From desires to careers
Four years ago, I was approaching graduation from UT with a BSEE and had to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.* I thought for a long time, remembering the teachers who had impacted my life, my enjoyment from helping various friends through EE courses, and my interest and aptitude in my field. In the end, I decided to go to grad school, get my doctorate, and be a professor.
That decision lasted about a year, when I realized I disliked grad school more than I wanted to be a professor (realizing I would need to focus on research rather than teaching didn't help... nor did the PhD qualifying exam). So I bailed after getting a Master's degree and started the interview process, again trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up.* I went in wanting to find the answer to two different questions:
- From this position, what kinds of teaching opportunities are there? (individual, small group, large group, I don't really care. I just like helping people understand difficult topics)
- From this position, will I have any opportunity to travel? I lived in Europe when I was younger and had gotten to do a little bit of international travel after graduating from UT, and rather enjoyed it. I figured being young, single, etc. was a good time to try some of the travel lifestyle and see what I thought.
Fast forward to now, and somehow I've ended up in a place where I neither really teach nor travel, and I can't see a path to either from where I am. I don't even really know where in the computer (hardware or software) world to look for these kinds of jobs!
Where might be good areas to look for jobs where I can find these traits? Does it only come with time? How do you take the things you love, or at least would like to explore, and turn them into careers?
*I do realize this changes as life goes on, and shouldn't be set in stone at the wise old age of 26!
Comments
I wish I had some better
I wish I had some better advice for you... But here is all I can come up with:
There are lots of jobs in the software world that require travel, but it is mostly domestic. Typically that would be with companies that are in the services/consulting business I can't speak for your interests, but I think I would get burned out by the "road warrior" lifestyle pretty quickly even if I was still young and single -- I think that it really isn't as glamorous as it might seem, especially if you get stuck traveling to gawd forsaken crapholes like Des Moines, Iowa (I can say that, I lived in that dump for over 10 years). Opportunities in consulting may be less for hardware, but I bet there are still some. Another thing about consulting/contracting to consider though is that job security is weak and income can be inconsistent. Easier to deal with that if you are young and single of course.
As for teaching opportunities, with "only" a Masters you may be SOL at major universities, however I think there are still opportunities to teach at lesser institutions such as community colleges or tech schools. I am not sure how pay would compare to where you are now although I would suspect possibly not favorably. You might be able to teach as a part-time gig and keep your day job. That could work out well for you both on realizing your dreams and keeping a decent income.
And if you really want to travel, you can always do it on your own, assuming you are at an employer that actually lets you take time off and pays you well enough that you can afford it. And there are also lots of volunteer opportunities for teaching/mentoring that you could explore to scratch that itch.
Even though you may not be where your dreams would have you (who is?), I think you are a lot closer and have a better chance of realizing them than a lot (maybe most) of us do ours.
Well, you remind me of me.
Well, you remind me of me. It looks like I'm 8 years older than you, and have been out of school (undergrad) since '97. I'm a BSCE from RIT, MSEE from UT-Austin, just to give you some background. I also have always wanted to teach, and have enjoyed giving lectures, presentations, and the like -- I love seeing that light bulb turn on. I suppose that's an odd trait for us engineers, isn't it?
After I graduated from RIT, I started at Motorola here in Austin, and also joined the college recruiting team; this enabled me to travel back to Rochester to recruit at my alma mater once a year. When I attended RIT I became friends with the university president, and during one recruiting trip, he and I met for coffee. I mentioned to him about my desire to teach at a university level, and he was the one who encouraged me to get my MSEE. His assertion was that an MSEE would open up doors to teach, at least at an adjunct level. (Note: I'm not averse to getting a PhD one day, but not right now.)
The MSEE has given me the opportunity to teach at least one graduate-level lecture so far at UT. I have also given a number of lectures back at RIT over the years, even before getting my MSEE. In my case, the key reason I have been able to teach/lecture was because I stayed in contact with my professors at RIT, and a few professors at UT. Because I stayed involved with RIT professors, I was invited to sit on an industry advisory board for Computer Engineer (read: door opened). So when I traveled to RIT annually for that board meeting, that also opens the door to speaking opportunities in engineering classes. I have found professors are generally very welcoming to industry professionals who are willing to speak with students, whether they have graduate degree or not. In my early years soon after getting my undergrad, I spoke to freshman about why it's important to stay in the Computer Engineering program, or about financial planning (retirement, saving, etc.), and about what I was doing at my company. In later years when I gained more expertise in my field, I could speak more intelligently about my field, and give technical presentations as such.
To even step back further, I could argue the real reason this all came about was thanks to networking. By staying in contact with my professors, that opened up doors to sitting on the advisory board. By giving presentations at RIT (one at an IEEE meeting), that opened up doors to job opportunities. By networking on LinkedIn and door64, I have met a number of great people, and who knows where it will lead? I can give many examples of how seemingly random meetings have led to great opportunities. I think the take-away here is to always keep your head in the game: Always make sure you take advantage of opportunities to meet others, and to get involved. In your case, it might mean offering to speak at your university about a topic in which you are experienced. You don't have to be an expert to give a talk; you just need to know more than the audience does about the topic (sometimes). :) You may also consider teaching at a community college - say, ACC - to get your feet wet. I believe they can provide the notes, materials; in some cases, they just need someone who knows it already and who can teach.
As you do this, your name is getting out there, and you're building a reputation. I think this can open the door to travel opportunities.
"How do you take the things you love, or at least would like to explore, and turn them into careers?"
That's a great question, and I wish I had an answer for you. I'm currently dealing with the exact same question. I'll let you know when I find out.