How many of you are in a vastly different career than where you thought you'd be?

[Silverback]

I always knew I'd be in the IT/Technology field, just didn't know that I'd be more on the Customer Delivery/Leadership side vs the technical side. I was always technical, and felt that I would always be the guy behind the keyboard making things work. I've started a few of my own businesses along the way but they never really grew legs enough for me to feel comfortable and I always found myself back working for someone else in technology.

In 2009 I took a leap into Big IT with Perot Systems, as a Systems Engineer, and through two buyouts to Dell and NTT, I moved up into a Senior Leader role managing an organization of 400 engineers and 12 managers. I moved on to lead the IT team for a major hotel chain for a year and a half, then they were bought out, and my role was going to be eliminated.

Luckily when that happened I was presented with an opportunity to help a friend and previous business partner build up his business and joined as a partner. It's been a great journey and I've learned a lot, we balance the line between traditional IT and Manufacturing technology and get to get involved in a lot of cool stuff on the manufacturing side. However the travel is too much for me. Right now I have an iron in the fire to join, in my opinion, one of the biggest bleeding edge technology innovators on the planet. I've made it through a rigorous interview process and should hear a final decision early next week.

Well good news came today. I'll be leaving my current company and heading to Amazon Web Services next month to take on some new challenges.

[kingjason]

I made it all the way to the end, then they dropped me after the oral review board because they felt that I was being untruthful on one of my answers. After that I said fuck it.

If I would have had to do a real oral board for my first job in LE I would have probably never made it. It is not a perfect system. I have seen guys on oral boards over the years, proud that they got to someone. The applicant tries at the next agency and gets doubted because of the previous oral board, it is a viscous cycle. Takes a lot to change the culture at a PD, and some never learn or change.

[TX_92_Notch]

I made it all the way to the end, then they dropped me after the oral review board because they felt that I was being untruthful on one of my answers. After that I said fuck it.

I've got a close friend that applied to probably 15 different cities around the metroplex. He got to the oral review a few times, didn't get past the first round a few times and got dropped somewhere in the middle the other times. He's a jailer now.

[Baron Von Crowder]

I made it all the way to the end, then they dropped me after the oral review board because they felt that I was being untruthful on one of my answers. After that I said fuck it.

well that is a shitty slap in the face.

[Unicorn Jeff]

Yeah, I thought you were gonna be a cop....Not Cobra.

I made it all the way to the end, then they dropped me after the oral review board because they felt that I was being untruthful on one of my answers. After that I said fuck it.

[Shaggin Wagon]

I never really knew what I wanted to do. I did IT for a few years but never did any certs. Got married, had a kids on top of three step kids so we were living paycheck to paycheck. Then one day I figured I'd try out truck driving. Started out with flatbed then moved onto car hauling. Just moved to Reliable Carriers back in October and I love it. My wife doesn't work, I have the little ones in daycare and all bills paid no problem. It's the first time since I can remember where im not worried about money.

Yeah, I thought you were gonna be a cop....Not Cobra.

[jluv]

I think you'd like this book: Fire Season - Philip Connors

I'll check it out!

[Strychnine]

I think I'd still like to be a forest ranger, but probably not enough to take the pay cut, and only if I could pick my location.

I think you'd like this book: Fire Season - Philip Connors

[Big A]

here, let me pat myself on the back too...

I personally am humbled by the way it's all unfolded, a little bit of hard work, a bit of luck, a lot of sacrifice, and at the end of the day I only had a small role to play. In reading some other's stories, they've worked their asses of to get where they are at, and are well deserving of a pat on the back.

[FastFord19]

I always had a plan to get into the public safety field. Been in LE for 12 years now (I'm 33).

[The King]

I guess I never put any thought into it when I was younger. I just kinda went wherever life took me. The only careers I ever dreamed of having were professional fisherman and then later on a forest ranger.

I realized pretty early on that I liked being able to control/increase my income with commission. That, combined with a knack for relating to all kinds of different folks, and being at least somewhat persuasive, led me naturally to a career in sales. That eventually led to me where I am now, a physician recruiter. I never imagined doing this, but I've had a lot of success, and I work for a company that appreciates me, and leaves me alone to do my job the way I want to do it, including working from home and having flexibility with my schedule.

I think I'd still like to be a forest ranger, but probably not enough to take the pay cut, and only if I could pick my location. I'd drop everything today if I thought I could actually make a living immediately and consistently as a professional fisherman.

I have been one of those back in the day, great location at the time but relatively low pay like you mentioned. Have since been a land surveyor, which was also great work in my opinion followed by environmental specialist/inspector.

[yellowstang]

I started some computer classes in HS, back in the early 80's (PDP 11 I think?) and got out for a while. Got my water distribution license, went to afternoon HS Vo-Tech classes for water/wastewater treatment. Thought I would work in a water treatment plant. Did so for a while, but it was always temp work. They were actually one of the first to go computerized in the country too! After they never had a p[arm. opening, I ended up moving to Texas, going to some night school for programming, ended up in Tech. Been in the same area since 1987 of tech, until last April where I Xfered to Internal Audit. Hate that tho, so looking to Xfer back out. Endless opportunities at Citi, so I have a lot of choices luckily.

[Gasser64]

I had just bought a nightclub and would quit being a cop a couple of months later. Shit done changed!

Sounds like an 80's tv series. An ex cop buys a nightclub.. just wait till you see what he's gotten himself into!

[bcoop]

I hate people, and wound up in sales, so....

[Mach1]

Ever since I was young I had an engineer mind, at the same time I fucking hated school. I dropped out of high school and jumped into tech, at this point I'm in technical sales for a fortune 250 company doing quite well.

I spent a lot of time to myself when I was young and was way behind socially so I had to work hard on that in my late 20's and to my surprise I fucking love sales and trying to help customers solve million dollar issues.

So, high school drop out, meth head parents, dad in prison childhood to doing better than anyone in my family history that I know of from a career perspective.

Couple pieces of advice, keep the right attitude, I've seen so many amazing people with huge chips on their shoulders hold themselves back tremendously in life.
Grit, do what it takes to win, the "limit" is just a preconceived notion of the limit, push hard, think outside of the box, the sky is the limit.