Career Awareness Mistakes

My College and Career Decisions -- Mistakes (and Good Breaks)
I grew up in a household of teachers. Other than chores around the house and yard, I never held a job until I was 18. It’s not something I regard with pride, but with regret. As well-meaning as they thought they were, my career awareness was stunted. I lived in an environment where academics alone was valued. Work, jobs, careers, and making a living was not. I wasn’t taught any good things about money, except that it was too scarce, and lots of “crooks” were out to rip you off. Businesses were all crooked.

I didn’t get an allowance, but was sometimes paid 50 cents for mowing front and back lawns with push-mower and hand edger. My dad actually forbade us kids from working during school years. His reasoning was that our “job” was doing well in school. Although that seemed reasonable, I graduated with no practical idea of any career interests or skills. I now realize this was a big mistake, and I lacked any positive guidance at school to counteract that situation. 

Starting Work

In the summer after graduating, I networked through friends to get two outdoor jobs (in 100-degree Fresno heat!): 

1. Selling flowers on a street corner (I was paid for sales only, and lasted a couple of weeks).
2. Digging ditches for home sewer hookups. (I lasted a couple of weeks, and earned one paycheck).

I rode a bicycle in the heat to both job locations. I wasn’t good at either job. Then I went on a family camping and sailing trip before college started, because I didn’t care that much about work. I didn't learn much about work since the jobs were so short-term.

I started Fresno City College (registering late, just before the start of classes) with no clear idea about a job. I had a vague idea about becoming a “Ralph Nader-style” activist. The FCC college counselor (the ONLY one I ever saw, once) suggested a Sociology major. I pursued those studies completely ignorant of any jobs, salary ranges, or work requirements. (Nader, I found later, was actually an attorney).

Luckily, a church friend asked if I wanted a job as a movie usher where she worked (within walking distance). (Note that I wasn’t looking, asking, networking, or even comparing the pluses and minuses of jobs.) Although my relationship with the boss was good, I really didn't learn too much except how to clean bathrooms and pop popcorn (not on the same shift!).

While at FCC, the Placement Office Manager asked me (as I walked past her door) if I wanted work. (Note that I had not been pursuing a job at that point.)  I got a job at the Yosemite National Park concession as a weekend ski lift operator (even though I never skied). This and the subsequent seasonal jobs with the concessionaire over the next two years were great. My food and housing were included at low cost, and my paycheck was “net” of living expenses. I learned how to get to work on time and take care of myself. I learned how to work into a position of trust, so that my boss could leave and know I’d make the sales, do the night deposits, and keep his books.

Remember the "Activist" career aspiration?
Back in Fresno, out of good sense or luck, I volunteered to work with a “community organizer.” (I was “job shadowing” without really knowing it.)  He was paid a meager salary from a consortium of churches and community groups. I learned a little bit about Community Organizing form “George,” but I also learned that it was a lousy-paying career.  It offered no job security (the first time I ever considered that). I learned the contributing nonprofits had limited resources. Activists also tend to rub community leaders the wrong way.

While working seasonal jobs in Yosemite, I transferred to Fresno State (C.S.U., Fresno). I realized the Sociology major and community activism would not pay little with a four-year degree, so I switched my major to Public Administration and Urban Planning. 

I was beginning to realize that the government sector rarely produced anything of value. I could have done research in high school and saved lots of time.  On a positive note, I started to select courses that would qualify me to work in the public OR private sector. I took finance and Real Estate courses (later helped in Title Insurance; and Real Estate Brokerage and Development).  I took Accounting (later taught it), and took a minor in Economics (later taught it).

In my senior year, I did a required internship in the Planning Department of the City of Fresno. I was sloppy with my calculations, and learned that mistakes had more serious ramifications than a lower grade. But I now realized I didn’t want to work in city government. I could have figured that out earlier, because another church friend worked there and could have "clued me in" if I asked!

I still wasn’t too bright. The City job’s funding was running out at the end of the month (June 30) and I still wasn’t looking for work. A friend on the city bus mentioned that a Title company down the street was hiring for a trainee class. I hadn’t researched it, but it was a good match with my studies. I started the next week. I quickly learned that a mistake didn’t mean a lower grade. I had to stay until I figured out what was wrong, why I got it wrong, and how to do it right. My boss “Ernie” was the first manager to mentor me and offer advice. I started to take advice, ask questions and listen, and work hard. He encouraged me to join the company’s Toastmasters™ Group.

From that job, I branched out into Real Estate and Development for a few years. Later, I branched out again into Corporate Training, and eventually into Business and Career Education. But that’s another story!

Reflection
What I did Right I did a little networking, job shadowing and internship. I did look for work, although not systematically or consistently. 

What I did Wrong

My fundamental error, like many people, was not researching specific jobs or careers. I got lots of guidance about school, but almost none about work. I studied many school subjects (with dubious value), yet I never studied the "end game" of work. 

I treated my first jobs as a source of money, but not as a source of job knowledge. I could have asked questions and shown more interest in the structure of work and systems, but considered such after-hours discussion as “unpaid small talk” and “B.S.-ing.”

What Color was My Ignorance?
You might not believe this, but my youth minister even got his famous seminary-friend Richard Nelson Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute?) to give a talk to our little Youth Group in Fresno!  Yet I didn’t apply his lessons.  If I had been open to the value of work, I might have more eagerly used those lessons. Values are critical, because if a young person lacks appreciation of career, work, and contribution, those important lessons don’t sink in.

If I had absorbed the importance of career research and development, I would have wasted less time. True, this was the 1970s, and popular youth culture leaned away from money and careers as “materialism.” But if I had been working and paying bills, I might have realized the necessity of having money and resources (not just hoping they’d float in from somewhere or somebody else).

The “Free” College of My Past

My college was virtually tuition-free.  F.C.C. had minimal registration fees. Fresno State charged about $99 per semester for a full load!  I lived at home, so my living expenses were minimal. My bachelor's degree also cost me four years of time. My degree still limited my career options. 

Today’s college is NOT a low-cost option for a career-ignorant high school Grad.

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Call to Action

First, your child needs to have realistic career ideas. Then determine if college is required.
College is an expensive way to find out they:
          Didn't need the degree
          Couldn't finish the degree (with lots of debt; or less retirement for you -- or both)
          Can't find a job in their major (wasted degree?)
          Hate the career resulting from the degree
          Can't succeed because they lack skills or aptitudes not teachable by "classes."
Each of the above "stages" has probabilities, not guarantees! Many high school graduates fail in one of those five critical areas.

Do you want to gamble years of paying their college tuition for a poor career bet?   
Outsmart College and the Contribution Project will provide the answers! Stay tuned for the next post.
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If you are interested in REAL career prep for your child, contact me NOW!