects. Your "passions" seem to change so frequently that relying on "passion" will only result in you flailing about in circles, as you have been doing for the past four years. Every time you get a new passion you want to change your degree. There is nothing wrong with developing new interests and passions as you go through life (and in fact it is to be expected), but you need to make a plan and stick to it for a degree and career. So, focus on employability. At least that way you can get a job even as your passions change.

[pink_sugar]

Interesting.

 

 

Well I don't want to pursue a degree I know has no job prospects. I want a full time pay check. In an area I am interested in. I'm really not even fussy about what the job is.

 

Look up career opportunities with good job prospects that don't require extensive education.

[ufo8mycat]

I have seen a days work of a podiatrist and a medical imaging specialist.

 

Hang on, when? You only discovered last week that nuclear medicine was your passion. Before that you were looking at Radiation Therapy?

 

I have also seen my dentist at work, that doesn't mean I know what it means to be a dentist all week.

 

I chose my undergraduate degree of television. I saw a documentary on using stereotactic radio surgery to treat inoperable brain tumours and I was 17 so went yep, I want to work with cutting edge technology and machines that go ping.

 

It took a full decade from when I graduated to when that particular piece of equipment came to Australia. So I didn't hang around. I love the degree but I didn't enjoy the job. It was repetitive and not very challenging. Some patients could also really ruin your day - so I knew it was time to move on.

 

I always had an interest in law but didn't get the marks at uni to get into a course. So when I started working in what was essentially an administrative role I went back to uni part time and did my Masters in Law with a focus on health law and emerging technology. It was something that was just right place right time as the issues of genetics and the law exploded the year I finished.

 

I am starting uni again today in a course JUST to get some better skills in an emerging and in demand skill area. I am not that interested in the course and think it will be quite dry but I want to be confident in my technical skills before I start charging clients for it.

 

If I had my time again I wish I did an arts degree. I really love sociology and would love to research in this area. I am kinda coming across to it a bit, which is why I am wanting to learn more about qualitative methods and emergent design.

 

I largely follow my interests - and those interests tend to be how can I apply the latest theories to my own area of health. So I have done courses in agile, lean six-sigma, balanced scorecard and other business areas to expand the techniques I use in consulting.

 

I am always learning something - which is something that is important to me. I am really, really good at being a student!

[Leigh 87]

I'm changing my previous advice after browsing through some of your older threads. Honestly, Leigh, I think you should focus on employability and job prospects. Your "passions" seem to change so frequently that relying on "passion" will only result in you flailing about in circles, as you have been doing for the past four years. Every time you get a new passion you want to change your degree. There is nothing wrong with developing new interests and passions as you go through life (and in fact it is to be expected), but you need to make a plan and stick to it for a degree and career. So, focus on employability. At least that way you can get a job even as your passions change.

 

 

 

I have explained multiple times that I have always been more Interested in science based degrees. Since forever.

 

 

Hence why I originally started one. I dropped put for reasons other than not being passionate.

 

 

Look I am self aware enough to know that I prefer science based degrees and dislike humanities.

[Leigh 87]

Look up career opportunities with good job prospects that don't require extensive education.

 

But I like studying. I am academic. Although I am not that intelligent I do well and feel greatest when I am studying.

 

I cannot imagine working in a long term career that didn't involve three or more years of study.

 

I am studying ages care atm and will soon get a job since it is a stable area to gain employment.