The Art of Career Change
In the years since I began high school, I’ve pursued four distinct career paths, each so very different from the last that most people conclude that I’m insane when I list them.
I began high school set on a career in architecture, and I even took numerous courses that taught hand and computer-aided drafting, architecture terminology, and so on. By the beginning of my senior year, however, it was clear that architecture was the wrong career path for me. For one, I despised the tediousness of creating elevations, and I always seemed to struggle with floor plan layout. I would inevitably end up with some odd space that didn’t quite fit into any of the surrounding rooms, forcing me to call upon a classmate to assist me as I reworked the design. At the same time, thankfully, a hobby had developed into a full-time obsession and thus seemed like a logical career path.
So, as I looked toward college and what I expected would become my career, I set upon audio engineering as a viable path. As I mentioned, what began as a hobby turned into a weekend-consuming obsession that took priority over most everything else, including my junior prom. By the time I realized architecture wasn’t for me, I was traveling with a local band, working regularly at an area venue, and had run sound at a side stage for a large music festival. Thus, I sought out and found what I believed was a viable degree program at the University of Hartford that would prepare me for a long career as an audio engineer. Oh how I was mistaken.
Unfortunately, I did not realize how utterly deficient the University of Hartford’s Audio Engineering Technology program was until it was too late. Considering the dearth of programs I could transfer my credits to, and the lack of job prospects my overrated degree brought, I yet again contemplated a different career path. Looking over the non-engineering courses I’d taken at the University, I recognized that I had truly enjoyed the accounting courses taken as part of my minor in Business Administration. After speaking with the director of the University’s accounting department, I made the decision to pursue a Masters degree in accounting after completing my Bachelors in audio engineering.
After completing my degree programs, I quickly secured multiple job offers in the accounting industry, providing near-instant gratification that my third career change was a prudent decision. Everything seemed to be going fine until the recession of the late 2000s took its toll on the accounting firm that had employed me since graduation. In June 2009, near the peak of the unemployment crisis, I lost my job. For months I pursued another position in the accounting industry, only to find that positions did not exist. After all, I specialized in non-profit accounting, and the organizations that needed such expertise were disproportionately impacted by the recession.
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