Tag: career

Career planning = career limiting

The world is an incredibly complex place and everything is changing all the time.You can’t plan your career because you have no idea what’s going to happen in the future. You have no idea what industries you’ll enter, what companies you’ll work for, what roles you’ll have, where you’ll live, or what you will ultimately contribute to the world. You’ll change, industries will change, the world will change, and you can’t possibly predict any of it.

Trying to plan your career is an exercise in futility that will only serve to frustrate you, and to blind you to the really significant opportunities that life will throw your way.Marc Andreessen, American entrepreneur, investor, and software engineer.

Mark Andreessen wrote those words in 2009 but they seem very relevant today. If you had asked me what my career goals were back in the 1980s when I graduated from high school, I would have waffled and mumbled something about getting an engineering degree and then going to work for Bell Labs. But the honest answer would have been, "I don't know".

My career has taken unexpected turns over the year since I graduated from the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School. I took my entering degree and started working on micro-controllers in the engine diagnostics division of General Motors/Electronic Data System. That experience helped me get work in the multi-media labs at Sarnoff. I got a lot of experience developing C+ code but I also started working with BASH scripts in Solaris. That experience with BASH and UNIX helped me get hired into the newly formed website development team at Bloomberg, LLP. The web site platform was based on UNIX and open source scripting languages. I learned a lot about model-view-controller development and working to deadlines.

Experience with rapid application development in scripting languages such as Perl and JavaScript helped me launch my consulting career. I worked in many industry segments including financial services and pharmaceutical doing web application development and system integration work. That helped me develop an aptitude for rapid learning which helped me land a consulting and then a full-time role in information security. In the 10 years I was at my former employer, I had the opportunity to develop project management, presentation, writing, and strategic thinking skills.

What to Do With Your Life?

Last year a 15-year-old wrote to Leo Babauta.

‘As a high-school student I’m constantly being reminded to figure out what to do with my life, what career I would like to have and so on. I definitely feel huge amounts of pressure when my teachers and parents tell me to figure out something now. I’m young and I don’t want to make a mistake and ruin my future. I know what I like and what my interests are but when I read about a job related to those interests I always feel as if I wouldn’t enjoy it and I don’t know why.’

Leo wrote back:

Prepare yourself by learning about your mind, becoming trustworthy, building things, overcoming procrastination, getting good at discomfort and uncertainty.

You can put all this off and live a life of safety and boringness. Or you can start today, and see what life has to offer you.Leo

Recently, Bhavana and I have put pressure on our 16 year-old son, Shaan, to figure out his life. He's only a year from graduating high school and big decisions are looming. Bhavana is concerned (fearful?) by his lack of concern.

I think we have forgotten what it was like when we were sixteen. I think my Bhavana may have been more driven to get somewhere but at sixteen I was more interested in computers, electronics, science, and hanging out on the beach. My pursuit of the knowledge of science wasn't driven by any specific career aspirations. They were driven by the love of the science and knowledge itself.

Leo had an answer for this young woman on what to tell her parents and I shared his response and the entire article with both of my kids.

Lastly, what do you do when your parents and teachers pressure you to figure things out? Tell them you’re going to be an entrepreneur, start your own business, and take over the world. If you prepare for that, you’ll actually be prepared for any career.

Wise words. Wise words, indeed.

Teacherless

Are you teacherless? Do you have someone (or more than just one person) that you can truly saddle up alongside and allow to teach you things that you do not know? Or are you too good to submit yourself to someone else’s experience and leadership?John Saddington

John asked those questions in a blog post yesterday.  I wanted to respond directly on his blog but the comments are turned off.  So, I’m responding via blog post.

Am I teacher-less? Yes.  I’ve been teacher-less for a very long time. It’s something I’ve wanted to rectify for a while but I don’t know where to turn for help.  I know few people in my field who are more accomplished or who know me well.

Do I have someone (or more than just one person) that I can truly saddle up alongside and allow to teach me things that I do not know? No.  My field — information security — is not a charitable one.  Yes, there are many networking functions hosted by local chapters of various organizations but most of the attendees are only there to network to find jobs or other opportunity.  The events are all very well organized and their is a lot of exchanging of business cards but very little else.

I did a Google search on the keyword “information security mentor” and found an Information Security Leaders article from August 2010.  Like most articles on mentoring, there is a lot of information about how to manage a mentoring relationship but no information on how to find a mentor.  I can’t go back in time to when I was in high-school or college and start over to find my mentor in a college professor or one of my father’s friends (my Dad’s field is accounting. I don’t think he knows any engineers).

I found (more like rediscovered) a Network World article from 2010 heralding the founding of an InfoSec Mentors volunteer group. I remember back in 2010 signing up to be a mentee.  I don’t remember every receiving any information beyond my initial signup.  Checking on the web site today I see that nothing has changed.

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Am I too good to submit my to someone else’s experience and leadership? No.  But first I have to find someone else with experience that equals or surpasses mine that is also a leader in the field.  Or maybe this ship has sailed.