by Bill L. » Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:18 pm
One other thing TF,
One of the best ways that someone visually describes the experience of making a career transition is not as a straight line, but a line that moves forward in a series of overlaping cricles. (Hmm, frustrating that this forum doesn't enable images, as one would help right now).
That is, that while people move ever forward overall, gathing information, considering options, defining personal choices and identifying limitations, they also continually step back and regroup their new information into their psyche, plans, etc.
So really, people are always moving forward to something - it just might not be visible to the naked eye and relatives/friends/colleagues who would feel more comfortable if you would "just make a career choice and move into it".
It's an interesting question as to why people are really uncomfortable and impatient with uncertainty and indecision. If you tell the next 5 people that you are no longer satisfied with your career path, or want to leave your job, the next questions folks almost always jump to are: so where are you going to go? What do you want to do? (Go ahead. Try it.) And it's really considered quite a negative to not know. It reflects badly on you.
Three things I am sure of: 1. People who love, hate or are middlin' about their career choice should reflect and reevaluate where they are often. And that's what you're doing. 2. It's rare that a person who is not a career counselor/HR representative/headhunter, will have a thorough understanding of a full range of career options for someone with their background and training both inside their field and outside of it. And often, even we don't know. The exception, of course, is Dave - who just seems to know more people and more career paths for scientists than anyone I know.
3. It's rarer (and not often realistic) when a person is certain about what their career path holds, for say, the next 10, 20 & 30 years, any more than they are certain about what city they will live in in the year 2020. This is an even more acute experience for scientists, who once thought they knew what the future held - and often it was academe - but now don't know, and can't know, because of the limited number of faculty positions.
Considering where you are, perhaps a career counselor would be helpful in asking you great questions without pushing you towards one option or another (or out the door for that matter), as you sort through the information you've already gathered, as well as address some of the issues around the experience of not having found some career paths that you connect with yet.
Just a thought. And a question. How long have you been thinking/informational interviewing/researching/posting on forums and in general moving towards making this next step in your career?
Bill L. & Naledi S.