Biggest career regrets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Majoring in English!!! My father told me to study computer science as that was the future and I flat out refused!

If I had I would’ve likely been making 200k+ and living a much more financially secure life!
- working in non profits
- working in jobs that paid me 30k - wtf?!

That wasn’t your major, that your naive idealism and blinders removed too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:becoming a teacher

I was gonna post the same thing! I’m a teacher married to a teacher. We are broke and hate life right now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:becoming a teacher

I was gonna post the same thing! I’m a teacher married to a teacher. We are broke and hate life right now

r

Same. Sort of. I don't regret all the kids and families I helped because I really loved them all. But if I had to do it over again, I would have done speech therapy or OT or PT or maybe been a nurse practitioner. I left the classroom to do something else instead of finishing out the years I needed because I just couldn't manage anymore. I'm pretty damn happy now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:becoming a teacher

I was gonna post the same thing! I’m a teacher married to a teacher. We are broke and hate life right now

r

Same. Sort of. I don't regret all the kids and families I helped because I really loved them all. But if I had to do it over again, I would have done speech therapy or OT or PT or maybe been a nurse practitioner. I left the classroom to do something else instead of finishing out the years I needed because I just couldn't manage anymore. I'm pretty damn happy now.

You could still go to nursing school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:becoming a teacher

I was gonna post the same thing! I’m a teacher married to a teacher. We are broke and hate life right now

r

Same. Sort of. I don't regret all the kids and families I helped because I really loved them all. But if I had to do it over again, I would have done speech therapy or OT or PT or maybe been a nurse practitioner. I left the classroom to do something else instead of finishing out the years I needed because I just couldn't manage anymore. I'm pretty damn happy now.

You could still go to nursing school.

Yes although be wary of jumping from the frying pan into the fire -- nurses are in short supply too so if you're a hospital nurse, enjoy the same dynamic as being a teacher except now you have to deal with blood, excrement and life-and-death situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After many years as a consultant/contractor (somehow not as well-paid as the consultants on this board), I took a job at a client (Pharma) and from day one I was like, THIS is it, this is where I should have been my whole career. It had some great parts and some not so great parts and I got into "grass is greener" mode and quit after 3 years. I really regret leaving that job... I have never found my passion and that was as close as I got. It's 6 years later now and I'm a govt contractor again and I feel like my "career" has gone backwards since leaving that job.

I have a great undergrad degree and a solid MBA (top 20 in USNWR). But I have never known what I wanted to do with my life and I don't like to work hard so I'm stuck with a mediocre title and a mediocre salary and just counting the days til I can retire.

Curious- what sort of role were you hired at Pharma that made you like it so much (at least at first)?

[Anonymous]

After college I got a state job that paid almost nothing with a 30 year retirement. I stayed a few years then moved on. A few years ago they changed the 30 year retirement to a 20 year retirement. Had I stayed at that job I would have retired at 42 with a full pension.

[Anonymous]

That I didn’t follow my dreams and go into music. Now I do it on the side, but I wish it had been my career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:becoming a teacher

I was gonna post the same thing! I’m a teacher married to a teacher. We are broke and hate life right now

r

Same. Sort of. I don't regret all the kids and families I helped because I really loved them all. But if I had to do it over again, I would have done speech therapy or OT or PT or maybe been a nurse practitioner. I left the classroom to do something else instead of finishing out the years I needed because I just couldn't manage anymore. I'm pretty damn happy now.

You could still go to nursing school.

I'm 54. I'm not going back to school now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After many years as a consultant/contractor (somehow not as well-paid as the consultants on this board), I took a job at a client (Pharma) and from day one I was like, THIS is it, this is where I should have been my whole career. It had some great parts and some not so great parts and I got into "grass is greener" mode and quit after 3 years. I really regret leaving that job... I have never found my passion and that was as close as I got. It's 6 years later now and I'm a govt contractor again and I feel like my "career" has gone backwards since leaving that job.

I have a great undergrad degree and a solid MBA (top 20 in USNWR). But I have never known what I wanted to do with my life and I don't like to work hard so I'm stuck with a mediocre title and a mediocre salary and just counting the days til I can retire.

Could you go back to the pharma job? I had a similar trajectory - left a sweet gig after 6 years because I was burnt out - and wound up going back a 3 years later for a pretty significant comp increase. It's only been a few months since I have been back, but so far, so good. Thrilled about the comp increase (never would've happened if I stayed put), but kicking myself a little for leaving due to the loss in political capital.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Biggest regret = Leaving BigLaw.

BTW - like OP, I also majored in English and currently make over $200K. No regret about the English major.


This is interesting. Why? What did you do instead?

Went in-house and, unlike others on DCUM, as GC I work just as many hours in-house as at a firm.

I have a former colleague who went to YLS, worked in BigLaw, then worked in-house, now teaches biology in an inner-city public school! (Not DC area). I wonder how he is…

[Anonymous]

Not going back to work after my son was born. I didn’t get a daycare slot but I thought a nanny was for the Uber wealthy. I broke back into the work force when my youngest started K. Been clawing my way back up ever since.

[Anonymous]

Not becoming a plumber or electrician and opening own small business after apprenticeship.

[Anonymous]

Majoring in accounting. In industry, you are always considered overhead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Majoring in accounting. In industry, you are always considered overhead

This one hit me.

Public is a sweatshop though