"Roots" by Don Satalic (via donsatalic.com)
We all go to school with the hopes of landing the perfect job right after. We all start somewhere and try to navigate to the goal. However, through a circuitous path we often end up at a place we never imagined winding up.
Perhaps it is a sign of the times, but I know a Phd nuclear scientist who is a manager at a Walmart, an EE who drives a high-school bus, and a mainframe programmer and software designer who is an ironworker. All of which are varying degrees of success, they are all far off their original course.
Is it wrong to go off in some wayward direction? Take my career path, a an electrical engineer, my dream was to be in R&D of some leading edge organization. Although I did get to where I wanted, I had to trudge through a gauntlet of distractions. Among some of the jobs I held, I have designed bridges, CO2 valves, mechanical machinery, and pneumatic systems. Projects of which are almost like an opposite side of the globe type of engineering compared to electrical. Without the experience, would I be where I am today?
I have changed my tune.
Although being a renaissance engineer may provide many new talents and experiences, ultimately it may be the worst choice one can make. Spreading one's self out too thin is just delaying the timeline. I came to this realization reading about the 2011 James Dyson award winner. A better attack when one graduates from college is to take part in a competition within one's degree field, which also looking for a job.
Never take the first job that comes along, you are just resetting the clock.
Cabe
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