Choices

WSJ recently conducted a study with the following conclusion: “The starting pay of certain liberal arts major generally clocks in well below that of graduates in engineering fields.”

Ummm…duh. They needed to have a study for this?

The salary chart that they provided was interesting to me though, because it reminds me of the way my own career path played out.

When I was in high school, I was headed for the liberal arts trajectory. I wanted to go into fine arts, but my parents strongly discouraged me (something about not wanting to support a starving artist). I also briefly considered majoring in languages (how cool would it have been to translate for the UN?!), until Mom and Dad reminded me that gazillions of people apply to the UN and competition is stiff. What a couple of killjoys.

Feeling lost, I consulted career guides and pay charts very much like the one posted above. Ultimately, I decided that accounting was a safe bet, so off I went to get an undergrad business degree. Right out of school, I landed a job in the internal accounting group of an investment bank. I thought I had it made -- the pay was good, the job was stable and I befriended many coworkers. The only catch? I hated my job.

So, after a few years I went back to business school and redefined myself as a marketer. Was it worth it? Well, I’ll be paying down my graduate school bills for the next 10 years and I am probably making less than what I would’ve made if I had stayed in the accounting field., but... it was definitely worth it, because I love my job now. And despite the occasional off day, I almost always look forward to going to work.

I wouldn’t change a thing about the choices I’ve made. In reality, I would’ve made a crappy artist and would’ve gotten bored as a translator. But I have learned that in the end, if you enjoy your job and find it rewarding, you will be happy and you will succeed. I hope that when it comes time for EB to choose her career path, I will encourage her to follow her dreams and passions regardless of the career outlook.

But if you  know me, you also know that I can be a control freak, so controlling guiding EB’s career path will be in my nature. Note to self: refer back to this blog when you feel the desire to pull out one of these salary charts to "guide" her career decisions.