Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I have been in sales for 12 years. The last 4 years in technology. I started out selling liquor and wine for a distributor. I sold to restaurants and bars. Then I managed a referral network of attorneys for a real estate company and sold title insurance. Then I worked for a company that had a handheld device that allowed student feedback live wia powerpoint graphs.

I recently took a new position as an Area Director for a company that created an app for the iTouch that enables charities to make more money at their events via silent auctions and make a donation efforts. It works sort of like a handheld eBay. I absolutely love it.

I chose my profession because I am great at meeting new people. I am very open and friendly and can show people the benefits of the products or services I represent without sounding sales-y. I am also smart and very diligent with follow up which is vital in my profession. I think it helps that I've truly believed in everything I've sold and that makes it a lot easier

Message edited 2/19/2011 10:36:26 AM.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I have my masters in HR Mgmt and was working in the corporate world in the payroll dept for 5 1/2 years until I was laid off, I liked what I was doing, I just hated the company I worked for and hated the nepotism that went on there.

I have now been working FT for WW and for the first time I can say I love going to work. I have fun with the people I work with and love when you can see that your helping make a difference in someone elses life, especially when you were once on the other side of the counter. The pay difference is made up for the fact that I now like going to work

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I am a reading specialist. I chose it because of my own love of reading and education. I chose it to positively influence children. I chose it to make a difference in the world (corny, but true!). For me, I knew that I needed to choose a career path that helped others in a meaningful way. Otherwise, I would have been just miserable at work.

It is an amazing feeling to see struggling students begin to enjoy reading and to feel success in school and life.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I'm a social worker and I provide programs and support for families with children with disabilities. I always thought I would be a lawyer because both my parents are. In college I worked at an inclusive camp and fell in love with the inclusion program so I started researching what I could do that would have me working with kids with disabilities every day. I never thought I would make a good teacher so special education didn't really cross my mind, and somehow I came across social work. I was a political science major in college, but I applied to MSW programs, got into what I think was a great one, got very involved in disability work while there and now here I am! I love my job and what I do, the pay is pennies right now but I'm still early in my career so here's hoping!

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

i kinda fell into this job...

i worked in property management from 2002 -2008 and it was fun and i learned a lot but then i got laid off in 08...

my brother is the chief engineer at Radio City and the VP of Purchasing for MSG was in Radio City and they were very friendly... so he told my brother that he was looking to hire an assistant...

i had no purchasing experience but i had 7 years of admin experience so i went for an interview and got hired...

my job itself is not my dream job but i work for my dream company and there is a definite opportunity to move up and move to other areas...

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I work in college administration and teach graduate classes. My parents are (my mom is retired) college administrators, so we joke that it's in our blood. I grew up with it and it feels like it comes naturally to me. I finished my doctorate in admin., and teach courses, but feel like I have a good mix. Sometimes I wish I went into teaching to have summers off, but I hate kids and parents. Grad. school is good to teach since there is no parent contact.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I'm a speech therapist in a school. I LOVE it!! To me, speech and being able to communicate is vital in life, and its so awesome to be able to help kids get better at it!
I chose the field because I knew I wanted to be in a field where I could help people and make a difference in people's lives. I also always LOVED kids, and wanted to work in a school. BUT i knew that i couldn't handle a classroom full of 25-30 kids, so i started looking into other options.
Then, i remembered that when i was in first grade, I went to the speech teacher at school for a lisp and how much it helped me.... I found out that the REAL title for the "speech teacher" was "speech therapist". When i started looking into it, i found out that a speech therapist doesn't just work in schools, but they can work in hospitals, rehab centers, Early intervention..... i reallly liked that i would always have options of different settings to work in, almost like I could start a whole new career without going back to school.
It was a lot of work/schooling to get here ( 4 years college, 2 years master's program).. but i'm really happy my my choice, and truly like going to work everyday.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

For as long as I could remember I've wanted to be a teacher. I knew going into college I wanted to major in Secondary Education. I had some great High School teachers who inspired me. Originally, I wanted to do English education, but one of my history professors was amazing and I ended up switching majors.

After that, I got a job as a TA in a Special Ed. school and loved it. So I decided to get my masters in Secondary Special Ed.

I currently work as a Special Ed Teacher in a private high school and I love it!! I couldn't be happier with my job.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I got a BA in Sociology and an MA in Forensic Psychology. I loved the law but was not cut out to be a lawyer. My DH suggested I take a civil service test for a law enforcement job and I did. As soon as I started my job I was hooked. I've been here for almost 5 years and I love what I do... I really feel that sometimes I can make a real, tangible difference in the lives of people who need it.

So I guess my profession chose me

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I've been dancing since I was 5 and I've always wanted to dance. After I performed for a bit, teaching jobs were offered to me and I've been doing it ever since.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I love, love, love my job. I'm a civil rights attorney with the U.S. Department of Education - we investigate allegations of discrimination in public schools, a good portion of which is disability-related.

This job is a perfect fit given my own personal history growing up with a severe learning disability and facing some truly egregious discrimination as a result. I also just find the work very intellectually stimulating, and rewarding. And, as an attorney, with a family, working for the federal government is ideal because it is a much more family-friendly environment by comparison to most firms.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

it just fell upon me. wasn't something I set out for. but i really developed and became really good at it so I moved up a few times.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I am an elementary special education teacher. I went to school and got my BA in Psychology with a specialization is Child Psychology. Originally, I thought I would be a school psychologist. Once I dipped my toe in, I realized it wasn't for me. I then got my Masters and Certification in Special Education and realized that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I currently work with a general education teacher teaching a 3rd grade class that allows children with IEPs to be taught in their least restrictive environment. I love my job. I consider it a huge responsibility, but I love it nonetheless. The fact that I have summers off to spend with my son is icing on the cake.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I went to a job fair at SJU. I had an BA in Italian and English and an MA in English. After the fair, my friends and I all agreed that the only job that sounded decent was at Social Security. I figured I would work there for a year or two until I could find something to do with my major. . . .five years later. . . .

I have flexibility, stability, benefits and I get to help people without working directly with the public! I love my job!

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

After 9/11 I wanted out of the airline industry so I decided to go back to school. It was a toss-up between nursing and speech pathology. I have aunts who work in each profession- and the SLP had the better presentation.

I worked fulltime as a flight attendant to get my BS and MS in speech pathology and have NO regrets. In school I wanted to go into a hospital setting, but wound up working in the public school system.

Currently I'm working in a pre-K to 5 elementary school that also houses 2 special needs classrooms as well as an early intervention class for 2-3 year olds.

It's challenging and I often feel I'm spread too thin, but I am so thankful to have the opportunity to have such a diverse caseload. My students teach me something new every day.

I've actually been thinking of going back to school for a graduate certificate in assistive technology.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

Assistant Manager - retail

Wouldn't say I aspired to be that but it was great job to start at in my early 20s with decent benefits and I wound up styaing there. Going on 10 years now...

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I'm a web professional but majored in Psychology and Business. There weren't alot of web folks when I started more than a decade ago.

I continue in this line of work 'cus I love web surfing and have an excuse to do so being in the web field. It doesn't even feel like a job! :D

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

SR. Recruiting Manager for entertainment company. I like people and it allows me to meet many. I also work with college students and get to mold them.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I'm an ESL/EFL teacher to adults. I usually do academic English in universities, but I also teach General English.

I originally wanted to do German/English translation, but I find it tedious and my ability isn't good enough for it. I decided to go into ESL/EFL teaching since I do have the language ability for that one .

I love languages, travelling and learning about new cultures. This job allows me to travel around the world, while being able to work and learning new cultures at the same time. I've worked in Australia and I'm currently working in Germany. The main reason we went to both is because of DHs job, but I like that I can also find a job wherever we go. He has the opportunity to transfer to other offices, so I'm not sure of the time frame here. I'm also pretty restless and I don't like to stay in one place for a loooong period of time. I can't really see myself settling down somewhere permanently. I don't want to move ALL the time, but 5 years is my limit.

I quite like the challenge of living in a different culture. I hated it at first, but I think it's pretty exciting.

I like my job. It's good for now. I'd eventually like to get into materials development for English textbooks.

Message edited 2/20/2011 8:45:25 AM.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

Right now I'm at a crossroads due to the extreme difficulty in finding a job as a teacher.

I originally was going to be in English teacher. I began reading independently at age 3 and wanted to share my passion for literature and writing. I found out as I took my classes that I resonated much more with lessons geared towards younger children. So I received my B.A. in English and my M.S. in Elementary Education. During my master's program I became a "mommy and me" type teacher and was hooked on early childhood education. Having a Kindergarten leave replacement confirmed this love for ECE even more. There is SO much growth during the first five years. I LOVE helping children to reach their goals and love seeing their faces when something finally clicks for them.

Unfortunately I am only a per diem sub at the moment, working 1-2 days/week. I am facing the reality of having to give up my dream due to an oversaturation of teachers, especially with teachers being excessed every year. I'm just not sure what to do at the moment. I found out I was pregnant around the same time I left my job for an opportunity that fell through, so at this point I would do anything.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

I fell into my job at 19 when I temped for the company that would ultimately hire me to process and review worker's comp medical claims. This is back in the day when all claims were manually reviewed. We had to be able to code, know medical terminology and have speed and accuracy. After a few years there I was getting bored and the salary wasn't that great. There really wasn't anywhere I wanted to go internally, so I decided to work on the flip side and do the billing.

I've been doing medical billing/accounts receivable since..

What I wanted to do (and still do) is to be a attorney. When I was younger I wanted to do contract law, but now I'd like to work for consumer rights, particularly in the fields of credit/bankruptcy.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

in 2008 I found myself in a place I never saw myself...hysterically crying on the phone with my Dad outside of Penn Station at 11am

like many people I had been laid off

it had been 6 miserable years of dreading sunday nights and monday mornings in corporate america

my Dad told me to stop crying b/c I hated that job

I took a job working at a friends mortgage company....I had always wanted to be a Realtor....but I was told I couldn't do it or I wouldn't be good at it

after everything settled down I found myself in a strange new place with no one holding me back

so I took the real estate test and almost 2 years later I am doing extremely well and loving every second

I am exactly where I am suppose to be - it's true when they say when you do what you love you will never work another day

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

If I'm being honest, I fell into my occupation.

I work in advertising sales. The only reason to work in this business is money + perks. I get to take clients out to fancy dinners, sporting events, concerts, etc. I get to go places I'd NEVER splurge on on my own.

The flip side is, its the most stressful job. Everything is about bottom line dollars. You don't produce, you get fired, end of story. I work long hours, I am frequently awake at night thinking of what I can do better, and I DREAD Sunday nights.

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

Re: Why did you choose your profession?

Ever since using my first computer in 5th grade, I knew I wanted to work on them as a career. Exactly what aspect of computers I've wanted to work on, and have worked on has changed over the years (software development, desktop support, server support, application support....), I've always been involved with computers. I also figured that servers need air conditioning, even if the employees don't get it, so I would always be able to work in the server room if it got really hot....