What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in?

You know how in tv shows and movies they always ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, and all the kids are getting excited and answering? It seems like in every show those kids are like 5 or 6 years old. I was not one of those kids.

I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I didn’t start making that kind of decision until high school.

Back then I had the idea that because I love playing video games I should go into that career field. That idea didn’t last long, particularly because there weren’t any post secondary schools that really taught the kinds of classes I thought I would need, except for one in Washington. I didn’t have any clue how I would afford it and the prospect of moving away from my family and being alone was kind of terrifying for the 14 year old me.

Then it was cooking. My high school was able to offer a few levels of Catering classes, and I took the first two. I learned the basics for cooking and baking in Catering 1, then Catering 2 we actually learned more of the business side by catering a sporting event at our school. Unfortunately I needed some kind of permission or recommendation to move up to Catering 3 and higher, and again I didn’t know how I was going to get the tuition and education after high school. Although, this time I did happen to find a school much closer to home that had a program centered on cooking and becoming a professional chef. So I was kind of moving in the right direction I guess?

Two career paths shot down.

Then in my Junior year life happened and my family moved from the Colorado suburbs to the farmland of South Dakota. My graduating class went from 300+ down to just above 50. Very different experiences and mindsets, lots of farm kids, you get the idea. Before you jump to any conclusions there, no, I didn’t consider a career in farming. In fact, my class ended up doing a Shadow day and I had selected Information Technology as my field of choice. We lived only 30 minutes away from South Dakota’s largest city so that’s where we all went. The school had paired me up with the IT guys from a nearby hospital and some of my classmates were paired up with nurses and other hospital staff. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I didn’t expect that I would be following a desktop support technician all over the hospital. Definitely an interesting experience, especially compared to my classmates who all said they basically stayed in the same areas all day.

Still, I wasn’t sure that it would be for me. Three career paths down.

Eventually I did make it to college. I figured I would circle back around on that first idea a bit and chose the Computer Science program. I didn’t enjoying computer programming as much as I had hoped, and switched degrees to an Information Management one. I found the business classes and project management stuff a lot more interesting! Finally, something that seemed to resonate with me. So I followed that path as best I could, working through college at various jobs as college kids sometimes do.

Eventually, I got a job doing Software QA Testing. Okay, not quite the information management stuff I was aiming for, but it was fascinating to do manual testing and try to find bugs. Sadly, I was a contract worker through a third-party organization and our contracts weren’t extended because the company decided to offshore our positions.

We’re getting close to the present day, I promise, so if you’re still here reading I appreciate it!

Anyways, I had to find a new job, and I ended up working at “Red Circle Big Box Store” on the overnight shift. Very physically demanding job. Unloading trucks, stocking shelves, pulling pallets, lifting, climbing, hoisting, throwing. I got into great shape, compared to where I started after leaving my first desk job. Worked there for maybe a year and a half before I got the job I’m on now.

Funny enough, I’m back in Software QA! Going on eight years now! And in the IT department of the hospital system I shadowed at my senior year of high school!!! Now listen…. I’m not a big believer, never have been, couldn’t recite a Bible verse to save my life from eternal damnation in the pits of Hell…. So either this was some wild coincidence or The Universe was like “Lets give the guy a break.”

Having worked in my current position for almost eight years now, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many different teams and departments in the system. I’ve worked closely with the people from the Project Management Office the entire time. A couple of them have said “pssst, hey bud, we got an open position, you know, in case you’re interested.” To which I’ve said thank you but no, I like where I’m at and don’t want to play egotistical office politics. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all nice people, but you’re living with your eyes shut if you don’t see the office politics.

So, this post turned out to be a lot longer than I anticipated! If you’ve read all the way through and made it down here I really appreciate you taking that time out of your day to do so. Thanks again, and stay awesome!