As further evidence that I am in the throes of the lamest midlife crisis ever, I have spent much of the weekend spurning pleasant social opportunities in favor of working alone on a new hobby so geeky/dorky I cannot bear the idea of talking about it publicly. And given things I have mentioned about myself over the years in blog posts, that’s saying something. (No, of course, not filking. I would hope that in this world I have the sort of friends who would perform a serious, if necessary fatal, intervention if I ever became involved with filking.) I feel like somewhere in my early thirties I took a wrong turn and have since been careening toward becoming a de-Enidized variant of Seymour from Ghost World.
OK, while I still don’t want to talk about it, part of what I’ve been doing involves some computer programming. I say this only because the thing with me and programming is that when I’ve got something I want to program, I can work for 12 or more hours straight without any especial need for social interaction, websurfing, reflexive e-mail checking, food, or hygiene. (This does not always mean that I will have a great deal to show for those 12 or 14 hours, depending on if I’ve gotten stuck on something.) If I could fire up the time machine and go back to age twenty and start an alternative career fork, computer programmer would probably be it.
I was telling a friend about this and she promptly said, “It’s not too late! You could still go become a computer programmer.” Oy. I really like being a professor. Partly precisely because it’s a job title so broad and with so much autonomy that you can shape your actual work into a number of different things. Why I don’t actually do more programming in my work is a different question. As an assistant professor, I was doing a lot of programming-like work for awhile on a certain large survey I’m involved with, but then I cut that way back on that because it seemed like it was taking too much time away from other things with clearer external rewards. Perhaps I should revisit that decision.
Does anybody else have a counterfactual career they wonder about?
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I played my guitar 7-8 hours per day from the age of 12 to about 21 and recorded many demos. So instead of a sociologist, I wanted to be a rock guitar player. The good thing is that sociology pays well and I’m dreaming of someday getting a real Marshall stack and some fantasy guitars when I “make it” in the sociology business.
Children’s book librarian.
sports commentator
How long have you been involved with Second Life?
i can’t tell you at how many junctures i’ve thought about quitting sociology to become an engineer. in fact, i even know credit requirements at berkeley, i’ve thought about it often & recently enough.
Singer, or special effects make-up.
Bassist, tv writer, or archivist.
1. Small animal vet.
Instead I enlisted in the Marines then discovered I liked working in IT.
I still think I’d be a good critter doctor.
2. If I’d stayed in the Marines and taken it more seriously than I did, I would have been a pretty good warrant officer – or gone mustang and accepted a commission.
I shied away from going for a warrant – by that point in my career I was working for a CO and a unit that was a huge bust in the ol’ morale balloon and I wanted nothing but out. I didn’t pursue a commission earlier because I felt at the time that I didn’t want the responsibility of command.
Probably more than you watned to know but my mouth will run away with me.
Mine is also computer programmer.
Given that I’m still in grad school, these are my “If somehow sociology fails to work out” options:
1. Park Ranger — In a historical-type park, though. Sort of like teaching, but without worrying about whether anyone learns anthing — and you get to be outdoors and all.
2. Brewmistress — I like beer, what can I say?
Architect.
I haven’t thought about doing anything other than sociology for a long time (albeit in a number of capacities), but I do wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t decided to take a couple classes at the local community college while I was working at McDonald’s. Before I got a taste of college, I had big plans to marry a fellow shift manager, move into the “swanky” apartments across the street (they had carports AND fireplaces – talk about livin’ large), have a McFamily, and work my way up store manager.
In my alternate life, I invented sealed air packaging and I made a lot of money young. Bored with my affluence, I take up strategic philanthropic activities. Sometimes I daydream about how this fantasy massive fortune could make a difference in problems like chronic homelessness and children in long term foster care. Oh, and also how I could then afford to go on a real vacation.
After I retire, or finish grad school, whichever comes first, I’d like to become a graphic designer and do letterpress cards, posters, and stuff like that. Or in a similar vein, design furniture.
marine biologist. i made it pretty far to the degree until i realized i just really like scuba diving.
when i got married, my husband and i both changed our last names to his middle name. if i’d stuck with biology, however, i would have taken his name and been… Dr. Fish.
I might still want to be a travel writer.
Artist/Crafter. Cheesemaker. Housewife. Journalist.
Mad Scientist
Programmer here, too. This: “I say this only because the thing with me and programming is that when I’ve got something I want to program, I can work for 12 or more hours straight without any especial need for social interaction, websurfing, reflexive e-mail checking, food, or hygiene. (This does not always mean that I will have a great deal to show for those 12 or 14 hours, depending on if I’ve gotten stuck on something.)” rings incredibly true for me. The only reason I let myself near a programming… program… is that I do tend to produce something useful at the end of it all – e.g. a web browser that pulled URLs out of a big Excel dataset I had, let me enter a code for the result, and then sent the code back to the right record in Excel. And… um… the program that I’ve been working on for the last 8 hours even though it’s totally unrelated to my finals but will make a totally rockin’ paper someday.
Sportswriter or laundromat owner.
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