There are some weeks I think I have it all figured out and then others I freak out and am not sure what to do. This is one of those freak out weeks. I have been thinking about it and not sure if school is the right answer for me. Here is the thing, I love spending money! If I go to school, I will have no money...actually I will have $35,000 less money!!! Not sure if this is the smart thing to do. I have been looking into getting a degree in HRLR (human resource labor relations) but I want to make sure I'm doing it for the right reasons. I hate my job....ok, there I said it. This job is like the homework project that never ends. For some crazy reason, I thought once you were done with school, you wouldn't have to actually use it at all. Turns out not the case for me! I'm doing more design work which involves calculations and too much thinking. I would be all about it but I'm just not passionate about doing it so it makes it tough. I don't want to get ahead in this job so I don't feel like trying. I have been involved in recruiting, onboarding (getting people started on the right path when they first start their job) and now I'm helping with orientation. I'm really good at this! Not engineering! In college, I was a TA for 4 years helping people get on track their first year and was a OTL (orientation team leader) for 3 years. I really loved doing that more then equations and baja.
Here are my options I've been thinking about:
1) Switch jobs within Corning Incorporated!
I could see if maybe there is another position that would be more what I like to do maybe in HR or possibly something sales engineering where I get to travel and work with customers.
GOOD: I like the company and the area so I would not mind continuing to live here. Plus it would look better since I wouldn't be leaving the company. Might be able to stay vested...not sure how exactly that works.
BAD: Not sure how easy this would be to do. If I go into HR without a degree, I might be taking a big cut in pay. Not sure if sales engineering exists for Corning. Like the area but would love to be closer to family and friends. Hate traveling so far for weddings, parties and holidays!
2) Switch companies!
I could continue in engineering but get out of doing such technical stuff and move to a different area.
GOOD: This would save me from having to go back to school and I would still make good money. I could move closer to friends and family.
BAD: Not sure where I would want to move to for a good common ground between parents in UP and rest of family in Milwaukee area and middle of IL and then friends scattered mostly in lower MI, some in WI and a few in MN. Not sure what kind of engineering job I would actually like or what company to go for.
3) Switch careers!
I would most likely go back to school for HRLR possibly at Michigan State!
GOOD: Location would be decided. Would be able to try something completely new! Closer to friends and fam.
BAD: I would be BROKE! Not sure I could afford all my monthly payments (car, braces, rent, car insurance, health insurance, etc) and still go to school and be able to eat! Not totally sold that getting a degree would solve all my problems. I would be considered an out of state resident for school since I changed my license to NYS. I wouldn't be able to do many things I love like eating good, eating out, shopping or do things with friends.
ADVICE NEEDED! Which do you think the best option would be? How could I still somewhat use my technical background but do something more with people but still make a good enough living to survive? Any other suggestions for careers I should maybe look into? I am good at planning, relating to different types of people, working in a team and keeping things on track. Not so good at long calculations or lots and lots of writing.
3 comments:
I hated, hated, HATED my job when I first started at ‘big yellow’. I hated my boss, my work group, my job function, the company. I kept waiting for things to look up, and they didn’t. I hated it so much that I cried on my way to and from work, and I promised myself that on my one year anniversary if I still felt that way, I would quit. Most days I didn’t think I’d even make the year! I thought a lot about going back to school in those early days, too. Then eight months in, I was given the opportunity to move into a new group doing a completely different job and I jumped at it. I thought – what’s the worst that could happen? I love, love LOVE my new job. I love my boss, my work group, the type of work I do, and the company. Point is, if you hate what you are doing now, you probably won’t grow to love it – you’ll just hate it more and be unhappy. I have my Masters in Operations Management and my job now is as a Process Analyst (distantly related). I am fortunate though, to work for a company that allows its employees to have multiple careers across many divisions/functions within the same enterprise. Hopefully your company does, too. It never hurts to ask. Personally, now that I am so happy with my current situation, I never really think about quitting and going back to school. I think it was more of an ‘out’ for me – like if I quit I had to ‘do something’. At the time I thought I needed a new degree to do the type of work I wanted, but I found out that I really didn’t. You might find that to be true, you might not. But I bet your company is a lot like big yellow – they just have blinders for a degree, they don’t really care what its in and long as you are a good employee who produces results! Good luck making your decision! I’ll be thinking about you!
Does Corning have a program where the pay for part of your tuition if you go back to school? That is how I got my masters in New Media.
I was going to say what Katie said - at my husband's company engineers often end up in HR - usually after completing an MBA, although HR's never end up as engineers ;)
Good luck!
Post a Comment