Job talk from Florida
A friend of mine in Florida was pondering career stuff, and offered his thoughts on the subject via a letter. Here’s part of it:
“I considered what mature, responsible behavior is.
“For a middle class person, you are supposed to make a significant life choice in college. If you are highly intelligent and introverted, you are supposed to study to become a scientist or engineer.
“If you are somewhat less intelligent and less introverted, you are supposed to become an accountant. A highly extroverted but not particularly smart or academically inclined person goes into sales or an allied job. An extroverted and intelligent person is most suited for law. An individual who’s rather dull in all ways might become a teacher or take business or public administration and prepare for a career as a government or corporate drone. A dimwitted and athletic young man could become a high school coach or a military officer.”
(Note: my friend is a former military officer–so am I–and about the only teachers I could remotely stand in high school were the coaches.)
Whether I agree, or disagree, with any of his opinions isn’t the point. The point is his analytical approach to surveying how different people are cut out for different lines of work.
Where we fit is more than a function of raw intelligence. I’ve never thought of it in such terms, but the introvert / extrovert angle is an interesting take on things.
So I let my mind wander a bit…what would I do if a genie popped out of a bottle and guaranteed I could earn a decent living doing anything I wanted to do? I think I’d be a writer snugged away in a mountain hermitage, emailing my missives via satellite to the outside world.
Hmm. That would mean–introvert? Indeed. To the extreme.
Like it or not, in free societies, you are what your job is. What could be more revealing than someone’s profession–the way they decide to spend 40 years or so of their lives?
It is, of course, difficult to ascertain the essence of any job or profession in advance. That’s why wisdom on these topics is usually applied in retrospect. And it’s probably given to younger folks who won’t listen. And why blame them? I didn’t listen to anyone’s well thought out advice about professions when I was young.
If I did, would it have done me any good?
Yeah, probably so. Which drives us to a sign of encroaching middle age. It’s when we acknowledge that Mom and Dad were right all along. Parents are condemned to pass on wisdom to kids who aren’t yet wise enough to recognize the value of it.
Well, I’ll listen to any wisdom available from anyone. They’ll know I found that genie, though, when I’ve disappeared to my mountain hideaway.
