“Look At This Photograph…”

If you read any career book, or just troll online at any job-related site, you’ll find a variation of the following sentence passed off as unmitigated fact: people will change careers an average of seven times in their adult life. It’s not a surprising statement if you just think back to various stages of your life and the job you were doing, or what you were thinking of doing.

For me, I was a space geek as a kid. I was totally enthralled with the NASA space program, Star Trek, Space: 1999, Star Wars, and all the rest. I really wanted to be an astronaut — or at least work in space, and then come home and fly around in my flying car. Well, that didn’t happen, did it? Teen years were spent alternating between wanting to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a medical doctor or a film director. I know, very random choices, but there it is.

Young adult years: three years of film school, and then a long-term study of politics. Wow! Another random choice. And when you factor in various jobs in radio until my mid-20s, I look like a big flake.

And then the watershed moment when I found my thing. After doing my undergrad in politics and actually excelling in my studies, I wanted to write and teach — mostly because I loved talking about political ideas so much. So, I cast my lot with the tweedy professors and devoted years of time and energy to get my union card (i.e., my Ph.D.) so I could pursue what I thought I wanted. And I did it! I completed my dissertation, passed my comps, and got my degree. Then I got part-time gigs at various colleges and universities and was trying very hard to land the coveted tenure track job. However, the market for new profs was very tight and, alas, it was a rejection letter after rejection letter. While all this was going on, I was working in radio doing weekends and fill-in work at the same place where I’m currently employed on a full-time basis.

I bring all this up because it was spring cleaning at our house last week, and I resolved to thin out my book collection and donate what I didn’t want (and wouldn’t use) to our local library. But as I was boxing up shelf after shelf of books, I started getting a bit sad and somewhat maudlin about what the majority of these books represented. For me, they represented a huge investment of time, money, and energy that took J and me across the country (and back) to chase after something that just never really worked out. I don’t want you to think I donated my entire library of books, but there were a significant number of titles that I hung on to in case I finally got that tenure track job. And it didn’t help my mood when I heard “Photograph” by Nickleback — especially the chorus:

Every memory of looking out the back door
I have a photo album spread out on my bedroom floor
It’s not the same,
it’s time to say it
Goodbye goodbye
Every memory of walking out the front door
I found the photo of the present I was looking for
It’s hard to say it,
time to say it
Goodbye goodbye
Goodbye

Stupid Nickleback! Okay, enough blah blah and boo-hoo about me. How about you? What career dreams did you have and did you achieve them?

–PK

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11 thoughts on ““Look At This Photograph…”

  1. Academia SUCKS, because you are a totally awesome teacher, and they should be begging you to come and teach at their stupid schools.

    I wanted to be a vet, but I don’t like blood. Wanted to be a jockey, but I’m too big. Wanted to work at the U.N., but changed my mind. Wanted to be an airline pilot, and a judge. Wanted to be the CEO of a big company. Wanted to be a professor. Changed my mind so many times. Still haven’t found my ‘thing’, which is, I guess, how one ends up being a payroll analyst working from home in the suburbs.

    Stupid Nickleback.

  2. First I wanted to be a nurse, then I wanted to be a doctor, then I wanted to go into criminal justice and be a criminalist, then I wanted to be a speech therapist, and now I just fly around on a broom stick.

  3. An artist (always have been, just not professionally), an exercise leader/trainer (I was certified and led a few classes at the U and a local health club), a health educator (people in the health field are limited intellectually), and finally a South Asian specialist/researcher/instructor. The last one WILL happen! Currently, I am a student and an assistant food writer.

  4. Oh, I forgot to add, part owner of a consulting company.:) This is a new thing, however. Man, I guess I am the jack of all trades. Whew!

  5. Most of my childhoon, I wanted to be a hair stylist. I would do my friends hair and show their moms. So I went to beauty school, to escape high school and love it for a time. I think I liked the social aspect the most and their doing hair, not so much. I lacked confidence and didn’t want to end up at a super cuts for the rest of my life. So I quit. Then I went to Heald to fullfill my need to work in a tiny cuble jamming on a computer all day. (insane laugh inserted here)

  6. A nurse, then brother barfed and I fled from that idea quickly, teacher, pilot, I knew my math skills were crap so, flight attendant, tea shop owner, Rich woman. Now I just want to be happy with my job.

  7. My husband is on the academic job market right now — he got his Ph.D. three years ago and has been a full-time instructor here(at the school where he got his Ph.D.) since then. He’s had a few interviews, but no offers yet. So we’re on the verge of finding out if all those years of grad school are going to pay off for him — and us.

    I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

  8. When I was in my teens I wanted to be an Indian movie star. Then I wanted to be an interior designer next a model (which I did) then a designer again( which I did) and now just a yoga instuctor and enjoying it

  9. Oh Py – I know what you mean about clearing out books (I just can’t part with them) and it’s the same with records.

    To answer you question, I wanted to be in age order:
    5 years old – 14: a priest
    14 – 21: a surgeon (did first year of medical school)
    22 – 28: fell into journalism
    28-32: ran a wine club
    32 – onwards: various!

  10. For some reason, I have never been very career-oriented. All of my promotions and such were sort of just plopped in my lap.

    Growing up I wanted to be a teacher, but didn’t really pursue that, although I could just go into it right now if I wanted.

    I am ok with being a mom, I always wanted to be one! We’ll see where I go from here.

  11. Ok, here I go.
    I wanted to be a surgeon and found I hated biology. I liked to figure out how things worked so I became a mechanical engineer. I loved airplanes so I worked for a sub-contractor of Boeing Vertol and did some design of small parts for the V-22. I hated it. Now I work in air pollution control, which I like. Just finished my mba and hope to start up a business with some products I am developing on the side.

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