Career Counseling

how do I shot selling out?

we already have an ask tombot thread you guys

After a number of setbacks, I have accepted that I do not know how to put together a career of my own, education and all. I know how to attend and achieve in any academic program, but I was naive in thinking that being able to master college physics was worth anything.

So, you know, I did the humility thing and sought career counseling. It seems I need to change my attitude and quit being such a sourpuss, that life isn't fair.

My career counselor suggested that I look to successful people as role models and copy them. Like going to the gym more might change my lazy attitude. To go out of the house every day acting like a winner, eating their food, looking like them.

I think this will work and my plan now is to forget the past and act like it never happened and get out today, start fresh, hit those streets and conduct myself like a real professional.

She suggested that I adopt a more professional lifestyle, like spending a lot more time reading what they read, like knowing all of the real estate pages. Also getting a more professional haircut, which means straightening.

I don't feel like living in the past, I want to be a winner. So, today I'm going to do something new which is pretend the past never happened and get out there and fight like someone who can manage millions of dollars.

hi five

ilx should slot nicely into this new regime, it's a bit of a millionaires factory.

I'll have to keep you posted on how my attitude adjustment works out for me.

Thinking of ditching all of that selfish narcissistic academic crap and just looking at more socially responsible and professional industries like retail fashion or real estate.

i have a pair of millionaire's shoes, they were meant to inspire me but they pinched.

were they penny loafers.

you know, they weren't far off

pinch penny loafers.

I had some Millionaire's Shortbread once. But then he shouted "oi get your hands of my shortbread!" and I got throw out of the coffee bar.

I've been wondering, and now I guess I will know I'm a ~real adult~ when I'm able to be told I should get a "more professional" straightened haircut without going "oh, wow, this planet you live on is not for me after all. bye!"

ilx should slot nicely into this new regime, it's a bit of a millionaires factory.

― estela, Monday, March 21, 2011 5:23 AM (1 hour ago)

this may be my favorite post ever made?

Life isn't fair and when you're given every educational opportunity that poor ordinary people can't have, you should be willing to accomodate and assimilate yourself to a professional culture, you can't have everything you want in life, making some concessions is a mark of discipline and unselfishness.

Especially in a world where not everyone can achieve your level of educational attainment.

Getting a little more serious here....

I have a flyer from a counciling service (the Women's Resource Center, in Sarasota). They have a job councilling meeting coming up soon, and I'm thinking of going. There's a problem, though: It's marketed to poor women. I'm worried that it will be all 19-year-olds sitting around listening to someone telling them not to chew gum during an interview.

Someone as articulate as you might be intimidating to people used to serving a poor community. I knew someone who was unemployed but who did not qualify for disability and when she sought social services was often treated as "overqualified".

I am not illiberal - I think there need to be decent quality services for poor people, but sometimes these places have people working in them who have low expectations for low income people.

I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face!

Or just my job. Not sure yet. Changing careers seems pretty daunting once you've spent years working in one field.

Had been thinking about looking for a thread like this today. May post back here later, if I get the chance to hash out some thoughts.

The first chapter or two of Barbara Ehrenreich's Bait and Switch covers several dismal experiences and one helpful experience with a number of career counselors. Worth reading before you give money to one.

Ha, I'm reading that book right now!

I just read the appendix of 'What Colour Is Your Parachute?' which discusses this. tl;dr - watch out!

Changing careers seems pretty daunting once you've spent years working in one field.

^^^ I have to say that I'm feeling this right now.

Always liked Ehrenreich's articles when they appeared in Harper's Magazine, so I looked her up on Amazon to see if she wrote any books and voila.

Oh yeah, I wasn't thinking of shelling out money that I already don't make to a career counselor. Just thinking about changing careers but don't quite have a bead on where to start.

I feel you. My main issue is I can't even think of a career I'd even want to pursue. That seems important for putting together a resume. I just backed into my current career after graduating college.

10 years later, here I am.

I'm seeing a counselor right now. It is very helpful as a motivational tool and for touching up what is a very thin resume and coaching me on the elevator speech. THat said, he clearly thinks along traditional, corporate lines and prob won't be a huge help in sealing the deal for me. Once I feel like he's coached me up, I'm basically going to move on to work personal contacts. I heartily agree with what someone said upthread:

It's totally worth it if it makes you confront answers you already have.

I have found that sitting face-to-face with basically a stranger, knowing i'm paying well for his time, has pushed me to get past BS personal barriers that have held me up in the past, and just go for broke. Very helpful in that sense.

Always liked Ehrenreich's articles when they appeared in Harper's Magazine, so I looked her up on Amazon to see if she wrote any books and voila.

― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Monday, April 21, 2014 7:16 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

she lives in my neighborhood! i moderated a little talk she did on the new book at my house back in september.

My main issue is I can't even think of a career I'd even want to pursue. That seems important for putting together a resume. I just backed into my current career after graduating college.

Oh boy, can I relate. Except I didn't graduate, and it's been over a decade since I dropped out, and I still haven't worked out what I really want to do, or what I might not feel so horribly bad at.

But I'm lucky to have a job at all, I know. And it pays decently enough considering how bad I am at it. But is this really the best I can hope to feel over the next 30+ years? I dunno. I'll be watching this thread just in case inspiration comes.

When I had been out of the job market for about six years and needed a fresh start I had difficulty thinking of what kind of job I could even imagine doing. I spent some time at the career development center at my local community college, took a few tests and did a bit of research before I decided to direct myself at training to be a technical writer. It worked out well for me. But it was around 1993, just before the tech sector really heated up. I was lucky.

Just looked up technical writing as a profession. The sentence: "Although technical writers work in a variety of industries, they are concentrated in the computer and engineering industries" lets me know I could not do this job, lol.

I've been thinking about going back to school to get a masters in social work. I've read a couple of books on the field and I think I'd find it rewarding. Two big drawbacks seem to be pay and the somewhat high probability of burnout.

Off to search ILX to see if there is any threads on social work as a career.

Oh hai I am just finishing my first year in an MSW program; I can counsel u

Oh boy, can I relate. Except I didn't graduate, and it's been over a decade since I dropped out, and I still haven't worked out what I really want to do, or what I might not feel so horribly bad at.

trying to jump ship to a pm job

any thought on these 12 week dev bootcamps? javascript, ruby etc?

You know when you sign up on a jobs website, and in addition to the daily or weekly listings, you get emailed directly from recruiters? Ate those jobs even worth replying to?

BTW, my tablet autocorrected recruiters into terrorists.

makes sense

the second thing. i don't know about the first

They're only emailing, not calling? You're lucky. That said, if I can generalise from my UK IT experience, yes they're worthwhile. They're often clueless, offering opportunities that aren't a good fit for your CV. Even if they're friendly and keen (and less clueless) on the phone, if they don't get a positive response from the employer after submitting your application or even after an interview they won't get back in touch with you, even if you ask how things went. But they do represent you directly so you don't have to bother with tiresome cover letters, they will do the tedious work of finding opportunities, and employers do seem to value them. I'm looking at the moment and I've had three or four interviews via recruiters, none via my own applications. Oh one major downside, once you get in touch with them they will be contacting you for the rest of your life.

Another downside, sometimes they won't leave you alone. Maybe I shouldn't be listening to music through my phone (albeit plugged into a decent amp) but come on, four calls during Fear of Music. My usual strategy is to shout "fuck off" then try and be polite when I actually pick up.

My main concern with these unsolicited emails is identity theft -- am I being paranoid?