What job is this? I've hit a mental cul de sac.
April 4, 2013 5:43 PM Subscribe
I am a big-picture person; a strategist if you will. I'm currently in a detail oriented finance job, in which I am considered excellent. However, I find myself often wondering, scratch that, dreaming, what it would be like to find a job that draws on my raw talents - namely big picture thinking. Please help!
With time and a lot of effort, I have learned how to become "detail oriented." But, everyday I feel as if I'm squeezing a square peg into a round hole - it feels unnatural.
That said, I have googled though posts and pages but to no avail. If a detail oriented person were looking for guidance, I could easily point to accounting (audit, tax, etc), coding, or drafting (lawyer) as positions that would draw on their natural ability to focus on the details.
In the same sense, are there any jobs that come to mind for those whom are big picture thinkers?
Thank you so much!
With time and a lot of effort, I have learned how to become "detail oriented." But, everyday I feel as if I'm squeezing a square peg into a round hole - it feels unnatural.
That said, I have googled though posts and pages but to no avail. If a detail oriented person were looking for guidance, I could easily point to accounting (audit, tax, etc), coding, or drafting (lawyer) as positions that would draw on their natural ability to focus on the details.
In the same sense, are there any jobs that come to mind for those whom are big picture thinkers?
Thank you so much!
Consulting for a firm like IDEO or Frog Design...you don't necessarily need to be a "designer" to work with them, and there's definitely plenty of big-picture thinking. Business strategy consultancies could be interesting, too.
posted by three_red_balloons at 6:02 PM on April 4, 2013
posted by three_red_balloons at 6:02 PM on April 4, 2013
In business/management/economic consulting, there's a sweet spot where you are high enough up the totem pole that you get to look at big picture financial matters affecting clients (while the minions sweat the details), but not yet involved extensively in management. If you like your field, look for opportunities where the people one or two notches up from you get to do the kind of thinking you enjoy. That may mean shifting to a company offering business advice rather than one that needs the sort of work you do for its own purposes.
posted by carmicha at 6:16 PM on April 4, 2013
posted by carmicha at 6:16 PM on April 4, 2013
Some sales positions require a lot of 'big picture' thinking, especially if the products or services are complicated and/or involved. The ability to see the forest for the trees can be pretty critical.
posted by jquinby at 6:55 PM on April 4, 2013
posted by jquinby at 6:55 PM on April 4, 2013
I think that even big picture thinkers end up having to sweat a lot of small stuff, or be good at hiring/recruiting the right people to sweat the small stuff for them.
posted by Good Brain at 8:13 PM on April 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Good Brain at 8:13 PM on April 4, 2013 [3 favorites]
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I started my own software/consulting business, and being an entrepreneur is definitely a big picture type of thing - you dabble in a lot of different areas but ultimately as you grow you entrust the very detailed work to others as you focus on the big picture.
posted by sherlockt at 5:53 PM on April 4, 2013