Reddit reviews What Color Is Your Parachute? 2016: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers

Figuring out what career to gear up for while failing college felt to me like fixing an airplane in mid-flight.


OPTION I: Land the plane and fix it.

Two majors in, I dropped out and worked for six years, then the light bulb came on, and I got a BSCS from the CoE here. So that's the option that worked for me.


OPTION II: Fix the plane - hey, lots of altitude left!

If you try this, you need a much sharper image of who you are, what brings out the best in you, what you would do if had no financial constraints but wanted to be productive, what standard of living you want, where you want to live, and so forth. Get a self-discovery-oriented career guide like What Color Is Your Parachute and start noticing the good and bad patterns in your life and what they imply about a career that you could build without dreading Mondays.


OPTION III: Whee, we're gliding!

Included for completeness and popularity.

Get this book for him.

Don't ask about girls. Obviously he wouldn't be drinking himself to sleep and talking about suicide if he had a happy healthy relationship with one.

Consider therapy for the depression.

Offer to help him with his resume (after reading the aforementioned book).

I want to share an observation. When people find out that I come from a STEM background, I often hear plenty of put downs, sometimes from people without degrees, towards humanities majors. Sure, Art History gets hit often, but I think Sociology gets hit the hardest for perceived employment difficulty. I don't like when people do this, but there is a weak argument there. The business school analog to sociology is organizational behavior. Perhaps there is an overlapping major/minor that you can bootstrap onto East Asian Studies to get to Japan, such as economics (money touches everything), or international relations. The most critical prerequisite to starting this program is live research; colloquially, if you think you're on the border of the excessive range, you may have just hit the threshold of enough.

Try talking to the school's career services, who can better connect you to alumni 5-10 years out (also try linkedin), but also talk to randomly related people, e.g. talk to someone that works at Honda or Toyota in Torrance, find a current or former Airman / Sailor / Marine that has been to Japan (not many Army bases near UCR), chat with another school's career services to get outside the marketing bubble (hell, call the Ivys), write to Anthony Bourdain, etc.

Important: if you haven't done so, read What Color is Your Parachute, cover to cover. ( https://amzn.com/160774662X )

This career development process can take over a year, but the fact that you're initializing it at 25 before spending on education reflects positively on you. The Force will be with you, always.

• Buy or borrow What Color Is Your Parachute 2016 and read it. It's got a lot of good suggestions.
  
• My local library offers classes, and they also have a resume critique session. Check these out.
  
• Did you graduate college? If so, contact them about their job placement program.
  
• Check out your local community college. They might have classes or help with getting a job.
  
• Networking is crucial these days. Get on Linked In and network with your friends.
  
• How long ago were your interviews? Can you contact them and ask why you weren't chosen?
  
• Why were you fired from jobs?
  
• Does Meetup.com have any social groups available for networking? (My local meetup does.)
  
  Job hunting unfortunately is a job in itself. It's much different even from 10 years ago when you graduated. You probably need a functional resume, not a "job" resume that only lists the jobs you've had. I'm sure I'm not listing everything that can be done, but hopefully other people will chime in.
  

If you give up easily, programming is not for you. It's a very mentally-intensive field that requires a lot of thinking and discipline. That being said, you're very young still and have a lot of time to figure out what you want to do. Try different things to find out what you like, then try and make a job out of it.

If you're good at music, put some videos on YouTube. That's how Justin Bieber was discovered. Try programming again. It's a lot more fun if you have a project to work on, so try building a simple website or a simple game. Try job shadowing people (following someone around at their job to see what their day-to-day tasks are like).

Here's a website that lists off IT jobs. You can browse this site to get a feel for the types of jobs out there and the types of responsibilities they come with.

There's also a book called What Color is your Parachute? I've never read it, but it's helped a lot of people find out what they wanted to do with their lives.

So three years ago I was pretty much in the exact position, except I was probably even older than you. After a lot of just being miserable, I decided it was time to make a change. I started reading a bunch career-related self-help guides (What Colour is Your Parachute, Strengthfinder, and What To Do When It's Your Turn are some that I would recommend) and trying to think more critically about what I was good at naturally, and what I really wanted to do with my time. Then I began thinking about what I wanted my life to look like, ideally. Not just like, how much money I wanted to make, but things like where I wanted to live, who I would want to work with, what kind of projects and problems interest me. Then (and this was one of the most crucial steps) I started browsing the job application sections of websites of companies where I thought I might want to work. After finding out about a unique career I had never heard of before (User Experience Design), I went to meetups, talked to people, did more research. Went back to school (had to go to Langara for a year, which was the best thing I've ever done), networked at every opportunity I could, managed to get an internship, internship turned into a job, went back to UBC (because I realized that the job I really wanted to do would really befit from my degree–in cultural anthropology), and now I'm about to grad with honours. I should add that none of this has been easy, even though I really really enjoy school, school is super hard for me and causes me a huuuuuuuuge amount of anxiety. But, having the opporunity to envision, and then experience what the goal of my studies were was incredibly influential. So don't give up. Be realistic, be humble (being an undergrad in your late twenties requires a good deal of humility at times), but be persistent in pursuing what you really want to do with your time. After all, you'll be working for the majority of the rest of your life in all likelihood. Best of luck, hope this helped.

So I struggled with this also when I was in my 20s. My family all went to college and we have numerous professionals in my family so the momentum was to go and study accounting....Dad kinda forced us all into that major. But I was miserable. It wasn't exciting enough for me....until I got my first job as an accountant working for a manufacturing business.

So I HATED cost accounting in college....like it was one of my least favorite classes and I struggled to get a C in the class. However this job was real world cost accounting and I LOVED IT!! Like literally was excited as hell to go into work each day because I got to use my brain to figure shit out.

So this right here taught me that there is a HUGE difference between the educational experience and how that will translate into post educational satisfaction on the job. This is something that aptitude tests can't possibly hope to measure let alone direct anyone into a major that will be satisfying. Now sometimes sure....people take those tests and magically find their path but most people I know or have talked to have struggled to find meaningful work....even with these stupid tests.

OK so where does that leave us? Well I think we need a better approach. For me, I had to start allowing myself to "do what I want" meaning, I started asking myself and noticing what was attracting my attention when I wasn't focused on working or accomplishing something......I found that I was drawn to computers and had always been drawn to them.

So while I was working, still miserable and in a job I fucking HATED, I started to ask myself what I wanted to do with computers. This questioning took many forms but it basically boils down to, "Ok SW, you can do anything and computers are a wide branch of study....what do you really enjoy or what would you think you might enjoy doing with them?" And the more I probed around this question I remember that I had always wanted to know how to fix them, how they worked internally, what were all those parts and pieces inside and what did they do and could I learn all of that stuff? I dunno but it sounded interesting to me so I'll spend a little time with it and see how I feel.

But I didn't know where to start with any of that so I headed to the bookstore to see if they had anything. This was back in the late 90s and I didn't have access to the WWW except at work so the bookstore was the best bet. I found out about A+ Certification and the more I looked into that the more appealing it was......so I bought a book and committed to studying it.

Every night I would come home exhausted from work, eat, exercise then plop down for a few hours of reading. I was totally absorbed in the material and 2 hours would pass like it was 5 minutes!!! This happened over and over again and somedays I didn't want to study but I'd committed myself so I did and over time I learned a LOT!

Now my story goes on and on from there but I'll skip a lot of the details. What it led me to was first building my own computer....then building them for work, then I wanted to learn about Linux so I started playing around with that and then I wanted to learn about programming so I started playing around with that which led be back to University at 36 to pursue a Comp Sci degree and here I am, some 9 years after graduating.....unemployed and happier than I can remember being in my life! :)

What's the point in all of this? Well follow your bliss. That's what I did and while you may think, "Wait you're unemployed why would I follow your suggestion?" just know that my unemployment was a choice....a new path and I needed time to give birth to my next area of focus....which is starting to emerge. :)

I posted this video a few days ago and it's a beautiful way of saying what I've said.

I know from experience how difficult Calc 3 is and Linear Algebra came right after that and kicked my ass like no other class I've ever had in my life. Holy shit that was an ass reaming!! What kept me going? My desire for that silly piece of paper and my commitment to getting my degree. Degrees have value precisely because they are hard to obtain!! Most people get pissed off at having to take so many classes that don't relate to what they want to do and over time, even the most highly motivated students will struggle.....I was more motivated than most and it was an absolute BITCH!!

However just because something is difficult doesn't mean I quit and go looking for a different path. I used to think that.....that if something was difficult or if I was struggling, I was off course and needed to find something better where I didn't struggle. WRONG....sometimes we need to press onward, dig deeper, STAY THE COURSE because we're on the right path but paths can be tough as fuck.

I KNEW I was on the right path because I had given myself enough time to explore and try on different ideas and paths and all that so I was willing to commit to the degree. Once committed, giving up wasn't an option because once you start quitting in life, it will forever be an option. NOPE, I wouldn't do that and I knew I had to press on.

I can't tell you if you're in the right degree or not or whether another one will be a better path for you. Only you can decide that but hopefully all these words will help you figure it out.

I found a couple of books to be extremely helpful when choosing a path and they are:

What color is your parachute

And

Zen and the Art of Making a Living

I wish you all the best on your journey.

I think that you should sit down and give serious consideration to what you want to do in the future. I have a BFA in painting, and I worked for other people in various, non-art jobs for about 10 years before getting back to art. I find that the patience and creative problem solving I have developed from my art practice have served me well in these roles. But I'm a bit more analytical than many of my art friends :-p

If you're 18-20 years old I know it might be tough to sit down and map out the future, but I suggest taking a weekend to do just that. Start by reading 'What Color is Your Parachute' and do the flower exercise.

Here are some other thoughts:

• Passion is important, but it doesn't pay the bills - much less create or maintain a standard of living you can be proud of. And it certainly won't fund any kind of retirement. I know so many creatives in their 50's and 60's who will never be able to move away uninspiring work that makes money instead of traveling and / or creating personal passion projects.
  
  
• Build / maintain relationships with friends and professors now. That way it isn't weird to ask people in leadership roles for advice or letters of recommendation later.
  
  
• Start showing work wherever you can so you can learn about the finer details of doing so long before your exit show. Cafes are legit. It all counts.
  
  
• Read business books or do online training with people like Cory Huff. You can't expect your school to teach you about business, so why not start looking into it now so you're ready when you graduate.
  
  
• I don't agree that an MFA is necessary for a career in the (non-collegiate) art world. Especially as the economy gets worse, and it's harder for people to justify that amount of debt.
  
  
• Talk to as many people as you can about your projects / career goals. All opportunities start as an idea in someone's head and you only see opportunities in the classifieds when someone hasn't figured out a way to ignore or solve a problem on their own. How can you be a problem solver? How can you create win-win scenarios?
  
  
• Remind your family that nowadays there is no pipeline to success for any major.

Everyone needs to feel that their life is purposeful and they are doing meaningful things. If you want to start a new career, maybe part-time, I really enjoyed the book What Color is Your Parachute?. I found it helps to really figure out what a person enjoys doing. You seem to have a lot of skills. Your skills would be very beneficial to even non-profits or even showing other people how to become entrepreneurs.

Good luck for your interview. I am sure you are well prepared but I read What Color is your parachute based on a college professor's recommendation and it gave me a great new perspective and not to mention the most important thing, confidence.

I’m sorry to hear you’re having such a difficult time landing a job. I’m no expert but a hiring consultant of many years with a masters in I/O Psychology recommended this book to me and it’s gold. It’s called “What Color is Your Parachute.” Buy it. Read it. Do everything it says.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/160774662X/ref=simh_9?pf_rd_p=28dd6f46-4b4d-440a-b8bb-3e8834cf0214&pf_rd_s=grid-unrec-4&pf_rd_t=Gateway&pf_rd_i=mobile&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=J60JT6G270Z97AMSN5JY&pf_rd_r=J60JT6G270Z97AMSN5JY&pf_rd_p=28dd6f46-4b4d-440a-b8bb-3e8834cf0214&pd_rd_i=160774662X

Don't say "career change," say "pivot".

If you want to leave teaching 100% behind and get into an industry in which you have zero experience, you will certainly have to put in your time. But you do have a lot of working experience and that will count for more than you think.

On the other hand, you can think about what you actually like about your job, and find a new career that is strong on those aspects.

Here's a great resource for you, in case you have not heard of it before: What Color Is Your Parachute?

https://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2016/dp/160774662X

This was a good resource when I was changing career fields.

talking to people whose jobs sounded really enjoyable was a good start. matching up my skill set with different career tracks. (i took 0 marketing and communications classes in college, but it's something I'm decent at and have now worked in for 5ish years). Also, read this! https://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2016/dp/160774662X