Well, this is one that tugs at my heart-strings a little. I am nearly 50, and am in my fifth career, let alone all the minor variations I have had along the way! When I left high school I knew exactly what I wanted to be. But that certainty lasted for all of three months out of University because novody would hire me to do what I wanted to do - I had no experience. So, I took a job that came along. I had to work through out University to pay my way, my parents care nothing for education and by the time I finished I had no debt, but nothing to live on. So, on my way to being what I wanted to be, an electronics design engineer, I started fixing high speed motion picture cameras. Then one day I solved a problem with a camera that had been plaguing the company for months - I analysed the design and found where hte problem was and a rather expensive rotating prism camera was saved.

The next week I found myself designing a rather basic servo speed controller for an AC motor. The following week I was designing the control electronics for a film processor. Then came my big break. A client of the company was having a problem and I was asked if I could think of a way to find a solution.

About a month later I was on loan to the client, and within three months I had left my original employer and had a new career, darn it I had turned from a hopeful young engineer into repair technician and now mathematician! How? Well, turns out I had a hobby interest (electronics of course!) in a field that I never thought of as a career. After I solved the mathematical problem I was being re-assigned to another problem in the UK (I am originally from Australia). But I asked if I could join the design team and they agreed - I got to work on making my mathematics a reality.

So why do I say all this? Just recently a friend who is a year younger than I asked "why can't I seem to get a new job?" - he has been working as a developer for the same company using a nice, but totally in-house language for twenty years this year. Oh he knows other things, but he has nothing that says he is flexible, able to learn, able to organise people, able to do any project or business analysis or able to even manage a project. So what happens? He is stuck.

I am older than he is, in thirty years now I have had more positions than I can remember. I have worked in more places in more countries than most people would see on vacations for a lifetime! Some of my jobs have lasted a week or two, one for a number of years. I keep getting job offers, some pretty darned good ones too.

But now I can pick and choose! I love working from home, I hate managing anything - even my own bank account, I love challenges and I love doing things I have never done before, and every day I get the chance to do it while comfortably bringing in an (only just mind you!) six figure income.

I commute no more than 10 metres every day, I spend valuable time with my wife and daughter, I get to go to the park every day pretty much and I go to the coffe shop whenever the mood takes me - as long as my work gets done. I enjoy life and because I have a proven ability to adapt to almost any situation I keep getting offered work doing just about anything. So after thirty years as engineer, technician, mathematician and pysicist what do I do now? I write Perl code!

You can be whatever you want, but expose yourself to as much as you can while you have the opportunity. It will pay off later. I hope I haven't been too long winded, but good luck in whatever you choose to do. You will inevitably make some bad choise, I know I did. But if you do then be honest about it later on your CV and in interviews and people will respect you for it.

jdtoronto