I graduated from college with a degree in advertising, a minor in journalism, and a concentration in new media. There was no doubt that I was going to work in some sort of communications role. At the time, I had no idea what. All I knew is I wanted to work in the non profit field and I kind of just went from there.
While my degree was intentional, I felt I knew how to write and advertising would be a decent field to work in. My career path has not been intentional. I’ve seriously just been flying by the seat of my pants the last 6 years. I took my first job at a non profit because I sort of knew that’s what I wanted, and there I learned I needed to work at a much bigger company. And then I took my next job and swore I’d never move up in the role because I hated media relations. Yet I still ended up becoming a director.
When I got laid off and thrown back into job searching, I felt I had a better idea of what I wanted to do. I wanted to work in communications, I wanted to write, and I didn’t want to do PR. And now somehow I’ve gone from nonprofit to a medical non profit to medical publishing.
Weird how it kind of all puzzle pieced itself together.
BUT if I had just decided to completely throw away my degree, which who knows one day I might, I think I’d want to be an esthetician. I’m pretty self conscious about the way I look so I like learning about things that make me look better and I think I’d enjoy helping other people look their best. I don’t know what it is about the job, but most estheticians I meet just give me good vibes.
OR I’d throw it all out the window and I would work at a movie theater again. I have no idea why, but I have this insane life fantasy to just stop working corporate/full time and go back to the job I had when I was 16. It was so low pressure, all the job roles were easy to understand, and the people were fun to work with. We’re definitely not going to talk about how I would barely be able to support myself with a job like that.
SO what would you do? If you decided to do something completely different from your current job, what would it be? What was your degree and did you stick to it? And lastly, should my 5 year plan include becoming ticket ripper at a movie theater?
Rosie Culture 
I feel like if I had a good answer to that question, I would be doing it, because there were at least three times in the early 2000s when I was so disgusted and disillusioned with where I was that I wanted to walk away from this career forever.
(I don’t talk much about my career on WordPress because I don’t want to give away spoilers for the blog.)
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This question would have been good if you had asked me 4 years ago, where I was a complete mess and felt guilty for obtaining the “wrong” degree. At one point, I couldn’t do the job that I have right now because I didn’t have the degree that I needed, and there were no schools close by that offered the program. I also didn’t have the grades to get in because I had gotten a previous [useless] B.Sc degree. I had to work really hard to get into this program and spend years working towards my goal of passing clinical.
The job I had before wasn’t ideal. I worked in a pharmacy as a pharmacy assistant. They only took me because they needed people. Before that I worked in the garden center and as a cashier. Before that I was a waitress which was short-lived (I can’t tolerate loud noises and drunk people). Before that it was a coffee shop, and before that it was a factory that manufactured plastic lids for jars and food items.
I wanted to work in health care, specifically in a hospital, but didn’t know how to get there, so I mapped out a plan. I only discovered that an accelerated program existed thanks to looking up a couple people from high school on LinkedIn. I wasn’t friends with them but I could see what steps they took to get out of a rut with a similar degree as mine, so I ended up doing the same thing.
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That’s so cool! Sometimes I think it just takes us a couple tries to get it right
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Tbh I don’t know many people with 2 undergraduate degrees. I highly suggest following your heart, even if that means going back to school 🙂 From the time I started university, It took 8-9 years to [finally] obtain 2 degrees but I don’t regret it.
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Psychology was another route I considered. I’ve also considered being a professor, but I don’t like kids. Even big kids lol
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I thought about being a professor for a while too! I really liked some of the younger professors I had in college and they inspired me, but I’m pretty awkward and not great at explaining things I already know lol
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LoL my teachers tried to push me into it. I was a tutor in college. I got a lot of thank yous on graduation day from classmates I helped pass their exams. But….I just don’t like kids of any age. 😂
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Also, I think with training and experience you would have overcome the shyness. 🙂
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That’s true! I’ll keep it on the list, although I also don’t like kids lol
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I got my Bachelors’ in Film & TV and my Master’s Degree in Arts Journalism. I always wanted to be a full time writer but I ended up working in a music school instead, which isn’t ideal, but it pays the bills so I won’t complain. BUT – if I had a choice, I’d want to work with animals. At a shelter, a sanctuary, anything! I feel like it wouldn’t feel like a job if I got to be with animals everyday.
✨ Marissa Belle × marsybun.com ✨
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I totally feel the same! I’d love to be working closely with animals
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I almost went into teaching, but like you I got a degree in communications and now work in that field. My mom was a teacher so I don’t think I had a huge passion for teaching, it was just something I knew how to do and could do.
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That’s how I feel about working in comms haha just something I know how to do so I did it
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I had no idea what I wanted to do, stumbled into the current role/industry at a job fair, enjoyed the industry for about a decade, and am now trying to transition to a different industry, as I have grown sick of this one. You never really know how these career paths will go.
Also, that’s amazing that you loved your 1st job as a 16 year old! I feel like you always hear all the stories if teenagers hating their crappy first jobs.
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haha it was more of a love/hate relationship
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