The trouble with a varied career

This morning, I finished making contacts with my contacts. I sent out 117 e-mails to actuaries and others in the profession since yesterday, asking for advice to give a career-switcher with two exams under his belt but no on-the-job experience and no chance at a college internship. (To think that I could've had such an internship twenty years ago.)

I got three nibbles for jobs, which is three more than I expected. Two are from Allstate, a solid company that hires lots of actuaries. The other is from Coventry Health Care, for which I was suddenly in the middle of an over-the-phone job interview. A screening, I guess it's called. But I don't know if I got through the screen.

What stumbled me was the question of why I've changed my career so many times, and how sure could they be that I wouldn't quit on them. This question was also brought up by those without jobs to offer. As part of their advice, they told me to be prepared to answer this question.

So what's the correct answer?

I graduated with a degree in math in 1993, but I didn't want to have anything to do with math at that time. What jobs could I get out of it? All I heard was math teacher and actuary. I also heard the classic "those who can, do; those who can't, teach" line, and thought that a career in the actuarial sciences sounded boring. And if I had pursued that career at that age, I wouldn't have stuck with it.

So I lucked into a job at the local newspaper, about a month before my parents were to kick me out of the house for being a bum. (I took the summer after graduation off, you know.) Actually, I delivered pizza for two weeks. Why? Ugh, not my best career choice.

I was at that newspaper for five years, doing everything they had to offer. I had a chance to work the Saturday night board at the local radio station, so I took that as well, and in two years there, I performed many different tasks, broadening my horizons. And I filmed and did play-by-play for a lot of high sports at that time. By no means was that wasted time. It shaped me as a person, and it taught me how to relate well to others in a professional setting, and to entertain.

But the radio station went belly-up, and the newspaper got bought out, the editor died, and the paper itself went dark as well. I applied to another local newspaper, and their offer was insulting. They offered me $20 a week more than someone straight out of college, and the college kid would get a $20 raise after three months. All of my experience at the paper was worth about $240 to them. I walked out during the interview.

I was out of a job for a few months, but my friend from college helped me get a job at IBM in their Wide Area Network support division. That part got sold to AT&T, so I was able to put both of those names on my resume in less than a year. And in less than a year, I left because they wouldn't give me benefits, it was a second-shift job, and there was so little interaction with people. For all I knew, one computer was programmed to create all of the issues that I had to address.

So why was my next job the same thing, but at a company that went from Fortune 500 to "stocks for pennies on the dollar" during my one-year stay? I would've stayed at this place, but Comdisco went the way of so many other high-tech companies. At least I got a dozen nice polo shirts out of it.

Teaching came into play because I couldn't find a job in the DC area with my background. The Washington Post wasn't too impressed with my Windmill Herald portfolio. And I had to go through a lot to make it happen, but a lot was on the line: how it all came together deserves a posting of its own, before I forget how it went down. My chance at marital bliss was at stake, in short. Again, worthy of another post. It's great stuff.

My job at Fairfax High School was the most challenging job I ever had, but it was a good job for me. Hot entertain while informing. How to lead. How to use responsibility. How to play politics. How to plan ahead for the long-term. And I didn't know how great my job was at FHS... until I moved back to Illinois, because my last two years of teaching were abysmal.

So I can't find a teaching job, but I don't want that job anyway. It's pretty obvious that teaching doesn't want me. I put a lot into that career and have felt zero appreciation for it. I think a lot of teachers feel this way in our country at this time.

So basically I've had a lot of excitement in my many careers, but I don't want that type of excitement anymore. I'm happiest when I have goals that I can accomplish and help someone or something that will appreciate it. ("Appreciation" can be as simple as a secure paycheck, but a "good work" from a co-worker would be nice too.) Problem-solving, using my strength in applied mathematics, working with other adults, going out to lunch or a beer with co-workers on occasion, and maybe even having a desk near a window - all of that, please.

So how do I answer the question posed to me? Well, I can remind them that it's rare to find a recent college graduate that plans on sticking in the same career for a long time. The average person has 4-6 different careers in their lifetime, you know. I've had my variety, I've grown a lot from what I've done, and I'm not ashamed or regretful of any of it. But I wanted a longer tenure at some of those places than I was allowed to have. I'm ready for a longer commitment.

I've got different priorities now. I'm married and settled, I know my strengths, and I want to find a place where I can stay for a long time. A place where I can contribute for more than five years.

How about 20 to start?