Was your major something you knew you wanted to do since you were a child? i would say it’s adjacent. looking back on it now my first want was to be an astronaut. so where i am as a software engineer, where my work can potentially help the astronauts in space seems fair. fun fact my brother who is also in the same field worked on chips used in the recent Hubbard satellite. If not, how did your interests change and how did you settle on one? while my first career plan was being an astronaut, the one that stuck the most for me was to be in the art field in some way. i wanted to be a graphic designer for the longest time. but i ended up doing computer science in college because i was scared to be a starving artist living in gloomy nyc (not all of it is gloomy but when i toured schools it felt like all the kids needed to be doped up or drinking copious amounts of coffee to get by). i thought with this i could still be creative in some way, or get enough money and time to be creative outside of work. Did job outlook sway or decide for you in any way? Did you change majors because of it? when i went to school my career was still in steady motion. i never switched majors for something else. Do you regret changing or NOT changing majors? i don’t regret it. i feel with my choice i am able to live the life i am now; where i work to live and not live to work. i am able to balance my work for the 8 hours i am obliged to and fool off the rest of the time. that’s something i realized how much i truly valued creative time or rest. How did you balance your passions vs. projected job security? currently, i am in an okay spot with job security. the job market for tech people is not the best, but it’s also not the worst. i think my company also wants me to have that good work life balance because 1) it saves them money not to have to give overtime and 2) you‘ll get burned out if you don’t. Do you currently have a job inside/outside your field of study? currently my job is inside my field. i feel like it would be very unwise to move into a career outside of it with my degree 😂
Mar 9, 2025

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thank you so much!!
Mar 10, 2025

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growing up i felt compelled to have a job that i felt contributed something "important" to the world. there is a lot of background pressure that a career should be a "calling" or something you feel so passionate about that they couldn't not do it for a living. a really useful piece of advice i got a little over a year ago (meant to apply to scientific academia but applies just as much to humanities, arts, etc.): jobs that use the language of a "calling" do so to exploit labor. if your job is your passion, why shouldn't you burn the candle at both ends until you have nothing left but passive indifference (or, even worse, resentment) for something you once thought interesting enough to devote your entire life to? i think a bit about what my life would be like if i just did undergrad in computer science and got an avg boring programming job. lots of choice about where you live, pays pretty well, work is intellectually interesting enough, and it actually ends at 5pm so you have enough free time to explore other things you enjoy. a few friends from college chose this path and it definitely has its downsides, but its worth considering, esp. if you are really uncertain about what you actually want out of your life.
Feb 17, 2024
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as someone in the creative industry, its hard bc sometimes all i wanna do is throw myself into my passions and work so hard i get myself sick. but i’ve realized im not happiest when i work 50-60 hour work weeks (even if im fulfilled and having fun) i need the time and space for the things that fuel being creative: exercise, hiking, being with friends, playing dnd. This work is like breathing, you should try to find balance between breathing in and out. Creatives are often told that their work should become their job, but sometimes, it’s truly better for it be a side hustle or things that operate on a project to project basis. I found it helpful to get connected with people who I admired and see what their days look like. Are they running around 24/7? are they constantly making work they actually don’t like bc it makes money? or are they dedicated to things they love and are fulfilled? or are they practically controlled by their work? Their day to day can be very similar to yours, so understanding if that would be an environment you would be happy in is very important. I agree that volunteering is a good place to start, also gets you connected to the people who work in the industries yr interested in! Museum studies might be broad enough for you to also access some internships across a few industries which really give you great insight what working in various environments can be like for real. I will say working in an arts environment has been incredible for me, i feel truly myself and able to be who i am with very few masks on.
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Tbh I feel like finding a job you like is mostly self awareness and knowing that it’s still going to feel like a job A few questions that Might help: 1. think about past work experience - who has your favorite supervisor been? Why? Same for least favorite - what did they do that you absolutely could not stand? 2. Think about morals - do you want to find ~meaning~ at work or is it more important to have stability and freetime? 3. Think about past coworkers - do you like working alone? On a team? Is it important to be around people during the work day? 4. Think about what you get satisfaction out of in your personal life - is your grocery list organized by aisle? are you the mediator in your friend group? While hobbies might play into this, try and think beyond them try and translate some of your answers into something you’d find on a job description. Maybe this exercise won’t be helpful but thinking about work like this has helped me land in a job I like Myself as example: I like organization, having autonomy, having my voice heard, and ~believing~ in the work I do. I also get bored at work quickly. This originally led me to social work where I quickly got burnt out With 24/7 work. I’m in continuing Ed administration where I work a 9-5 ~10 months of the year and have 1-2 very hectic months and that works really well for me.
Feb 16, 2024

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