John A. Steinhable

What is the one piece of career advice you wish someone gave you when you were younger?

When "we" were young, we were all told we could be anything. "Shoot for the stars, you just might miss and land on the moon." So, we all grew up knowing, factually that we would go to college. At about 17 or so, the school tried to help us pick a career. It was not very helpful. Being a first generation college grad, I had little direction from my parents. When it came time to pick a major, I looked to my role models who happened to be History teachers. That's my major. If I could do it over again, I would pick finance, mathematics, business, philosophy, language...something else. My one piece of advice is to understand what your end goal is first. "What do I want to be when I grow up?" Once you know what you want to be, you can choose your major.

Did anyone ever oppose your career plans when you were young or push you in a direction you did not want to go?

Early on, family members shamed me for taking entry level positions. "You're only making $x" It was very hurtful. Don't take it too personally. Now my family kinda looks up at my and says "wow, he made it." If you keep on making the right decisions, following your gut (with a little support), you can make it too.