Help me brainstorm career ideas
February 14, 2012 6:31 PM Subscribe
I like putting things together in optimal ways. What job can I do? Snowflakes inside.
I'm the Queen of Between; always a jack of two or three trades, master of none. My current job is research in a discipline between a "hard" science A and a liberal science B, and whatever my diploma might say, I'm not qualified to be an expert in either of the "pure" sciences. Within that in-between discipline, my research specialty is fairly narrow and not very popular, so waiting for a job ad that will fit my background would be like waiting for Godot.
So, like many other people disenchanted with academia, I read "So what are you going to do with that?", and I'm trying to determine what kinds of jobs I might be fit for besides the Research in A Fairly Narrow Domain Which Nobody Cares About. The book tells you to list your best achievements and passions and extract more general skill patterns from those concrete events. The thing is, I know very well what my general skills are, but I have trouble mapping them back to concrete jobs where they would be useful. So here goes:
(1) Highly detail-oriented and thorough, not good at big-picture stuff.
(2) Good at things that require focus and attention; not good at multi-tasking.
(3) Good at explaining complicated things in simple ways; not good at nurturing or managing people.
(4) Love organizing elements into their most efficient, optimal arrangements that fit particular requirements.
That (4) is the most important and the most general, and also the one thing that brings me absolute joy and elation in life. I get high on putting a few things together in just the right way. This could be as varied as: (a) directing a school play and getting the actors to speak and move in just the right way to convey something; (b) editing a film project, putting together frames and sounds to get just the right effect; (c) organizing elective course enrollment for a 100 students so that everyone gets in the course they wanted and no course is overloaded. Etc.
So help me MeFites - what am I going to do with that?? All ideas welcome, even the weirdest. This is a brainstorming stage.
(Caveat: it would be nice if the new career didn't require years and years of additional education, since I'm barely out of school at 34...)
I'm the Queen of Between; always a jack of two or three trades, master of none. My current job is research in a discipline between a "hard" science A and a liberal science B, and whatever my diploma might say, I'm not qualified to be an expert in either of the "pure" sciences. Within that in-between discipline, my research specialty is fairly narrow and not very popular, so waiting for a job ad that will fit my background would be like waiting for Godot.
So, like many other people disenchanted with academia, I read "So what are you going to do with that?", and I'm trying to determine what kinds of jobs I might be fit for besides the Research in A Fairly Narrow Domain Which Nobody Cares About. The book tells you to list your best achievements and passions and extract more general skill patterns from those concrete events. The thing is, I know very well what my general skills are, but I have trouble mapping them back to concrete jobs where they would be useful. So here goes:
(1) Highly detail-oriented and thorough, not good at big-picture stuff.
(2) Good at things that require focus and attention; not good at multi-tasking.
(3) Good at explaining complicated things in simple ways; not good at nurturing or managing people.
(4) Love organizing elements into their most efficient, optimal arrangements that fit particular requirements.
That (4) is the most important and the most general, and also the one thing that brings me absolute joy and elation in life. I get high on putting a few things together in just the right way. This could be as varied as: (a) directing a school play and getting the actors to speak and move in just the right way to convey something; (b) editing a film project, putting together frames and sounds to get just the right effect; (c) organizing elective course enrollment for a 100 students so that everyone gets in the course they wanted and no course is overloaded. Etc.
So help me MeFites - what am I going to do with that?? All ideas welcome, even the weirdest. This is a brainstorming stage.
(Caveat: it would be nice if the new career didn't require years and years of additional education, since I'm barely out of school at 34...)
Well, I'll just throw out that your four points could describe me, and I'm pretty happy doing application development.
posted by trip and a half at 7:19 PM on February 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by trip and a half at 7:19 PM on February 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
Do you necessarily have to be in academia? Because you sound like a project manager. Not necessarily by title, but look for multi-disciplinary roles. Unless you're a complete sociopath, you can learn to manage people if you know how to explain complex things in a simple way.
This is also sort of how my brain is wired (or at least, overall this is the hand life and chance have dealt me), and IMO business (as well as a lot of other walks of life) need more people like us.
posted by randomkeystrike at 7:41 PM on February 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
This is also sort of how my brain is wired (or at least, overall this is the hand life and chance have dealt me), and IMO business (as well as a lot of other walks of life) need more people like us.
posted by randomkeystrike at 7:41 PM on February 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
"directing a school play and getting the actors to speak and move in just the right way to convey something"
Most directing gigs, either theater or film, require that your attention be divided six ways to Sunday, so I don't think that this is really going to make you that happy, and then just getting the job requires lots of schmoozing. Do you have film editing experience?
posted by Ideefixe at 7:47 PM on February 14, 2012
Most directing gigs, either theater or film, require that your attention be divided six ways to Sunday, so I don't think that this is really going to make you that happy, and then just getting the job requires lots of schmoozing. Do you have film editing experience?
posted by Ideefixe at 7:47 PM on February 14, 2012
The first thought that came to my mind was tech writer? All 4 of your points seem like they'd be useful if not necessary traits of a good tech writer.
posted by cgg at 8:33 PM on February 14, 2012
posted by cgg at 8:33 PM on February 14, 2012
Best answer: Depending on your technical prowess, you might find that data analysis and reporting is a good fit. There's a concrete satisfaction to it that developing doesn't replicate.
posted by sarahnicolesays at 9:08 PM on February 14, 2012
posted by sarahnicolesays at 9:08 PM on February 14, 2012
Computer software development.
My life is optimising things. Drives Mrs Mattoxic to distraction.
posted by mattoxic at 9:26 PM on February 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
My life is optimising things. Drives Mrs Mattoxic to distraction.
posted by mattoxic at 9:26 PM on February 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Because you sound like a project manager. Not necessarily by title, but look for multi-disciplinary roles.
If you have major difficulty with task-switching and being frequently interrupted, project management is probably not for you. And depending on the specific role, project management likely requires at least some big picture thinking. (I'm not saying you'd be bad at it -- just that it goes against your stated dislikes/weaknesses.)
What about some sort of auditing? I'm most familiar with environmental compliance auditing, which would fit all your requirements. Lots of details to keep track of, one task to be on while you're at a site. Being able to explain complicated things in a simple way is a HUGE advantage. I'm sure there are other sorts of auditing-type tasks that might be a good fit -- pharma compliance? regulatory compliance? energy auditing?
posted by pie ninja at 3:58 AM on February 15, 2012
If you have major difficulty with task-switching and being frequently interrupted, project management is probably not for you. And depending on the specific role, project management likely requires at least some big picture thinking. (I'm not saying you'd be bad at it -- just that it goes against your stated dislikes/weaknesses.)
What about some sort of auditing? I'm most familiar with environmental compliance auditing, which would fit all your requirements. Lots of details to keep track of, one task to be on while you're at a site. Being able to explain complicated things in a simple way is a HUGE advantage. I'm sure there are other sorts of auditing-type tasks that might be a good fit -- pharma compliance? regulatory compliance? energy auditing?
posted by pie ninja at 3:58 AM on February 15, 2012
"directing a school play and getting the actors to speak and move in just the right way to convey something"
And yet you say you're bad at nurturing/managing people. What part of management is your problem? Is it exerting authority when there are tensions? Similarly, if you're good at explaining complicated things in simple ways, is it the personal interaction that would make teaching difficult?
How are your writing skills? I can see you editing or doing technical writing or some kind of journalism. But all work involves some dealing with people and, unless you're very lucky, some interpersonal tensions.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:16 AM on February 15, 2012
And yet you say you're bad at nurturing/managing people. What part of management is your problem? Is it exerting authority when there are tensions? Similarly, if you're good at explaining complicated things in simple ways, is it the personal interaction that would make teaching difficult?
How are your writing skills? I can see you editing or doing technical writing or some kind of journalism. But all work involves some dealing with people and, unless you're very lucky, some interpersonal tensions.
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:16 AM on February 15, 2012
When I saw "organizing elements into their most efficient, optimal arrangements that fit particular requirements" I thought of Industrial Engineering---optimizing blocks of time and space---not sure if that might have big-picture demands that could be challenging, though.
posted by spbmp at 5:57 AM on February 15, 2012
posted by spbmp at 5:57 AM on February 15, 2012
Response by poster: Software optimization would in theory sound good, but math can be a problem. I think in structures, but translating those structures to algorithmic symbols and operations would require fluency in math and computing that would take me years to achieve. If it were ten years earlier, I'd go for it.
@Ideefixe and @Obscure Reference: I have no problem asserting authority, to the contrary, I tend to assert too much of it, when a gentle psychological manipulation would give better results. But gentle psychological manipulations are like black magic to me, and while I could and did learn some of it as I grew older, I can't see ever being very good at it. I'm a very straightforward and task-oriented person, which can come across as tyranical and rude in situations where people need to feel appreciated and given understanding. So that's why directing - on a small scale and purely as a process - fits my strengths, but directing as a real-life occupation probably wouldn't work. Film editing would be better, but I have no experience in this vast field except for one school project done long ago.
@sarahnicolesays: Data analysis and reporting is sort of what I do now. And I don't mind doing it, I'm very good at it, except I'd like to do it in an area where I can see the results of my work being directly useful to some higher good. But all the ads for data analysis I've seen expect you to already have background in their particular subject. Maybe I could start with temp work?
@pie ninja: I like the idea of auditing, too. I'll look through the job sites to see what areas would appeal most to my love of Truth And Justice (And A Hard-Boiled Egg!).
Awesome ideas, you guys! It's already helping me a ton in clarifying what I see myself doing in the future. Got any more?
posted by Ender's Friend at 8:03 AM on February 15, 2012
@Ideefixe and @Obscure Reference: I have no problem asserting authority, to the contrary, I tend to assert too much of it, when a gentle psychological manipulation would give better results. But gentle psychological manipulations are like black magic to me, and while I could and did learn some of it as I grew older, I can't see ever being very good at it. I'm a very straightforward and task-oriented person, which can come across as tyranical and rude in situations where people need to feel appreciated and given understanding. So that's why directing - on a small scale and purely as a process - fits my strengths, but directing as a real-life occupation probably wouldn't work. Film editing would be better, but I have no experience in this vast field except for one school project done long ago.
@sarahnicolesays: Data analysis and reporting is sort of what I do now. And I don't mind doing it, I'm very good at it, except I'd like to do it in an area where I can see the results of my work being directly useful to some higher good. But all the ads for data analysis I've seen expect you to already have background in their particular subject. Maybe I could start with temp work?
@pie ninja: I like the idea of auditing, too. I'll look through the job sites to see what areas would appeal most to my love of Truth And Justice (And A Hard-Boiled Egg!).
Awesome ideas, you guys! It's already helping me a ton in clarifying what I see myself doing in the future. Got any more?
posted by Ender's Friend at 8:03 AM on February 15, 2012
Let me give you some more specific examples and ideas-
I don't think temp work will give you the results you're looking for, but as you said you may need to do it to gain some experience and get references (super helpful) to hopefully move into a more permanent role where you WILL be seeing the affects of your work in big ways.
Look into learning some query languages/software (SQL, Access, etc...) It's the kind of skill that doesn't take huge time or money commitments to get the basics, but can be developed and specialized over time to become hugely valuable (database administrators are always in demand and very high paid- but i'm not suggesting you do that because of the lack of background and the education required)
A role that ties into this and is not too far reaching, is say an entry-level job in a marketing or IT. dept. Let's say the company has to send out thousands of emails to different groups based on specific requirements, and your job is to figure out which groups get which emails. OR- someone wants a list of people who met criteria a b and c but not d and you have to combine tables and sets of data and use logic to pull this info. Those kinds of tasks can be really crucial to an organization, and let you see the short-term results, rather than coming up with a big picture and well-organized summary of something and after you present it you don't really know whether anyone cared or what it was used for.
Here's some websites with introductory SQL information to see if it clicks for you. If you find this interesting feel free to mail me with any qs:
sqlcourse.com
sqlzoo.net
posted by sarahnicolesays at 11:48 AM on February 15, 2012
I don't think temp work will give you the results you're looking for, but as you said you may need to do it to gain some experience and get references (super helpful) to hopefully move into a more permanent role where you WILL be seeing the affects of your work in big ways.
Look into learning some query languages/software (SQL, Access, etc...) It's the kind of skill that doesn't take huge time or money commitments to get the basics, but can be developed and specialized over time to become hugely valuable (database administrators are always in demand and very high paid- but i'm not suggesting you do that because of the lack of background and the education required)
A role that ties into this and is not too far reaching, is say an entry-level job in a marketing or IT. dept. Let's say the company has to send out thousands of emails to different groups based on specific requirements, and your job is to figure out which groups get which emails. OR- someone wants a list of people who met criteria a b and c but not d and you have to combine tables and sets of data and use logic to pull this info. Those kinds of tasks can be really crucial to an organization, and let you see the short-term results, rather than coming up with a big picture and well-organized summary of something and after you present it you don't really know whether anyone cared or what it was used for.
Here's some websites with introductory SQL information to see if it clicks for you. If you find this interesting feel free to mail me with any qs:
sqlcourse.com
sqlzoo.net
posted by sarahnicolesays at 11:48 AM on February 15, 2012
Best answer: pie ninja: "What about some sort of auditing? "
I thought of this too but, for unknown reasons didn't mention it. Regulatory auditing is my thing and I think the traits you describe are a good start to a great auditor. Auditing isn't for everyone, though and regulatory auditing even less so. Have a look at related public service job ads and see what you think might be interesting. For that tiny subset of the population that it does suit, it's a great job. If you squint a bit and don't look too closely, you can also see your work contributing to the 'greater good' (some days, though, it's really, really hard to see ;-).
posted by dg at 2:07 PM on February 15, 2012
I thought of this too but, for unknown reasons didn't mention it. Regulatory auditing is my thing and I think the traits you describe are a good start to a great auditor. Auditing isn't for everyone, though and regulatory auditing even less so. Have a look at related public service job ads and see what you think might be interesting. For that tiny subset of the population that it does suit, it's a great job. If you squint a bit and don't look too closely, you can also see your work contributing to the 'greater good' (some days, though, it's really, really hard to see ;-).
posted by dg at 2:07 PM on February 15, 2012
Response by poster: @sarahnicolesays: Yes, I was thinking of temp positions as a way to get a foot in the door and background knowledge relevant to a particular company. Thanks for the SQL links; I will certainly be looking over them. I was exposed to some very minimal SQL years and years ago; but it never struck me as particularly difficult. I rather enjoyed it, and managed not to accidentally wipe out the whole database, like one of my colleagues did. And some DB experience will be useful for most data analysts jobs. However, I really, *really* don't want to do anything in marketing or sales, for ideological reasons...
@dg: So I'm looking through job ads/descriptions on indeed.com, and most of what I find are auditing positions related to accounting or finance. What keywords should I be using? "regulatory auditing"?
posted by Ender's Friend at 6:02 PM on February 15, 2012
@dg: So I'm looking through job ads/descriptions on indeed.com, and most of what I find are auditing positions related to accounting or finance. What keywords should I be using? "regulatory auditing"?
posted by Ender's Friend at 6:02 PM on February 15, 2012
Probably 'quality auditing', 'systems auditing' or similar terms would work better.
BTW, we don't really do the '@[user] thing here.
posted by dg at 6:31 PM on February 15, 2012
BTW, we don't really do the '@[user] thing here.
posted by dg at 6:31 PM on February 15, 2012
Best answer: "Regulatory compliance" is what I'd use as a search term.
posted by Sallyfur at 2:12 AM on February 16, 2012
posted by Sallyfur at 2:12 AM on February 16, 2012
Your four points describe me, and I enjoy my job as a requirements analyst at an IT company. Sometimes jobs like mine are listed under "business analyst," or even "product manager," although that one typically involves some strategic work as well. Basically we talk to clients about what they want software to do, and then we write that stuff down in the kind of words that software engineers and software test designers understand. Depending on the company and the product, you might do some interface design and test design as well.
I spent (and still sometimes spend) some time on the receiving end of regulatory audits and they are no fun to go through, but I think the same skill set does apply. Those jobs definitely exist in accounting and finance, but also in healthcare, IT, pharma/biotech, agriculture/food processing, and probably a lot of other stuff I don't know about. "Quality auditing" and "systems auditing" are definitely good search terms. If you have a particular industry you're interested in, find out what the relevant regulatory agencies and standards bodies are and throw those in as search terms as well (FDA, ISO, FTC, etc.) Keep in mind that any medium-ish-sized company undergoing such audits will almost always have an internal department devoted to managing the process. Often those people are called things like "compliance analysts/specialists," "internal auditors," "regulatory affairs," "quality assurance," etc.
posted by slenderloris at 7:44 AM on February 16, 2012
I spent (and still sometimes spend) some time on the receiving end of regulatory audits and they are no fun to go through, but I think the same skill set does apply. Those jobs definitely exist in accounting and finance, but also in healthcare, IT, pharma/biotech, agriculture/food processing, and probably a lot of other stuff I don't know about. "Quality auditing" and "systems auditing" are definitely good search terms. If you have a particular industry you're interested in, find out what the relevant regulatory agencies and standards bodies are and throw those in as search terms as well (FDA, ISO, FTC, etc.) Keep in mind that any medium-ish-sized company undergoing such audits will almost always have an internal department devoted to managing the process. Often those people are called things like "compliance analysts/specialists," "internal auditors," "regulatory affairs," "quality assurance," etc.
posted by slenderloris at 7:44 AM on February 16, 2012
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posted by dg at 7:12 PM on February 14, 2012