Your Job and how you chose it

[Darnold9999]

The advice to figure out what you love and go in that direction is pretty good advice, within limits. But you have to be aware that, if you do what you love to earn a living, it becomes work. You have to do the parts of it that you don't like, and you have to do it when you don't feel like it. This is the reason I never went into professional horse training, although I could have. I did not want riding to become a chore. I don't want diving to become a chore, either . . . I don't want to instruct, even if I should acquire the skills to do so (dubious).

I see this far too often. Musicians, particularly in the classical side, that spend years and years training, practicing, auditioning to find that once they finally get that orchestra gig that playing the same music over and over and over is work. Some can retain the passion, but others cannot. Others spend enourmous amounts if time and energy and fail to make it, the competition is unbelievable. Too many people have the passion and not enough places where you can make a living with it.

Writers that spend 10 years getting that first book published - then find that turning out the next four on a contract, doing all the publicity work, the "business" of writing all becomes work. Same thing applies. Way too many people who have a passion for writing, not enough demand for those skills to soak up all those people - so people end up doing it for free.

Computer geeks who find that writing software in a big project as part of a team is not the same as writing cool utilities by yourself for fun.

Lawyers that start out wanting to defend the oppressed that find that their criminal clients are by and large not very nice people and that putting them behind bars is not such a bad idea.

I keep my music as a hobby(all consuming as it is - playing in the pit orchestra for Theatre Under the Stars every other evening for most of the summer for virtually free is my definition of all consuming), my diving as a hobby(not quite so all consuming - the music cuts into the diving - going to have to give up some of the work stuff) and keep the "solving problems", which I still have a passion for, in my work life - and choose the computer biz because it changes so much - hard to get bored when what you knew yesterday has little relevance to what you need to apply it to tomorrow.

Having said all that - doing something you hate just for the money is WAY worse. Been there done that - don't want the Tshirt.

Something to consider is to look at the underlying fundamentals of who you are as a person. It took me a long time to figure this one out. For example I don't so much like computers as I like to take a problem/issue and figure out a practical solution. Once I have the solution I really don't care if it gets implemented. Figuring it out is what turns my crank, not making it happen. Could apply that "skill" pretty much anywhere, but it took me a long time to learn that that is what I like - managing projects, people, not so much. Design the project - making sure the design will actually work I love, but the moment I know that it will work, someone else can take it from there, I have lost interest.

Lots of time climbing a career ladder to find out that I didn't like what I was expected to do when I got higher on the ladder. Sometimes climbing that career ladder takes you away from the things you are best at/love to do.

 

[Dive-aholic]

My father was an airline pilot. For 30 years, he wondered why anybody would pay him to do something he was willing to spend money to do for fun when he wasn't working.

That was a rare example to try to match.

I chose medicine because I figured that doctors would always be in demand (true) and that practicing medicine would never become stale or boring (false to some degree). I have a scientific mind, so thinking problems through appeals to me, and I liked physiology. Unfortunately, I'm not that fond of people (common for surgeons), and I've ended up working in the ER, which is people-intensive. I don't like my job, and dread going to it for a lot of reasons. But it pays well, and the schedule can't be beat.

Definitely agree!

The advice to figure out what you love and go in that direction is pretty good advice, within limits. But you have to be aware that, if you do what you love to earn a living, it becomes work. You have to do the parts of it that you don't like, and you have to do it when you don't feel like it. This is the reason I never went into professional horse training, although I could have. I did not want riding to become a chore. I don't want diving to become a chore, either . . . I don't want to instruct, even if I should acquire the skills to do so (dubious)...

First, you don't need great skills to instruct. However, you're passionate enough about diving that you probably will develop the skills you will require or yourself. And diving is different. As long as you only do it part time, you can still teach and maintain the passion...as long as you do it on your own terms. Don't sell yourself short, Lynn. I think I'll save this thread for a while. I think I'll need to refer to it in a few years when you have the instructor banner under you avatar...

 

[Darnold9999]

Definitely agree!



First, you don't need great skills to instruct. However, you're passionate enough about diving that you probably will develop the skills you will require or yourself. And diving is different. As long as you only do it part time, you can still teach and maintain the passion...as long as you do it on your own terms. Don't sell yourself short, Lynn. I think I'll save this thread for a while. I think I'll need to refer to it in a few years when you have the instructor banner under you avatar...

She may(will) get the skills to be an instructor, but I seem to recall that she also said that she didn't like people that much - have some empathy with that position - and unless you like people teaching is rarely going to be enjoyable. Gave up a tenure track teaching position because I just could not face teaching the same classes over and over and over and over ........... learned that you need to get a bang out of "others learning" - not the "you teaching", which I believe requires that you actually like people quite a bit.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Being familiar with the type of work Lynne does, I think I understand her "don't like people" comment. I don't think it's so much people in general as it is the type of people she has to deal with on a daily basis at work. The world of medicine is different.

She obviously likes diver types enough to dive frequently. I'm not a people person either, but I do love to teach. Occasionally I will get a student that's annoying, but the majority of good students outweigh that. My guess is that once Lynne gets the skills (I'm sure she already has more than she gives herself credit for), she'll become a mentor to someone.

Are your ears burning, Lynne?

 

[H2Andy]

i hate people, but i like gatherings

isn't that ironic?


(plagiarized)

 

[TSandM]

Dive-aholic, you nailed it. I like SOME people just fine. They don't tend to show up in my ER

I actually love to teach things . . . I really enjoyed the teaching part of my academic medicine job, and I've had some riding students over the years that I didn't charge, and the deal was that I took the students I wanted to take, and reserved the right to walk out at any time if I didn't think somebody was putting in the effort.

From what I see of the people who become scuba instructors, at least around here, they get their butts worked off with one OW class after another, to the point where their own, pleasure diving is severely curtailed. THAT'S what I don't want to get into. I think it would be great fun, when I know enough to do it well, to do for people what Bob did for me -- mentor motivated people and help them improve. And it seems to me that there is a big need for that kind of person in the scuba world, because the new divers sometimes don't have a very good handle on things (I sure didn't!)

 

[Dive-aholic]

Like I said, I'll keep this thread marked for a while. I have a feeling...

 

[Darnold9999]

Dive-aholic, you nailed it. I like SOME people just fine. They don't tend to show up in my ER

My guess is that most people who show up at the ER are not at their best

Me, I love teaching - the first few classes - once I figure out how best to do it, I lose interest. Need to much more other focused than I am to be a really great teacher.

One of my mentors said it best - "to be a good manager you have to really get a bang out of someone elses success". If that is not how you are wired find another way to make a living. Works for teaching as well.

 

[Dive-aholic]

My guess is that most people who show up at the ER are not at their best
...

Change the italicized to some. Most people who show up at the ER don't need to be there in the first place.

I don't mind the ones that need to be there.