Do you regret your career choice? What would you have done otherwise?

[aristocatz]

Called in sick from work today-I feel blech Worn out, achy all over, fever, etc... Part of this I know is stress related. I work in a pretty stressful job & it is mentally exhausting. I feel it was the right thing to do to call in sick today, rest my mind and body, have some chicken soup & medicine, and rest on my couch & for one whole day, not think about work. and hopefully be refreshed for next week.

It is a career that I regret at times. On some days, I feel I am making a difference in the lives of others, & receive cherished gratitude & appreciation by others. On other days, I feel defeated, blamed, & backed against a wall by what is right vs what is wanted.

When I was in my early 20's, fresh out of college, I worked in the flower department of an upper scale supermarket, while I was deciding what I wanted to do with my life. I loved it-it was fun, therapeutic, I worked with such wonderful people, the company treated us well, & I was learning a new trade. I worked there for 2 years and then had to make a decision of whether I should continue there & work my way up the ladder in that company, or whether I should go to graduate school & pursue a different career. I ultimately chose grad school & worked my way up the ladder in the field I am in now. On days like this, I often think about how my life and mental health would have been different had I stayed in the flower department.....& of course there is also that pipe dream of working front desk at a WDW hotel!!!! I'm too old to change careers & not in a position, with my family to support, to start fresh in an entry level position in a different career.

Do you regret your career choice? If so, what career do you wish you had done instead?

 

[Domo]

I have long wished I was a psychiatrist.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Well, I don't know about regret, but I certainly don't enjoy what I do. There's lots of things I could have done, or that in retrospect, I think I might have enjoyed more. I dream of being a writer. I loved being a scientist (which I was for a couple years). I really enjoyed the summer I spent working at a living history site. I look at my friends who are professors or vets, and think, "Man, I bet I could have loved that kind of a job." I deal with doctors a lot as part of my job, and I think, "If I had decided to take the MCAT, I could be where they are now."

But, when it comes down to it, what I do makes money. Working in science I realized that liking my job wouldn't necessarily put food on the table (at the time my DH was struggling a bit to find a job, and that probably had something to do with my decision to be the primary provider). Because of what I do I can own the house that I do, and go on the trips that I do, and provide for my daughter the way I do. I don't believe you need to love your job in order to do it well, and I don't define myself by my work. Work is what I do to afford things that I actually do enjoy.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Love this post because I'm looking for ideas for a new career!

Lately I've been regretting not building a career at all. I married my husband while I was in college, and he allowed me to finish my degree but after that he insisted that I be a SAHM/housewife. Since I'm not fond of doing the SAHM thing, I only did it for the first 2-3 years after having each child, but I never really was able to build a career because I was too busy supporting my husband's career. Now that we're no longer together I'm just screwed.

I mostly love my current job but I wouldn't call it a career since I just barely make enough money to support myself and the kids. My dream job is to be a librarian, which I did for about 5 1/2 years between having my son and my daughter. Unfortunately I had to pass on a children's librarian position this summer because the pay was too low, and now I kind of regret it because I've realized I will probably never have the luxury to work as a librarian again. Darn, your post is making me sad : (

 

[BrianL]

Well, I don't know about regret, but I certainly don't enjoy what I do. There's lots of things I could have done, or that in retrospect, I think I might have enjoyed more. I dream of being a writer. I loved being a scientist (which I was for a couple years). I really enjoyed the summer I spent working at a living history site. I look at my friends who are professors or vets, and think, "Man, I bet I could have loved that kind of a job." I deal with doctors a lot as part of my job, and I think, "If I had decided to take the MCAT, I could be where they are now."

But, when it comes down to it, what I do makes money. Working in science I realized that liking my job wouldn't necessarily put food on the table (at the time my DH was struggling a bit to find a job, and that probably had something to do with my decision to be the primary provider). Because of what I do I can own the house that I do, and go on the trips that I do, and provide for my daughter the way I do. I don't believe you need to love your job in order to do it well, and I don't define myself by my work. Work is what I do to afford things that I actually do enjoy.

What you say sounds a lot like me, though I never worked as a scientist. I do dream of being a writer, but I landed a great job in college and they hired me full-time right after I graduated. I've been with the company for over 15 years now. I make decent money and have good hours. I sometimes write in my spare time, but it's hard when you sit at a computer all day, then go home and you kinda don't want to sit and type. The career I have isn't really anything I ever intended, but it's been a great job at a company that has taken pretty good care of me, so I'm pretty lucky.

 

[Christine]

I always have regrets, and some days are worse than others, but yeah.

I never actually planned out my career. Due to life circumstances, I was unable to pursue the education necessary for me to do what I *thought* would have liked to have done. As a result, I've had a pretty "reactive" career. I moved when it seemed right, always taking the job that had the most advancement or money potential. For the most part, it has worked out for me, but I can't say I have a lot of joy. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I feel I make a difference. But I have my days just like yours, for sure. I do think that just comes with jobs that have a lot responsibility.

My regret is that I didn't pursue more education.

 

[Gracie09]

Not my career choice but I regret not finishing my MA degree 10 years ago when I was only a few courses away. I would have a lot more options. I am back at it and about 1/2 way through but it was much easier pre-kids

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Always wanted to be either:

-- a police detective
-- an astronomer

I probably don't have the patience for the required school to be an astronomer though.

I have been growing very tired of my career that past couple of years. Too much travel.

MG

 

[disney junky]

Love this question. I think we live in a culture where the grass is always greener. I taught for 33 years and it was a good fit. Not without the occasional problem, but I have no regrets.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Honestly, no I feel like I've found my niche. I've worked in some form of logistics most of my 28 years in "real" jobs. I do wish I had finished my degree so I'd have more leverage to advance my career.

 

[kimblebee]

I wish I would have pursued my dream career. I didn't because it wasn't offered in my province and it was very math heavy and I didn't have the confidence to try.

I want to be a lumberjack....I mean a meteorologist.

 

[Hikergirl]

My only regret is that I never pursued a career. When I started college I had no idea what I wanted to do, so it was pretty easy to blow college off and just work. Tried to go back when I thought I knew what I wanted, but I realized I still didn't know so I quit school for good and worked. Met dh, who was going into graduate school and we knew we'd be moving for his job so I didn't make any real plans for myself. I got pregnant and decided that I would be a SAHM.
Now that my kids are older and I see my dd in college I am filled with regrets about my earlier (lack of) career choices.

 

[Klayfish]

Nope, not a single regret. My career can be very stressful if you let it...I work in auto insurance claims and have for 20 years...and believe me I hear it about what people think of auto insurance all the time. Doesn't bother me. I frankly enjoy locking horns with the "attorneys" who advertise on TV that they can "get you paid".

My degree is actually in human biology, long story. But I love cars, so working in auto insurance claims is great. Actually, right after college, I had a social work job paying peanuts. Had to take a second job to support myself. I was seriously considering, and had started looking into, packing up and moving to Charlotte NC to see if I could get work with a NASCAR team. Decided to hold off for a little, and not 6 weeks later, I wound up meeting my now wife. Who knows what would have happened if I had gone.

So, no, don't regret my career choice at all. It gives me a good living, I've been successful. And I'm not the type to regret anything anyway.

 

[prprincess]

I regret not getting my Masters. When I graduated I was just so burned out, but I should have just sucked it up because I ended up never going back and pursuing it. I also sometimes thing I should have gone into law enforcement, because my friends say that I'm a very good detective. And now that I work for a medical society and am around physicians all the time, I really think I would have done well in the medical field.

 

[dish rag]

No regrets, I love what I do.

 

[brockash]

Called in sick from work today-I feel blech Worn out, achy all over, fever, etc... Part of this I know is stress related. I work in a pretty stressful job & it is mentally exhausting. I feel it was the right thing to do to call in sick today, rest my mind and body, have some chicken soup & medicine, and rest on my couch & for one whole day, not think about work. and hopefully be refreshed for next week.

It is a career that I regret at times. On some days, I feel I am making a difference in the lives of others, & receive cherished gratitude & appreciation by others. On other days, I feel defeated, blamed, & backed against a wall by what is right vs what is wanted.

When I was in my early 20's, fresh out of college, I worked in the flower department of an upper scale supermarket, while I was deciding what I wanted to do with my life. I loved it-it was fun, therapeutic, I worked with such wonderful people, the company treated us well, & I was learning a new trade. I worked there for 2 years and then had to make a decision of whether I should continue there & work my way up the ladder in that company, or whether I should go to graduate school & pursue a different career. I ultimately chose grad school & worked my way up the ladder in the field I am in now. On days like this, I often think about how my life and mental health would have been different had I stayed in the flower department.....& of course there is also that pipe dream of working front desk at a WDW hotel!!!! I'm too old to change careers & not in a position, with my family to support, to start fresh in an entry level position in a different career.

Do you regret your career choice? If so, what career do you wish you had done instead?

If I had to do it over again, I'd go to law school to become a prosecutor. I used to be a paralegal and I really think I would have enjoyed it, felt a sense of purpose, paid decent, etc., but I had kids way to young for that. My DH is military, so we don't live near family and he's not able to be reliable as far as raising of our kids (part military life, part a whole different story), but regardless raising our 3 kids, basically solely relies on me (other than financially), so I ended up going to grad. school to become a school counselor to be as close to their schedule as possible and I also felt that in a way it was still somewhat in the field of law, as I feel it's a way to be in a more preventative/proactive way to help mold good character and to reach goals to be successful etc., as oppose to being on the reactive side of court cases.
While I do enjoy what I do, there are def. days that I feel totally defeated and wonder if I'm really doing any good. It's also very easy to get sucked into the school environment and kinda forget about the rest of the world which is just odd for me. I LOVE being on my kids schedule and I actually work in the high school my older one is at (he loves that lol) and my younger 2 would go to, if we're still here and that's a huge perk, but financially speaking...it sucks and I feel like without my DH's pay, things for my kids and me would be insanely tight and wish I would be able to be more independently financially stable.

 

[Milhouse_]

I had huge regrets, which is why I decided to go for my dream job in my early thirties. It wasn't easy; I've had to relocate several times, run up some debts, and sacrifice certain areas of my personal life to achieve it.

I'm now doing very well, and much, much happier. It's pushed back other life goals (starting a family, travel) but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[North of Mouse]

Do you regret your career choice? If so, what career do you wish you had done instead?

Nope, never did! Have always been a SAHM, now a retired mom. Dh & I made the decision early on what my 'career' would be and I haven't worked outside the home since.Did we make lots of sacrifices? Yes, but we were all happy and not stressed out. Pinched pennies, was very creative, took vacations every year and never regrets! Found out that lots of things we think we have to have are really just 'wants'!

 

[Disneylover99]

I'm always stressed, but have no regrets.

 

[katie01]

I started out pursuing speech pathology, then changed my mind and got an associate's (after getting a BS in communication disorders) in physical therapy assisting. I took time off to be a SAHM, then worked a few years as a physical therapist assistant (PTA) in a nursing home. I did not love it, and for many reasons last year I quit to return to being a SAHM. My parents are needing a lot of help right now, and my kids still need so much of my time (the youngest is still in elementary school, middle in junior high, and the oldest in high school) that I have been plenty busy. I absolutely love being a SAHM, but at some point I will return to work, and I really don't know what I want to do. I was an administarorvr assistant for several year also, and I loved that. It doesn't pay extremely well, but it does pay more than SAHM I would love to be a writer as well. I also wish I had stuck with my original path of speech pathology, since I feel I would have been much more suited to that than physical therapy (and wouldn't have all the associated injuries with having to help lift heavy patients).