What do you do, how did you get into it and do you want to do it forever?

[Tauni]

Back story:

I am 25 (and a half) and I feel like I am going through an identity crisis of sorts, mainly pertaining to my career, or whatever it is I have.

I have a job that potentially will help me gain experience, particularly in marketing, and while I like my job, there is still a part of me that feels like something is either missing or being wasted/untapped. I have no idea what it is, and I have no idea if this is a legitimate feeling or not, but I often find myself thinking "If I could just have this other type of career, I would love that," or, "I should open up this kind of business because I'd be happier working on/with xyz." I am sure this is just as confusing to everyone else as it is to me.

At any rate, here I am wondering what the hell to make of the next 50 years of my life, and trying really hard not to have a heart attack just thinking about it.

So, here is my question to you, my successful, career minded friends (minus Tom) (just kidding) (sort of):

What do you do? Do you like doing it? How did you get into what you are doing? What did you go to school for? Are you going to stick with it forever? Do all young recent college graduates look at the future as a bleak and never ending mass of chaos and career-related confused HELL?

 

[mndsm]

The question is, how do you define success? I know for a lot of people it means house, car, kids, dog, boat, etc. Typical Joneses stuff. Now as we've all pretty much guessed, I'm not that guy. It's not that I hate working, far from it. But to me, it's more important to be the one available in case shit gets real in my world, which it has a tendency to do. Plus for me, if the wife is happy, then i'm happy. So when it came time to make that employment decision that led me to being a stay at home parent, a few things came to mind. A- Taya's earning potential is far higher than mine, making getting groceries and crap easier. B- neither of us wants Gibson in day care. They're dirty, gross, and generally not places to enjoy. I grew up as a daycare kid, and it's not something that i'd really want to do again. Gibson gets out enough that the social side is covered, so that's not a problem. C- I don't really care what other people think. I already have cars I like and can't see anything I really aspire to. Sure there's endless amounts of projects and bad ideas, but that's stuff that can be accomplished for minimal output of cash. I don't want a ferrari. So ultimately, it comes to, what makes you happy? If all you need to do is earn enough cash to go throw discs for your dog and get some rubbers so you don't have kids too early, then why waste it doing a job you hate for an extra couple bucks an hour? Doesn't make any sense to me. Find something you love, that allows you to do other things you love, and call it good. We only get one ride on the merry go round, no sense wasting it in the stupid cart that doesn't move.

 

[matt8478]

I agree I dont really care for my job. I look at it as an income to help pay for stuff on my car lol. I just go with the flow live life to its fulliest. I just turned 30 on 26 of feb and I still act like I am in my early 20's. Dont get me wrong I know what comes first, I have had an extremly rough life with all sorts of family issues, finally got on the right path and might be continuing my degree in auto body repair and mechanic.

 

[Tauni]

That's the thing! I define success as being happy in what you do so that you don't spend the majority of your life (which is at your job) miserable. I also feel like, for me, it has a little to do with making people happy, or making a difference -- doing something that MATTERS is the perfect way to put it. Obviously, I do enjoy a fat A paycheck, because without it I can't pay for the lovely little 3 I drive, but I'm not materialistic in that I need to make big dollaz and drive a BMW and make sure everyone knows how little my shit stinks. But on the other hand of all that, the things I feel like I want to do, I feel like I'm either not qualified for, not good enough at, not smart enough to pursue, or I'll go broke if I do. All in all, not a good feeling. In college I was always the smart and talented one, now I feel as if I am so untalented and unqualified that I may never find the right fit for what I want.

Ideally there would be two ventures I would pursue in life: writing and animals. I love to write, but I don't think I'm necessarily good enough at it to do anything worthwhile with it. I don't even know what I'd write. So...that sucks. And then with animals, as much as I'd love to work in a shelter, my step mom did it for years and made barely more than minimum wage. No thanks. I can't do math or science, so I can't be a vet or a zoologist or anything like that. SO...yea...

 

[mndsm]

Be a dog trainer? They can make good cash, look at Ceasar Milan- and they work in shelters and shit too.

 

[Tauni]

LOL nope, that's what my step mom mainly did. I've made more money than her since the day I graduated high school.. working at Domino's...

 

[Picklz]

So, here is my question to you, my successful, career minded friends (minus Tom) (just kidding) (sort of):

I promise I will respond seriously to this thread as soon as I have a few minutes to form a worthwhile post, but I just had to say this had me LOL'ing really hard, thank you. lol.

 

[mndsm]

Laugh all you want... but I guarantee I haven't said something every single one of you have said in the last 3 months....



"Goddamnit, do not want work today".

 

[mOjO]

Quarter life crisis. At least that's what I've heard it be called. You've essentially gone through life with some defined expectations about what you are doing....specifically attend school and succeed at it. Post college many find themselves feeling like a fish out of water without a clear direction. So I suppose that means it's normal..>.>

I'm a Software/Systems Principal QA Analyst, validating changes made to any features or functionality so that it meets a users expectations. I stumbled into it out of a customer service role at a company that just happened to be starting things up. Forever is a long time so I'm not sure.... I'll do it as long as I'm interested in it. I'll probably change it up a little by going into management and getting away from the nitty-gritty details.

 

[007CobaltLS]

From the point of view of someone who doesn't have a college degree...do what you enjoy. If you enjoy making tons of money at a job you like/dislike, do it. If you enjoy doing something that makes your life fun, but the pay could be better (or even if the pay is great), then I say stick to it.

Like above...make yourself happy one way or another, whether it's true happiness or money.

I have a shit job. My last job and this one are both crap. The one prior to both of these was decent (OK money, good benefits), but I absolutely hated the GM that came in after the old one retired. He made the employees unhappy and he took away almost all of our perks as employees. If I could do it over, I probably would still work there, but oh well. I'm currently making the same as I did at my last job, but less than I did at Culligan (job prior to both of these)...and I have no benefits anymore. The only reason I'm still here is that the hours work for now...I need to find something else before my son starts kindergarten in the fall though. Hopefully second shift and benefits (my only real concern is benefits...insurance mainly).

I was successful in my own mind...unlike Matt and others, I chose to find a relationship, get married, have kids, house, cars, etc BEFORE taking care of myself and my career. Now that the house and wife are gone and I'm a single parent, who knows what I want to do.

Now, the only thing I care about is trying to be a good father and having fun in life. I don't care if I'm ever married again or in a committed relationship...I don't care if I'm ever successful in life (making tons of money/being rich)...I just care about my son and myself. If something happens along the way and I find someone to share it with, then great, but I'm not really looking anymore.

I would like to go to school sometime sooner than later (will be 30 this year so it's time to figure something out). Even though money isn't great, I think I would really enjoy working with electronics/computers (repair wise)...so electronics technology is most likely what I'm going to school for. May also do a second in robotics automation since I do have experience working with Fanuc robots and I really enjoyed it so troubleshooting and repairing them would be fun to me. Anything electronics or math based is where I find enjoyment. And the money although not great, would be better than where I am now. I mean, you know, I don't think my video gaming is going to get me anywhere...I'm good, but not great...so I don't see any MLG in my future. I'll have to rely on my son for that...he's so tech savvy at only 4 1/2 years old.


EDIT:
Just saw your other post...I'll tell you what, write an autobiography for me...I've had enough happen in my life that I can fill a book...someone may read it...at least it would be a start in a writing career, no? lol

As for making a difference...well that's a good thing to want...to be able to feel like you've accomplished something and maybe even get recognition for it from others. Writing and animals are both areas where you can "make a difference"...but neither are easy areas to work in (in my opinion).

 

[mOjO]

From the point of view of someone who doesn't have a college degree...

As was my point of view.

I didn't finish college because of work...at least that's what I blame for dropping out...both times. Along the way I found myself married, having kids, buying cars etc. but still finding plenty of successes at work. I'm not saying you didn't do it right Mike, really nothing of the sort. What I am trying to suggest to Tauni, is that you can have both, but it requires a bit of both luck and determination to do so. Sounds like fate had a different course for you Mike, and I commend you for your dedication to your kid(s).

 

[007CobaltLS]

I didn't mean to imply everyone else here did have a degree, I just know at least a few do.

It's just most people I know, take one course or the other. My uncle for instance, he waited quite a long time to have kids, spent a lot of time on career instead and while they're well off, it's not the way I would want to go about it. I think of my parents when I look at how I've done things...my parents were early 30's when they decided to have me. I for one did not want to be 50+ when my kids are graduating from high school.

I am fine with working harder for less right now, and giving myself more time to really figure out what I want in life and how to get it.

I hope my first post didn't sound derogatory in any way towards anyone...wasn't meant to be. Honestly, I only read her original post and nothing else until I saw her second post (after I all ready wrote mine), that's when I read everyone else's.

And thanks, I definitely try. Not really a believer of fate though...poor choices along the way have decided my "fate"...but lessons all learned.

 

[Tauni]

I really appreciate all of the feedback thus far. It helps to see what everyone else has done and how different paths can lead you different places.

I haven't necessarily lived the easiest life either, and you can ask AJ and Jana, that when I was 18 if you would have told me I would have graduated college and had a career I probably would have laughed. Many people told me to my face that I would never amount to much (they were a bunch of A-holes), and yet here I am. I graduated with a great GPA from a great school, did a lot while I was there and have had very high expectations of myself because of that.

But Matt's right, sadly. I think it's definitely a quarter life crisis and the reasoning sure stands!

I have no intentions of leaving my job anytime soon. I do like it here (the majority of the time - today not included lol), and I am at least gaining some experience. At the same time, I know I won't be here longer than a few years, so thinking about where I may go next is frustrating.

As was discussed in the chatbox, I think animals is the one love and passion I have that I would ever want to turn into a reasonable career, whatever that may be. But I think I'm going to take Jay's advice and start with volunteering. If I love it as much as I think I will, and feel that volunteering truly isn't enough, then I think I'll have my answer.

I still feel really uncertain, and I still would love to hear anyone else's input, but I think only time will really tell what I'll end up doing. I like to work and feel useful, so I just hope that whatever I end up doing is something that I feel is important.

 

[AJ]

I didn't have my 4 year degree till just this spring, at the age of 35. Through my late 20s and 30s I decided to unfuck my financial life by starting with my education to open more doors. I'm there now, took the summer off to have some fun and I'm now right back into school for an MBA. I've done enough to where I created a new positon at my work and I plan to turn it into a department in the next 5 years. Will it happen, who knows, that's my plan, and the payoff is worth the work (not talking $ value here either).

It's never too late to start something new, take a chance, and un-fuck a situaiton. You just need to set a goal, realize you won't get there overnight, and stick to it. If you want it, go for it.

T, you should know that our door is open. I've told Hayden I'd sit down with him over a beer (he can sip a Coke) and discuss my background in business. I'd do the same with you. Honestly, I'd sit down with anyone really if they wanted.

 

[007CobaltLS]

AJ, you are correct, I'm hoping to "unfuck" my situation, however I'm also a procrastinator. I need to just get off my ass and do something about my situation. I got comfortable with my job because it's easy...plain and simple...4 days a week...flexible hours...physical labor/driving a truck...just easy, nothing hard about it...

I've had a few different bosses at different jobs tell me I have a lot of potential (due to certain things/qualities they saw in me according to different jobs I've done)...

Thinking about it now...success to me is to give my son and myself an easier life all around (just need to make a little more and have a job where I'm not totally stressed...ultimately I would like to stay in the liquor business, but own my own small store...until then, I think I will have to go to school and get a job that allows me to make more to save towards that goal)...if I'm happier at work and less stressed and able to spend more time with my son, then I'll be successful again...and that means it is time to get off my ass. Time to contact a couple schools and check out class schedules...

and maybe find a part-time job so I can actually go to classes...since everything is hands on.

 

[AJ]

Don't discount online class opportunities. Education is about what you put in, not what they hand you. I had to learn that the expensive way right out of high school. So take your time, look around, and go with what works for you, not what others advise you on. It will work out for ya.

 

[Picklz]

So, here is my question to you, my successful, career minded friends (minus Tom) (just kidding) (sort of):

What do you do? Do you like doing it? How did you get into what you are doing? What did you go to school for? Are you going to stick with it forever? Do all young recent college graduates look at the future as a bleak and never ending mass of chaos and career-related confused HELL?

First of all - to those going off on tangents justifying their decisions in life or what 'success' means to them, not really sure how much help it is to Tauni, it certainly doesn't answer the questions she posed in the OP. Identifying what success means to her makes sense, understanding what it means to you, probably not real helpful. But I digress.

Before I answer your questions Tauni - You're right Tom - I have complained about having to be at work vs doing any number of other things, but to be honest I do enjoy what I do a LOT, Tauni asked career minded people what they did, how they got into it, if they like it, etc - nobody asked for anyone to justify (or even explain) what success means to them, their personal decisions in life, etc - I would not care to just sit on my ass in the house all day - but if that works for you and you're happy then more power to ya. At the end of the day it doesn't really help Tauni imo.

To speak to Tauni's question directly - I am a Network Engineer, I work mostly with Cisco Systems (company) equipment designing, implementing, and supporting large scale computer networks. Most of my work at my full time job is voice related so the voice systems that run on top of corporate networks - but really I do most everything 'network' related, voice, data, security, wireless etc. I love it - I took on a second Job doing networking on a consulting basis, not because I need the money, but because it offers me the ability to do some things I wouldn't normally be doing at my full time job, keeps my mind sharp, and hey, who doesn't like a little extra spending cash now and again.

Right as I was getting ready to graduate high school I started trying to decide what I wanted for a career, and really that starts at priorities which a lot of others have already talked about. Everyone is going to have different priorities, Mike for instance wanted kid's young, not a route I wanted to take, but again everyone has different wants/needs/opinions. There isn't a right or wrong answer here the important part is figuring out what makes the most sense for you. Do you want to have a big family? Big house? Cabin up north? a lot of community / corporate / whatever recognition for your accomplishments? Ability to retire early? How do you want your retirement to look? and so on.

Anyway - for me there were a number of criteria that I tried to use to narrow down what I might want to do for the next 30-40 years of my life, it had to be something that I felt I could do 40+ hours a week without wanting to tear my hair out. I wanted a job that had good earning potential, didn't have to be lawyer/DR salary but I have no shame in admitting I like nice shit so I wanted to be able to afford a house, car, toys, a kid, etc. In addition to earning potential I wanted something that had strong, growing demand and something that would hopefully be around for a while. I actually looked at some other IT related jobs but none of them fit as well as what I'm doing now, especially in that doing it 40 hours a week category. Something that offered a decent work/life balance was important also, IT tends to have a lot of travel/on-call/late hours stuff so I wanted to try and skirt as much of that as possible.

I did a fair bit of research - talking to people already in the field asking them what they liked, what they didn't like, what they would do differently, etc. No sense making mistakes others have made if it can be helped. I choose to only get a 2 year degree, and add Cisco certifications on top of that. I didn't see the need for a 4 year and thus far I do not regret that decision at all. I was in the job field 2-3+ years sooner than classmates that went for a bachelors degree, and while there are certain companies and positions where a bachelors or masters degree is required, a huge % especially in my field are more worried about experience. If I ever decide to go down the management track I will probably finish out at least a bachelors degree. Only going w/ a 2 year had 3 really big advantages. 1) Cost - I had zero debt coming out of college. 2) Experience - entering the job field 2+ years before I would normally have gave me a big jump start on obtaining the experience that is ever so important in getting the mid-upper level jobs. Finally - 2+ years of funding my 401k, I've tried to keep a good balance between saving for retirement vs having fun now - I won't really talk anymore on that but if you want to offline just PM me.

I don't have any plans to quit doing what I'm doing, as long as I stay on top of new technology and keep up my desire to learn new things there's no reason I couldn't still be doing this job when I'm in my 50's and 60's.
I'll finish with just a few things

#1 - don't sweat it! There's no harm in trying something, and finding out it didn't work or wasn't for you. I think it's best to try and avoid big mistakes but hey life is all about experiences and I don't think anyone should ever be afraid to try something new, as long as you learn from your mistakes. Try and plan as best you can but when shit doesn't go quite how you expected just adjust and keep on keepin on.

#2 - If you believe you can do something, don't let anyone tell you that you can't. If you're trying to move into a new field or move up within the company, etc. Talk to everyone that you can, be willing to learn/listen to people that can teach you, talk to management and make sure they understand your goals and try and find people / surround yourself with people that understand and are willing to help you reach those goals. Ask and understand what you need to do to accomplish whatever it is you're out to accomplish. Don't give up - if you are meeting resistance or things aren't working out regroup and figure out what you need to change - When I was working for Onvoy I basically had to tell the director of IT that I was leaving the company if they did not promote me, and I was prepared to do so. Because I knew I was ready and was willing to go elsewhere to continue growing as an engineer if I had to.

And finally #3 would be research, there is SO much information out there and people are generally very willing to talk to people interested in things they do - sit down and really think about what things make you happy, what you might like doing for work, and start looking to see if there might be a career option in those things - I think the big mistake some people (a lot of people) make is loving something and deciding it's going to be their career, without first researching to see if it's a valid option as a career, which comes back to those priorities/needs/wants - you need to have those figured out before anything. I know you were talking about marketing, if you aren't really doing that now (or not in the capacity you would like) put feelers out there to various people in a position you would like to eventually have, see if you can setup a networking meeting with them to find out about their Job and see what they might be able to do to help you. It really IS all about who you know, networking can be HUGELY valuable.


A lot of this was rambling as I'm super tired and half writing half working but hopefully there's at least some little nugget in here that might help. Like AJ I'm willing to talk with anyone about anything business / IT / job / career / goal related anytime. I don't have all the answers and am far from perfect but I would, by my criteria anyway, consider myself fairly successful from a Job/Career standpoint.

 

[YSOSLO]

Matt's made some excellent points above. The impression I got as I read through the post above was that Matt approached his career track in a very analytic way. I think everything he mentioned (schooling, networking etc) is important. However for some folks, life doesn't always fall into place that way and sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes is sucks.

Tauni, you've already got a college part knocked out and you rocked it! Excellent work, girl! You had your eye on the prize (a bachelors degree) and you worked to accomplish that goal and did a great job while having fun throwing some discs all along. The key now (I think) is to set your next goal. You've asked a group of mainly guys how to figure out the next step, but the reality is that you aren't a guy and you may not approach things with the same mindset as a guy. Most of the guys on here have approached their career or job(s) with the sense that they were either supporting their family or laying the ground work for a family they would have at some point in the future. You and Corey have probably talked (it's been quite a number of years that you two have been together, right?) about possibly getting married within the next few years and if you two want kids (you two are too good-looking NOT to have kids...c'mon) then the reality is that your approach to your career in general is probably going to be a little or a lot different.

You might decide to come up with a plan as Matt and AJ mentioned, or you might decide to work at something for 5 or 10 years and then start a family. And how you want to raise your kids will effect how you approach your working life. I know, when I was a kid, my Mom worked for the phone company so she was often gone in the evenings, but it wasn't working for our family so she ended up being a stay-at-home Mom for probably 5-7 years until my little brother and I were old enough that we could be home alone and then she went back to work part-time in the library at a high school. On the other hand, my wife and I decided our kids were going to be in in-home daycare while both of us work and that's the way our family works. Tom and Taya and Nate and his wife (and perhaps others) decided they didn't want their kid(s) in daycare, so that choice effected their decisions.

It's late and I've probably provided you with more questions than answers, but ultimately YOUR answers (and Corey's answers) to the questions I've brought up will very much shape the path you take.

Now, where do I go to pick up my award (assuming there IS one) for more parenthesis in a single post....lol

 

[Workdawg]

Laugh all you want... but I guarantee I haven't said something every single one of you have said in the last 3 months....



"Goddamnit, do not want work today".

I've said that, sure... because sometimes I just don't really want to be at work for one reason or another. (Have other things I'd rather do, mostly) I've never said it because of "hating work". Further, the reason you haven't is because you quit your job, hardly a responsible solution in most cases (yours happens to be an exception, but it doesn't really belong in this thread, IMO)...

When you were working, you bitched about having to work, while working from home full time, more than the rest of us combined. (except maybe Colin) It's not like your "career choices" have been something to look up to. Your "life advice" type stuff you posted is reasonable, though.

I digress...

I'll preface this by saying that I haven't actually read most of the rest of the thread. I've read the beginning of most of the posts, but it seems like a lot of them didn't really answer the questions, or went off on tangents. I suppose I probably will as well, but hey.

What do I do?
Software developer (computer programmer)

Do I like it?
Fundamentally, yes. I work on big, complex puzzles and I get great satisfaction from being successful in solving them. When I spend a week analyzing a problem, coming up with a solution, and then implementing it successfully; that's the good stuff.

Some of the other parts of the job are less fun, but I suppose they come with the territory. Dealing with support issues for users, dealing with office politics, etc are not so fun and sometimes stress.

How did I get into it?
I suppose the typical "I like computers, so I want to work with them" that seems fairly common. Of course, back when I was young that was quite a bit different than today. Computers weren't THAT common back then, so being interested in computers meant a lot more than stalking people on Facebook all day and downloading music from iTunes. Certainly the job prospects helped encourage my decision I guess, but mostly just "computers are cool".

During college I was able to intern at a couple of different companies during the summers to get a feel for "real world" software development. I liked it well enough to decide I had made the right choice. As a bonus, the last internship I had came with a job offer, and I've worked there ever since.

What did I go to school for?
I have a BS in Management Information Systems. The coursework was pretty much a hybrid of computer science and management. I discovered that I like programming, and rather dislike management... but hey.

Am I going to stick with it forever?
For the foreseeable future, I think so. My career is still in its infancy, really. Technically I'm a senior developer and development lead, but up until recently, I've been under my bosses wing. I do pretty much all the actual code writing, but I still consult with him on design and business process related things. More recently he's been letting me take more ownership of it. It puts a lot more responsibility on me to make sure that everything is right.

So far, my boss has insulated me from most of the business politics and other unpleasant parts of the job, at least as much as he could... but that'll be changing. I sort of look at it as a new chapter in my career, and it's a bit frightening, but also pretty exciting. We'll see how it goes.

From a more broad perspective, job prospects in my field are still good. I am underpaid, but I've been getting solid increases for the past few years. I could most likely apply elsewhere and get a pretty big raise working for someone else, but there are other reasons I stay where I'm at.

Do I look at the future as a bleak and never ending mass of chaos and career-related confused HELL?
I think my answers to the other questions pretty much sum up the answer to this... but I don't see the future as bleak. Sure, there have been times recently, especially with all Jenny's issues, where I've thought "damn, this sucks", but I just remind myself that I have it pretty damn good. I'm 28 years old and I have everything I NEED and most of the stuff I want. Wife, house, dogs, car, toys, etc. I'm not living paycheck-to-paycheck. I don't hate my job. I don't have a pile of debt up to my eyeballs (except the mortgage, the car will be paid off in May).

As far as "chaos and career-related confused HELL", not really. Like I said above, things are changing at work. It makes me a little bit nervous... but I'm not going to let it scare me off. I guess I was pretty fortunate to figure out what I liked early, and that it turned out to be the right decision.

Related to my answer above... I find that sometimes I get rather obsessed with certain ideas (which is something that seems to happen frequently around here), but it's just that, an IDEA. The idea of building a chump car, or the idea of opening a "We'll deepfry anything" stand at the state fair. Certainly those things sound awesome, but the ideas are fleeting. My theory on that is that it's best to let an idea simmer for a while. A certain idea might sound awesome one day and dumb the next. Chill out for a month or two and if you still can't stop thinking about something, then pursue it more. You avoid wasting countless hours obsessing over something that you don't really want.

Just take time to think about things. You mentioned that you keep thinking "I wish I could do this..." etc. My advice about that would be to really sit down and thing about those thoughts harder. Would that REALLY be better? Sure the idea of working in some field you absolutely love getting paid a ton sounds great on the surface... but if it's related to a hobby... would it make you eventually hate that hobby? (Like working for a disc company...) If it's working with animals... would it pay enough for you to maintain a reasonable life outside of work? Certainly doing what you love is something to strive for, but if it doesn't pay the bills, it's not really that feasible.

 

[million]

The Job
Industrial Designer (product design and development)

Definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_design

Do I enjoy what I do?
For the most part, yes. It has depended on what company I work for, but no matter where I am working, the creative process is still the same. It is nice to be working on something that I am interested in though. As in any job, there are times when motivation is hard to come by.

How did I get into it?
I grew up taking things apart to figure out how they worked and why they were made that way. Combine that with the fact that I grew up with a father who taught junior high art classes for 22 years. In high school, a college friend had a roommate who was studying industrial design, and he told me about it because he thought it would be right up my alley. I decided to check it out in 11th grade, and never looked back.


What did I go to school for?
I have a BA in Industrial Design from the University of Wisconsin- Stout. There are some programs out there that have the ID degree as a Bachelor of Science though.

Am I in it for the long haul?
I have been working in my field for over 8 years now... so far so good. I have designed toys, medical equipment, fitness products, novelty items, motorcycle parts/accessories, kids products, pet products... and now electronics. I enjoy what I do. As for pay, once you climb the ranks a little, it is pretty solid. I don't see myself changing careers anytime soon.