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What is one thing you wish you knew before starting your career?
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83 answers
Douglas Lemmo, P.E.
Consultant, Owner at Power Generation Consulting Services
132
Answers
Updated
Douglas’s Answer
Interesting question. I do not have an answer to what I wished I knew. But, the one thing I did know is that I did not ever want to quit. If I chose to do something, I would carry it to completion. I did not always do "great", but I always finished.
I'm excited to put your great advice to good use!
Samuel
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
Naomi
Thank you for your insight!
Mireia
I wish I knew not to take things I couldn’t control personal. That includes customer situations that caused our customers to be upset. I wish I knew just to smile show empathy and do all I could to fix it. 20 years ago I would take the frustration personal causing myself more issues on the back end
Billie Page Walker
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Hi again Mireia!
I love your questions!
I work helping people to find jobs. What I wish I knew is how focused the social services are on "measurements."
1. How many customers did you help today?
2. How many job referrals did you give?
etc etc etc
Unfortunately, it is more important to give out a bunch of job referrals than it is to make sure the client has a good resume or is able to hold their own in an interview. That is because whoever funds us desires "accountability" so everything has to be measured. It's not possible to measure the effect of talking with someone for 20 minutes and boosting their self-esteem, or helping them develop a resume that will get them to the next step. I love what I do, and get a lot of positive feedback from my customers. I could do without the statistics!
Kim
I love your questions!
I work helping people to find jobs. What I wish I knew is how focused the social services are on "measurements."
1. How many customers did you help today?
2. How many job referrals did you give?
etc etc etc
Unfortunately, it is more important to give out a bunch of job referrals than it is to make sure the client has a good resume or is able to hold their own in an interview. That is because whoever funds us desires "accountability" so everything has to be measured. It's not possible to measure the effect of talking with someone for 20 minutes and boosting their self-esteem, or helping them develop a resume that will get them to the next step. I love what I do, and get a lot of positive feedback from my customers. I could do without the statistics!
Kim
Updated
Dr. Ray’s Answer
Dear Mirela,
Your question really made me stop and think. I had very little idea of what it meant to work as a psychologist on a day to day basis. I originally wanted to teach at a university level but couln't get a job there. However, in retrospect I am glad i didn't go this route. Academic positions as a rule don't pay well and the politics and infighting among faculty members can be really vicious. After working in several mental health centers I went into private practice, which was immensely rewarding. However I wish I had known more about running a business. In addition to working with my clients I had to think about marketing, billing, paying taxes, etc., none of which was ever addressed in my training.
One of my professors told me "a degree is as good as your first job." Even if you are well prepared in a given field there will be many things you never thought of and have to learn once you start working, but this can be fun and needn't be unpleasant.
Updated
Alwyn’s Answer
Having insight into how humans interact with computational devices and what triggers them to action. In effect, I would have wanted to study behavioral psychology and human factors - each with skills that would have enhanced my expertise.
Jasanpreet Kaur Bhatia
|| Startup Enthusiastic || Advisor || Knowledge Sharer || Writer
157
Answers
Updated
Jasanpreet Kaur’s Answer
To know which career to opt for. The one in which you can thrive, be successful combine with sense of satisfaction and happiness.
career careerplanning
career careerplanning
You rock! This advice is very helpful.
Samuel
Updated
Alnaya’s Answer
Hi! I recently graduated from college and just began my career. I think I can help you out from my experience. I would say to keep your options open! My major was accounting and I decided at the last minute to not pursue the traditional accounting career path. Luckily, I completed 5 internships throughout college. Therefore, I knew what I wanted in a career. By the way, complete at least 1 internship during college. This will give you an idea on what you want to pursue after college. You also get a taste of various office environments. This is important! You want to work in an atmosphere that is not toxic! Depending on your career choice, you may have to decide on an industry. Narrow down your top 3 or 5 industries. Writing down what your must-haves on a list helps tremendously! I did this and so far I like how my career is starting.
Thanks for the advice.
Samuel
Updated
Pallavi’s Answer
Hello Mireia,
I wish I asked this question when I started by career and received the guidance. Over the years I have learnt:
- Most of us get intimidated when we are in a large group; not everyone is an ace in public speaking. There's always a fear; how will I be judged. This sometimes leaves us with situation where we get the half-baked information or no clarity at all. I have learnt, no matter what, if there is a doubt, never ever hesitate to ask a question. There maybe someone else in the room who has the similar concern and your question helps to get more details.
- Learn to say NO. We tend to go over and beyond when trying to please others and doing this, we end up taking more stuff in our plate than we can manage. Understand your capacity/ bandwidth first before accepting anything new. Saying NO will not get you a negative feedback; it is always better than not being able to deliver.
Your advice was so helpful!
Samuel
Updated
Steven Brandon’s Answer
My answer might seem overly-simplistic, and it is, in a way. Make a plan.
I didn't have a plan when I got into college, nor when I graduated. I was just kind of treading water waiting for something to happen. Your guidance counselor will tell you that your college major will change 3 or 4 times before graduation, and he/she is probably right. That shouldn't stop you from making a plan. It's okay if your plan changes, but you must have a plan. It doesn't matter how many times your plan changes, as long as you are following a plan.
Regarding your plan, get as specific as possible early on. It's not enough to simply say "I want to be a developer". You should be saying "I want to work for a specific company, developing certain technology, to help solve a specific problem". The more granular you become in your plan, the quicker you'll realize if you still want to stick to that plan. If not, make a new plan.
I hope this helps you on your journey. Best of luck to you!
I didn't have a plan when I got into college, nor when I graduated. I was just kind of treading water waiting for something to happen. Your guidance counselor will tell you that your college major will change 3 or 4 times before graduation, and he/she is probably right. That shouldn't stop you from making a plan. It's okay if your plan changes, but you must have a plan. It doesn't matter how many times your plan changes, as long as you are following a plan.
Regarding your plan, get as specific as possible early on. It's not enough to simply say "I want to be a developer". You should be saying "I want to work for a specific company, developing certain technology, to help solve a specific problem". The more granular you become in your plan, the quicker you'll realize if you still want to stick to that plan. If not, make a new plan.
I hope this helps you on your journey. Best of luck to you!
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Samuel
Updated
Sunil’s Answer
I dont have the exact answer even after completing 13 years. one advice is always follow your interest, and dont worry if you dont know what you want to do at the start of the career. Majority of the people dont know this so you are not alone. On the job experience, signing up for new opportunities & keep exploring will eventually lead to the path where you wanted to go at the start. Its important that you follow your interest, but this journey of finding it is also very much important and helps a lot.
Thanks
Sunil
Thanks
Sunil
Thank you for taking the time to help.
Samuel
Updated
Joey’s Answer
Really great question! I would say that being risk averse or overly cautious when making decisions can sometimes hold you back as opposed to help you accelerate your career growth and it's something I would of done sooner If I could have. Particularly as a leader or manager in a business, you have to take risks sometimes. Trust yourself and learn from the challenges you encounter along the way!
I will use this advice as I prepare for my career.
Samuel
Updated
Victoria’s Answer
Hi Mireira, I love your question and wish more people would ask these type of questions before starting their careers! Though many answers come to mind, to me the number one thing I wish I knew before starting my career was to have fun and travel a little before starting my full-time career.
It's important to work hard in college, work to obtain internships to gain experience, and work hard to develop your personal brand, but I wish I had taken some time to explore the world after college. You have the rest of your life to work, so don't wait until retirement to take time to get to know yourself outside of the college "bubble"!
Good Luck!
Victoria recommends the following next steps:
You rock! This advice is very helpful.
Samuel
Updated
Ronald’s Answer
This is a great question, that honestly just leads to more *questions.
What is important to you, what makes you fulfilled, does this job satiate that?
What type of work do I want to do?
What sort of impact do I want to have?
Am I a morning person?
Am I a team player or an individual contributor?
Do I want to work inside all day?
Do I want to be my own boss, what are the pros and cons to you?
What does work-life balance mean to me?
What sort of lifestyle do I want?
What sort of schooling is needed for this career?
What is my career path?
Do I want to be public-facing or behind the scenes?
How do I budget, what is a budget?
Where do I want to live?
* There are no right or wrong answers, these are things that you will need to discover as you start your career.*
What is important to you, what makes you fulfilled, does this job satiate that?
What type of work do I want to do?
What sort of impact do I want to have?
Am I a morning person?
Am I a team player or an individual contributor?
Do I want to work inside all day?
Do I want to be my own boss, what are the pros and cons to you?
What does work-life balance mean to me?
What sort of lifestyle do I want?
What sort of schooling is needed for this career?
What is my career path?
Do I want to be public-facing or behind the scenes?
How do I budget, what is a budget?
Where do I want to live?
* There are no right or wrong answers, these are things that you will need to discover as you start your career.*
Thank you for taking the time to help.
Samuel
Updated
Haley’s Answer
Hi Mireia. One thing I wish I could tell my younger self would be that you don't need to follow a linear career path. Most of my childhood/young adult life I thought that I would get a job and work up the ladder similar to what I thought my dad did. When I started my career I would talk to as many people as I could that were in jobs I was interested in to learn what their career path was. Most to all of them described what I thought was a hap-hazard path. None of them were linear. They just followed opportunities and took chances. I found this really frustrating, that there wasn't one right answer or one single path. It took me a while and listening to dozens of similar stories before it sunk in that I every decision I make is my career path and that I should make the best decision I can with the information I have at the moment. Early in my career I made career changes based on trying new things and avoiding things I didn't like. I eventually found the things that I love and now I'm making career decisions based on challenging myself to get better at those things. Along this path, I've changed careers multiple times, but I've kept advancing and now that I've found a company and a job that I love all those decisions were what brought me here.... in probably the most non-linear way :)
I will use this advice as I prepare for my career.
Samuel
Updated
Spyros’s Answer
I wish someone told me it is ok NOT to know what you want to do or what your dream job is when you start your career. For my first job I worked as a Software Engineer and the reason I chose this job is because it was the normal thing to do after graduating with a B.Sc. in Computer Science. Few months in the new job and I quickly realized this is certainly what I will NOT be doing few months/years later. The fact that I started my career with a job i didn't like very much made me stress and think that would be the end of it. I wish someone told me that's not the case. The good thing that came out from this job is that I started understanding how the IT sector works, made me discover new roles (not all IT jobs are about software development) and of course helped me with networking. Using this knowledge and my resources I managed to identify other career paths which led me to the role I am having now (Customer Success Manager) which I truly LOVE <3
My point is: I wish I knew we shouldn't over stress ourselves with finding the ideal job from the very beginning of our careers. When we start our main goal should be to just try jobs or roles even when they are not our first pick, observe what is going and take decisions as we go.
My point is: I wish I knew we shouldn't over stress ourselves with finding the ideal job from the very beginning of our careers. When we start our main goal should be to just try jobs or roles even when they are not our first pick, observe what is going and take decisions as we go.
Your advice was so helpful!
Samuel
Updated