Picking the right career

[MBAVisionary]

I would love to start learning technical skills I could apply in the workplace. My ideal would be several different areas which would very much diversify me in the workforce.

Historically the jobs I've worked didn't require a whole lot of skills. Also the pay wasn't that great either. I majored in liberal arts, then business twice. No accounting / finance background and I'd much rather deal with concepts than numbers all day (especially taxes though I did consider taking the CPA exam at one point).

Some others have had a family member point them in the right direction as far as careers go. This was not the case for me, though completing personality surveys has demonstrated to me I excel in supporting others but also like to dive into technical areas as well.

On some level I think I have a fear of investing huge amounts of my time in an area with no guarantee of success. I also see most of the it jobs I've looked at want years of experience or at the least a mis or cs degree. I earn mid 30s now and want to reach 60s+ as I enter my 4th decade.

I work in marketing now, but growth at my current company is hard to come by (been there a year and 10 people left already) and even with a bump up I'd probably have to work another year to get an extra 5k.

IT is an area I could excel with effort though looking through long times of documentation literally puts me to sleep. I tried very unsuccessfully to get involved in ecommerce, but a strong retail background is a prerequisite there.

A big part of becoming FI is earnings and the last 12 months will be the highest I've earned in 3 years. My consumption is low overall, cell gym gas electricity Internet TV... No car pmt and not making payments now toward our mortgage as my partner does that.

It's almost unfathomable to imagine 10 years in the same industry. For me that would imply in college I knew what I wanted to do when I graduated. Fast forward to now I still don't know what I'd like. There are plenty of things I can become good at, but not necessarily any work that makes me super excited about:

Any thoughts on when the pieces came together or challenges faced along the way ?

[comicbookgujy]

When I left college, I had 8 different jobs during a 2 years period. Then I was layoff from the last job and didn't work for another year. I have been in my current job for the past 10 years and this was not a career I imagined I would be in. I planned to be a computer programmer or a stock broker.

My advice, if you don't see a career path or growth after 2 years on the job...move on to another company or department.

At 40 years old and 10 plus years on the same job, I still don't know what I want to do. All I know is, I don't want to do this job any longer. Only reason why I keep working is because of the compensation. I know I will not get another 6 figures job unless I go back to school and get an MBA or work my way up for another 10 plus year like I did with my current position

[MichaelB]

MBA, you might find this thread useful. http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...nce-63304.html

[foxfirev5]

Another factor which is huge for me is to do something you enjoy. Working just for a big paycheck will certainly burn you out quickly. Now with all that said I wouldn't want to discount the advantages of a high demand education and field.