What should be my next career?

[pmbryant]

Just curious what my options are, as a 35-year-old software developer and former scientist...

:-)

--Peter

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Be whatever you want to be!

You're old enough now to follow your dreams and do what you want.

Go, make art in whatever field you choose!

[littlejoe]

2. Hey Peter,

No one really cares.

[pmbryant]

4. Just checking

Thanks, littlejoe!

:hi:

--Peter

[prolesunited]

6. I do

What's your problem anyway? Why would you come into someone's house and start stuff with people who have been here a much longer time than you?

Manners and respect, get some!

[greatauntoftriplets]

35. I care, too, prolesunited!!!

Peter is a great guy.

[david_vincent]

3. Election rigging

It's the next growth industry.

[pmbryant]

8. Yes!

Combine IT with 'GOP shill' and my future is made!

;-)

--Peter

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

5. I didn't vote.

what do you really WANT TO DO, Peter? What makes you happy? honestly, in the nearly two years I have seen you post and interact, I am convinced you COULD accomplish any of the above...given that..what do you want to do? What turns you on enough (not in the biblical sense) to get you out of bed and being productive?

[pmbryant]

9. Uh oh, this is pointing towards 'politics, baby' ;-)

Or law. I was afraid of that.

:scared:

:evilgrin:

--Peter

[GOPisEvil]

11. Damn...you too?

Scary, but I'd pitch my job in a heartbeat for one in a behind the scenes politcal role.

God help me, I love it so...

:scared:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. Then get a JD

You've already got the other 4 years under your belt...you can do it at night if you need to although it is not advisable...science has already contributed to your thought process which will make the first year less threatening...and besides, you are smart and good at not adding anything to a communication which allows you to see what is there...very necessary.

Go for it....you can deal with anything for three years! :loveya:

[pmbryant]

24. The scary thing is...

that this has actually become a serious option.

It is such a radical departure from what I've been doing up until now, though, so I have a lot of thinking and research to do.

Thanks for the encouragement.

:loveya:

--Peter

[benddem]

7. Nursing

Your skills would work well in that field. Then you could help develop usable software that really reduces paperwork.O8)

[pmbryant]

14. The odd thing is

that I've actually considered that as an option!

:wow:

--Peter

[HuckleB]

25. Then go for it!

As an RN, your flexibility is amazing. As a nurse practitioner, even more so.

[populistmom]

33. Medicine, the ultimate service industry

Which is essentially becoming the base of our economy now. I'm a returning student in nursing and you wouldn't believe the number of returning adult students going into it, especially men. There's such a range of what you can do in nursing too, plus it's internationally portable if you ever want that.

[HawkerHurricane]

10. Never mind you!

After 20 years of service, I'm leaving the Navy in 2 months, and I have no clue what I'm going to do with myself.

[pmbryant]

17. Good luck!

It is scary yet thrilling, all at the same time.

I feel like I am at a similar cross-roads now. :-)

Best of luck to you, whatever course you choose!

--Peter

[cally]

12. Professor or teacher

You have the temperament, caring, and intelligence to teach others. Share your gifts!

[pmbryant]

19. Ah, teaching

Appreciate those thoughts. Teaching is a scary proposition; even scarier than politics. My Dad was a public high-school teacher for 35 years or so, so I have some inkling what is involved. At least I would have a great resource for advice!

:-)

--Peter

[salin]

13. Become an anti cheney energy bill lobbyist

you'd be my hero ;-)

Seriously - give us some background on why you chose those particular options on the poll...

[pmbryant]

20. Cool

The options were just to present a wide spectrum of choices, since I am trying to be very open-minded and consider anything and everything.

Anti-cheney energy bill lobbyist sounds too cool.

Being salin's hero sounds even cooler! ;-)

--Peter

[Champion Jack]

16. Blacksmith

or Pearl stringing...

[HEyHEY]

18. stay the hell outta journalism

It's hard enough finding a job without another person looking

[pmbryant]

22. Indeed

I don't think I have much talent in that direction, anyway, so I think you're safe.

And it looks like DU thinks I should become a 'GOP shill'.

:shrug:

--Peter

[AndyTiedye]

29. Journalism = GOP Shill these days

I doubt you could even get hired unless you can at least talk Republican.

[ZenLefty]

21. I thought you wanted to be a male underwear model

Whatever happened to that? :D

[pmbryant]

23. That is so yesterday

:evilgrin:

--Peter

[ScreamingMeemie]

26. Real estate appraising...

Rough at times, but an extremely flexible job. You work for yourself, and I love being autonomous. The training is a bit brutal but it is extremely interesting.

[pmbryant]

28. Autonomous!

I love the sound of that! (I can handle brutal training.)

--Peter

[sweetheart]

27. law towards politics

I sympathize with you, as my background is similar and i've just had my 41st birthday, my last software company where i was CTO went down in flames for reasons outside my control.

I've considered a trade career like plumbing as i've always referred to software as plumbing... carpentry and building certainly seem to survive recession and provide visceral value that people can touch.. whereas software (As you know) unless they see it, it is worthless.

Law is inspiring if you can handle re-schooling for it.

I've a software developer's sense of political correctness so poliitcs is out for me... plus i sold cannabis and acid to earn money in college... :-)

Myself i'm thinking of "writer" as english is a language i've known as well as Algol, Forth, C, C++, Java, TAL, COBOL, Fortran, Pascal, APL, LLISP, PL1, smalltalk my favorites.... and i figured writing english is a similar discipline... and Orwell changed the world with 1984 and animal farm... certainly theres room for more of that liberating insight in writing... but it still involves re-tooling... and may not pay the rent.

Politics if you are ready to be in the public eye... god help you if you do... major respect from me.

Do you want more school, or not... and if you re-tool again in your career, make sure this time that you won't have your job shipped offshore when you're 53... as next time round, re-tooling might be way harder.

Good luck with your endeavours. Your success is all of ours... may the great god of career success shine a luminous field of light.

-sweetheart

[pmbryant]

30. Thanks

Appreciate your post, sweetheart. In the past, I have been told that I had a talent for writing, but unfortunately, I've let it atrophy in recent years. I want to get back into it, if only as a hobby.

The public eye terrifies me, and I don't think I am necessarily cut out for it, but politics does seem to be what inspires me. I think I would have to be a behind-the-scenes person if I go that route.

Thanks,
Peter

[mdmc]

31. repub shill

with election code expertise. then, become the du inside guy. i don't think selling acid and herb in college would effect a potential political career.

[sweetheart]

34. nerds and the public eye

Thanks that you don't think that what under texas law while i attended college was a 20 year felony would affect my political career.. :-) Likely bulk marketing of 50 hits of acid is still custodial in east texas.... at least it was in 81.

I am in midlife career muddle. I've an MBA as well on top of software and had IT not been destroyed in the last 3 years, would still be running software companies.... however, i am behind the scenes like pmbryant. I design the product lines and make it all sexy... design the slogans, marketing and targeting... even doing press interviews for such... but not the day to day management person who is the "face".

It is not my character, as Peter points out for himself.. just i don't know what behind the scenes is anymore. I could design systems like this DU system in a heartbeat... this is simple stuff... an election target marketing system might be interesting... but then again, why need an expert... a coupla database hacks with claritas could pretty much sew up a marketing messaging stragegy for the dems on a nationwide basis.

I would REALLY like to startup a nationwide liberal newspaper as a joint effort with a bunch of folks... that would likely become a major success given how journalism, software, media and politics are converging these days... sort of an american guardian distributed like USA today... but not of that field, who am i but a marketeer.

What other behind the scenes jobs are there... campaign manager... thats a people person.. not me... marketing strategy... like ca?? that bald guy who's mates with clinton... but surely theres enough of those who are more in tune with american centrism than me... geesh, given what i've posted on this site... i'd be strung up alive...

That pretty much leaves writer. I just need a support group to kick me in the ass to produce. I've 35,000 words of a textbook under contract with the worlds largest textbook publisher, but the publish date has been pushed off... and textbook writers don't earn green... i've to write a good fiction novel. Orwell, Tolkien... they's me heroes.

Plus to enter politics, i'd have to leave my farm in the scottish highlands and take back to the big smelly city to have lotsa people hate me for being liberal.... Tolkien wrote his books round these parts... methinks he and shakespeare are my guardians.

Thanks for your aside. I'm curious if theres more to writing on this board than just "not" getting (real) work done. :-)

[ellie]

32. River guide?

Or any sort of adventure guide. Start small, work at an outfitter and then move up to guiding. You get to be outside and hike and kayak for a living. Hey wait, that's my dream job!

I am an editor for a magazine and am able to work from home. I highly recommend it. I saw that you gave both journalism and writer as your choices. If you are interested in writing, you should start with the trade press, writing articles about what you know: IT, software, science stuff. You can parlay that into a permanent job with a magazine. Or, you can do my other dream, write for the government. Due to the outsourcing trends, there are a lot of writing jobs that go out for bid. With your background, you may be able to bid on, and get one of these jobs. Think about it, one fat contract and you can spend the rest of your year being a river guide, hiking and kayaking for a living. Hey wait!