what color is my parachute?

[Anonymous]

Okay...this post might seem a little out there.....I've often wondered whether I've chosen the right career for myself....I went to graduate school right after college and finished a doctorate in psychology in my mid-twenties and then went straight to work in my field, for the last 7 years...... don't get me wrong...I am grateful to have a good job, excellent health insurance and decent work hours, especially in this economic climate.....but sometimes I wonder if I missed the boat and picked the wrong profession? There are limited opportunities for advancement in my field and sometimes I feel like my work is without impact....I went into the helping professions but see how many people are better equipped to do my job....I always get excellent performance reviews because I am a hard-worker but I see how my counseling skills are only sub-par...and I feel like one is either born with the gift to counsel others or not.....it's a god-given gift.....and one that I am only mediocre at.

Here are a run-down of my strengths/weaknesses/pleasures.....can you think of anything that might better suit me? Sometimes when I was in grad school, I dreamed about quitting and starting up a business.....although not sure what kind..... I am married and recently had a baby.....so switching to another career/job would have to be many years down the road.....but I do enjoy dreaming of my next ventures

strengths
- extremely organized/responsible
- excellent writing skills
- calm disposition/very rational thinker
- creative
- have a good head for handling money

weaknesses
- poor visual-spatial skills
- dislike confrontation (but can deal with it, if need be)
- reserved personality- have difficulty forming close friendships
- health issues-- need to have good health insurance

enjoyment
- crafts (although I'm not particularly talented in any artistic area)
- pets
- reading
- organizing
- shopping
- helping others

[Anonymous]

Since when writing ....... after every other sentence are excellent writing skills?

[Anonymous]

It's hard to say with your list that includes general characteristics. Maybe you can take that test that assesses your personality, skills and abilities and suggests potential careers? Sorry, can't remember what it's called.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you meet with a career counselor? You'd probably more helpful and targeted advice and insight.

I thought I wanted to do one thing when I entered grad school after being in the workforce for a few years, and ended up getting a lot of new ideas and insight about myself. I ended up in a job I thought would be good experience but I thought I'd be in two years tops. Here I am several years later and my experience has made me realize I like things I didn't think I would like. Self-analysis only gets you so far - why not get some help (beyond DCUM)?

[Anonymous]

I have been through several major career changes (think engineering then sales then hard sciences then bureaucratic in-fighting) and find the personality self assessments to be the thing not to do. I have taken the same type of personality test during each of these phases and each time I got binned into a different personality type. It should be no surprise that when I was in sales I was told I was the gregarious type and when I was in the hard sciences I was told I was the introverted thinking type: what a silly concept to tell people what type they are!

What has worked for me is to find someone I admire and is very successful at something I also like to do, and to ask them how they got there. I then go and do basically what they told me they did. It has worked like a charm.

Hope that helps!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since when writing ....... after every other sentence are excellent writing skills?

Sounds like a bird crapped on your parachute 8)

[bakersman]

My first thoughts are:

1. Teaching at the college level.
2. Health related policy research.
3. Librarian for a medical school or some other human sciences organizatio (e.g. NIH).

[Anonymous]

What about writing/communications work at a nonprofit? You might have to take a cut in salary, but generally the benefits (health care and otherwise) are excellent.

[Anonymous]

One of the best "career" tests I took was one that told me whether I was a generalist or a specialist. It also measured other real skills (like visual-spatial skills, numbers proficiency, etc). It truly changed my life. I kept pursuing generalized areas of interst, when in fact, I measured as a strong specialist. I can't remember the name of the test, but I took it as a place in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

How about a Federal position? I'll bet you could find something really interesting that would utilize your psychology background at an agency like SAMHSA or NIH.

[Anonymous]

http://fellowships.aaas.org/

to switch to science policy, if that is your interest, consider the aaas fellowship. APA hosts 5 or 6 and SRCD hosts one or two aside from all the ones AAAS hosts.

health insurance is a bit tricky though. I did COBRA during mine. But if you are placed at a federal agency, I think you get the fed insurance.

I did this after my post doc (apa as I'm a doctoral-level psychologist). I LOVE MY JOB! and now make 200k/year less than 10 years after my fellowship (doing science policy and lobbying for a non-profit).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about a Federal position? I'll bet you could find something really interesting that would utilize your psychology background at an agency like SAMHSA or NIH.

Also government contractors for these organizations need PhDs who can write and think and do research. If you have research credentials, this would be a viable path for you. Sometimes it takes awhile to get your foot in the door but it's a pretty good career track.

[Anonymous]

what are your health issues?