My Dream Job
*) I like puzzles. Everything about them really, from solving existing ones, to building new ones. In a lot of ways, building a new puzzle is a puzzle in itself (How would you go about designing one?). So reduced to a single skill/interest: I like problem solving
*) I like technology. Once again, this has been something that's been part of my life since I was little. The problem is, I'm definitely not interested in a lot of career choices here. For instance, I'm pretty sure I would absolutely hate tech support or networking for my job. I guess more than anything the skill/interest boils down to using technology
*) I like to stay busy, but not too busy. At ICI, things seem a bit slow, but at AT&T, they wanted too much. I guess my ideal is an environment where there aren't critical issues [no/seldom overtime], but the company isn't so bogged down with red tape so that there's always something to work on. Sooo.. I guess that could be summed up in stable work hours
*) This one's something I just recently identified, but I really enjoy cataloging and mapping things. Like, I think about old computer BBS games I used to play (Fazuul, Crossroads of the Elements, etc.) and I loved to map out the worlds, loved to document the various items and creatures in the game, etc. I guess it's the idea of having a finite list of inputs, and use them to generate a set of outputs. I'm trying to think of careers where this could be of use, and the only one I can think of right now is something like a lab assistant where I would document the results of various scientific experiments. When I think about it like that though, it sounds boring.
*) I definitely need to know that I'm helping others. One of the most satisfying things about any job I've had is when a co-worker asks me for help and I can resolve their issue for them. Again though, a full-time job in tech support would just irritate me to no end.
*) Kind of similar to the above interest, is teaching. While I don't aspire to be a teacher, I do enjoy passing on any knowledge I may have to others. Like right now, I think it'd be a lot of fun to teach men how to pick out an engagement ring, after all the research I did. I have dabbled in this a little bit when I was at AT&T and gave some training courses to a program we were using. If I ever were to do any teaching, it wouldn't be school or college.. it would have to be for some sort of informational adult course like "how to design a website" or "working with Excel."
*) One thing that I'm starting to miss in my current job is learning new things. At AT&T I got to learn a totally new program which I've been using for almost four years now.. but since coming to ICI, there haven't been a lot of opportunities for developing new skills. So, it'd be nice to have a job where I'd be continually learning new things.
*) Working with technology, there is definitely an overlooked interest, and that's the use of creativity. While I'm not looking to paint portraits or compose songs for a living, having a creative outlet in my job would be very fulfilling. Thinking about what that could mean in a technological sense, it could be something like working with graphic programs like Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photo Shop... or in the sense of puzzles, designing the look and feel of a particular challenge.
So, what good jobs have these in common?
- Problem solving
- Using technology
- Stable work hours
- Cataloging / Mapping
- Helping others
- Teaching / Sharing wisdom
- Continuous learning
- Creativity
One idea I know I've come back to so many times is starting my own business (well, now I get to say our own business) .. I'm constantly trying to come up with new inventions .. or trying to think of children's book ideas.. I know Kath loves the idea of starting our own business, especially if we went with a book store.
I'm reminded of the scene from "Office Space" where they ask a question like "If you had millions of dollars, what would you do?" .. Personally, I think I'd be a bit eccentric. Let's see..
*) We'd buy a really nice house to live in.*) We'd travel all around the world*) I'd have a top-of-the-line computer system*) I would probably design random puzzle contests for others..
You know... as I'm thinking about it, if I had that much money to work with, I think I would enjoy running our own business. For the moment, let's say we start a book store. How would that tie in to my list of qualities in a dream job?
Problem solving - Yes. Initially, there would be a number of obstacles to overcome. Even once the business was running there would always be new challenges.
Using technology - Yes. I would love using Excel spreadsheets and a database to keep track of sales, inventory, etc.
Stable work hours - Sometimes. There would definitely be lots to do, so I wouldn't ever have to worry about not working enough.. but, there would almost certainly be overtime involved.
Cataloging / Mapping - Yes. Sort of along with using technology, I'd be able to catalog sales, inventory, etc.. and then run various reports on how well certain books were being sold, etc.
Helping others - Sometimes. I'm not sure if I would be a clerk or not.. if I was, I could certainly get to help customers find books.
Continuous learning - Yes. I'd have an entire library at my disposal.. I could learn about anything I want!
Creativity - A lot of room for creativity here. We could organize special events like reading programs for kids, book signings, various forms of advertisements, a store website, etc.
It looks so simple written down on paper. I wonder what problems a book store would face... Well.. I'm sure more and more people are using the Internet for their research instead of studying books. Plus, all brick & mortar stores are facing heavy competition from Internet sites which do not have to pay heavy bills like real estate, electricity, gas, water, not to mention the reduced cost of labor. Places like halfpricedbooks.com offer cheap alternatives that are hard to compete against.
While I'm not so sure a book store is the solution, it's at least fun to think about! Alright, let me know if you think of a good idea I should pursue. :)
Labels: bookstore, creativity, dream job, learning, mapping, puzzles, teaching, technology