I prefer to think of it as "buying in"

December 2, 2006 1:41 PM

Help me sell out to the man.

What's the best way to sell out?

Over the years I've gravitated towards jobs that at a minimum weren't evil, and at best, did what I perceived as some good in the world. On the one hand, I've had some great experiences and have accomplished some neat things. On the other hand, I can't afford to buy a home in my city, I'm tired of working with people who gravitate towards these organizations because they can get away with being lazy, and frankly, I'm getting awfully tired of my own sanctimony.

After some consideration, I'm thinking I might do more good by living well and donating generously than I am by banging my head against this wall. So here's my question: What's the best way to sell out?

I'm 35. I'm smart, but have no graduate degree. I've done some people management, a lot of project management, and a little product management. I understand technology, but I'm not a programmer or engineer. I have a good sense for business and money (I think), but have never worked in a hyper-corporate environment. (I also briefly ran my own freelance business.) I'm good at writing and presenting, but have a certain allergy towards pure sales. I'd prefer not to do work that requires me to be deceptive.

But even given all that, I'm open to any good suggestions.

Help me sell out! I'll write my first big check to your favorite charity.

(Sorry for the anon post... I've recently turned a number of coworkers on to MeFi and don't want this out there yet.)

posted by anonymous to work & money (7 comments total)

Consultant. Something to do with holistic management (looking at the whole company end-to-end is what I mean), or integration.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:04 PM on December 2, 2006

That's what I was going to say - except business process or strategy consulting. I've done everything from creating websites to creating an organization's strategic plan, worked for everyone from a startup to the government, and I'm remained my nice little liberal self throughout. Although I did have a college friend yell at me and call me a corporate whore once. She's a lawyer at a huge firm in LA now.
posted by echo0720 at 2:34 PM on December 2, 2006

So she's a very highly-paid corporate whore, echo0720? ;)
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:10 PM on December 2, 2006

What have you done, specifically?

Whatever it is, it is probably aligned in some reasonably direct way with a for profit business.

If you've worked in education -- there's a thriving for-profit educational sector. Health care -- ditto. And so forth and so on.

With good experience and a good attitude, the parallel or analogous for-profit sector should take an interest in you. General management for business isn't like banking or law or big-time consulting where you start off at $150,000 -- but if you're creative, hard-working and reasonably good at politics you can rise very quickly.
posted by MattD at 4:53 PM on December 2, 2006

You sound just like my old boss...who's the same age and facing similar questions about his life and job. 'Cept I don't think he ever had his own business, nor did he know about AskMefi until I sent him a link to it yesterday...

In any case, I'll tell you what I told him: play to your strengths and interests. Yes, this is the point in your life where you want to make more money—but it's also a point in life where you need to make it doing something you're passionate about, or you're going to burn out. If you're into, say, politics, or Latin American culture, or music, or even something like baseball, then find something that relates to that. Management of a business in that sector, writing about that sector or consulting in that sector could all be your ticket to a higher salary, depending on what you're doing now. Leverage your existing connections, ask around, and see what's available in your city through your existing networks of friends, acquaintances, and coworkers.
posted by limeonaire at 9:54 PM on December 2, 2006

Three years at a top law school.
posted by Falconetti at 11:37 PM on December 2, 2006 [1 favorite]

I work in Quality Management at a Fortune 500 biopharmaceutical company. Sure, it's hypercorporate, but being in QM means that I get to make the calls that my conscience dictates if I think that someone is pushing the boundaries. Watching some of our product being pumped into my father's IV line was pretty satisfying for me because I know that through the efforts of me and the other QM folks around me, I can be assured that our product is safe and effective.

Oh, and the money's not bad, either.
posted by kamikazegopher at 9:40 AM on December 3, 2006