Friday, October 13, 2006

Career decisions...what do I wanna be when I grow up

In February I received a Master of Public Administration (MPA). The job ( you know the thing you do just for a paycheck) I have now is completely unrelated and as a matter of fact does not require a degree if you ask me. Here is the dilemna, I have only been there for a year. I am leary to move because I do not want my resume to look to hoppy / crazy.

The problem is that I have started looking and can't find anything in my field. Also, am not 100% sure of what I really want to do.
I have a few friends who have moved to the Virginia/DC area where positions are more readily available than here in NY.

I need advice from anyone who have been in there career a few years.

Should I start looking now? Would leaving this job after a year have an adverse impact on my career prospects?

4 comments:

Revanche said...

From the perspective of having just done the hiring thing, I think that having a job that gets you through school for a period of time does not hurt your career prospects. If you're ready to move on, then it's time to do it, not after having put in X number of months/years at a job that doesn't have anything to do with what you want to do anyway.

Tired of being broke said...

I will definitely start looking in my field for something new with the salary and benefits I want.

Single Ma said...

Congrats on your degree!

I'm sure there are plenty of jobs in NY, but not related to your field of study. With an MPA, you definitely need to be in DC. The market is competitive, but the jobs are plentiful. Among the movers and shakers, there's no employer loyalty and job hopping is a surefire, quick and dirty way to advance your career.

First - you need to decide what you want to do. If you start looking, what are you looking for? You can't go aiming blindly.

Even if you haven't narrowed down a career, consider what you're good at? What are you strengths? Weaknesses? What do you like? What do you want to avoid?

After you have an idea of what you want, then yes I'd start looking right away. It may take you a while to find it, so the sooner you start, the better.

If you decide to leave NY and move this way, email me.

Tired of being broke said...

Thanks a whole lot, single ma you do not know how much I appreciate this reply. I will defintely email you if I do decide to relocate. Your questions give me a lot to think about, so am going to contemplate what I really want to do when I grow up for real.