Help me pick a new career

[bignateyk]

I am 26. I went through college and got a degree in Electrical Engineering. I currently work for a defense contractor making good $$.

But I hate it. Sitting in front of a computer day in and day out makes me feel dead inside. I get no satisfaction out of what I do.

I've never really spent a lot of time thinking about what I REALLY want to do with my life. Now i'm having a hard time figuring it out.

Here is what I have figured out so far:

1) I like helping people (but I am not very social, I don't like making small talk, etc...)
2) I like solving problems
3) I like being physically active
4) I am good at delegating people (i.e. being a team leader)

I actually considered doing something like becoming a butler. I love doing household things. I like cooking, cleaning (vacuuming, laundry), doing yardwork (landscaping, stone-work, mowing, etc...), doing house repairs (construction, electrical, plumbing). Pretty much any chores I enjoy doing.

I would be pretty much the perfect stay at home dad.

So what are some careers that play off what I have listed above?

edit: Honestly, I got more of a sense of satisfaction working as a landscaper at the golf course in highschool than I do now. At least there you have a sense of accomplishment after you finished mulching or mowing. If I could get paid what I do now to landscape or something, I would do it in a heartbeat.

 

[joesmoke]

1) I like helping people (but I am not very social, I don't like making small talk, etc...)
2) I like solving problems
3) I like being physically active
4) I am good at delegating people (i.e. being a team leader)

fluffer has 3 of your 4 covered. im currently accepting hands-on applications at:

Olds' Basement
Torture Chamber 4, Cell 11
Level 2 Upper Ring, Purgatory 14666

 

[rcpratt]

EE to butler seems like a poor career choice to me.

 

[theflyingpig]

1) I like helping people (but I am not very social, I don't like making small talk, etc...)
2) I like solving problems
3) I like being physically active
4) I am good at delegating people (i.e. being a team leader)

The military will be perfect for you. Join now. The war is winding down so you don't have anything to worry about. Everyone knows this.

 

[RichUK]

Kfc?

 

[HardcoreRobot]

live cheap and make good $$ for 15 more years. retire then spend the rest of your life doing whatever the hell you want.

 

[bignateyk]

live cheap and make good $$ for 15 more years. retire then spend the rest of your life doing whatever the hell you want.

Yeah, that's something I considered. My wife and I are currently able to save over 60% of our income.

 

[Gibson486]

Why don't you work for the construction side of engineering?

 

[bignateyk]

Why don't you work for the construction side of engineering?

That's something I was looking at. I could get a masters in construction management or something.

Do you have any experience with that? I don't want to end up in another job where I just sit behind a computer all day.

Or were you referring to becoming an electrician or something?

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Have you considered being a government contracting officer? Your background would be useful for management and program reviews for applied (6.2) research. You would likely have to travel quite a bit, however.

 

[Gibson486]

That's something I was looking at. I could get a masters in construction management or something.

Do you have any experience with that? I don't want to end up in another job where I just sit behind a computer all day.

Or were you referring to becoming an electrician or something?

You could go towards the electrician side, but i am referring to resident engineers. They essentially over see the construction that goes on (yes, construction management). To do this, you need to work for a civil consulting firm. I joined one straight out of school.

I do not do resident engineering (and i have no desire), but I used to go on the road every week and do site investigations...that is until my mentor stepped down. Now I have a new mentor that never lets me go on site and my road time has been extremely minimal

 

[bignateyk]

You could go towards the electrician side, but i am referring to resident engineers. They essentially over see the construction that goes on (yes, construction management). To do this, you need to work for a civil consulting firm. I joined one straight out of school.

I do not do resident engineering (and i have no desire), but I used to go on the road every week and do site investigations...that is until my mentor stepped down. Now I have a new mentor that never lets me go on site and my road time has been extremely minimal

What is your degree in? What is your job title (if not resident engineering)? Do you mostly just sit behind a computer now?

 

[zinfamous]

Lion Taming?

 

[Gibson486]

What is your degree in? What is your job title (if not resident engineering)? Do you mostly just sit behind a computer now?

I have a BSEE. I am an I&C engineer. As I said, I used to go on the road every other day, but I am now sitting behind my computer every day now. It sucks.

This job is more about paying attention to detail than actual engineering.

 

[blackdogdeek]

you could be a contractor for home renovations. of course, you will need to learn how to do all that stuff if you don't already know how.

 

[richardycc]

find a sugarmama and be a stay home bf.

 

[xanis]

TFP mentioned it, but I'll give it a more serious reccomendation: The military. It seems to fit all of your criteria perfectly.

You could join the Navy or Air Force and probably get a good job with your degree and experience. Also, if you're a good leader like you say you could probably get into OCS at some point.

 

[DesiPower]

theraputic gigolo?

 

[Imp]

That's something I was looking at. I could get a masters in construction management or something.

Do you have any experience with that? I don't want to end up in another job where I just sit behind a computer all day.

Or were you referring to becoming an electrician or something?

Construction Management isn't all it's cracked up to me. You will probably be infront of a computer/Blackberry checking e-mail all day long cause someone complained, something went wrong, lots of meetings, etc. There are site visits and stuff, you'll have to manage complainers in a politically correct manner. Shit happens, you're on the line and going to have to fix it quickly.

I'm a civil eng working as a technician. At my last office, I was on the road for a good quarter of my time. This office, less than 5%. You need a good balance of office and road time to make you appreciate both. I've had to jump into ditches filled with shit water up to my chest, and gotten soaked. Stood on the side of freeways for hours in high winds during late Fall.

 

[crashtestdummy]

How about staying in EE, but finding a company that does more of what you want? A buddy of mine working for a defense contractor was similarly bored out of his mind, so he switched to a smaller company where they give you more individual responsibility and is thrilled.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I think you should join Mythbusters. Their routine has gotten stale and they need somebody to change things up a bit IMO.

 

[Russwinters]

With a EE degree you could get into Data Recovery, which trust me is pretty awesome.


It sounds simple, but figure out how you can get the platters and spindle out of a 7200.11 series HDD without letting the platters shift in ANY way.

Figure out how you can realign the heads on a WD 3.5inch hard drive after head transplant (yes they need to be realigned). This requires micrometer precision.



That is stuff you deal with on a day to day basis in DR, no...you will not likely get any help in solving these issue. The ones who figure it out will not share, it takes far too much time and effort to figure out to just give away the solutions for free (or any reasonable price)


You have to think on your feet, and you are in a area of computing that is not often traveled, the wild west of computing.

 

[josh0099]

Power Delivery for a energy company gets you out in the field quiet a bit/office time as well...but when its nice out you can always come up with an excuse to go out

 

[moshquerade]

so you'd rather be a domestic engineer?

i'd say the grass always seem greener on the other side, and then you get there and sometimes it starts to yellow.

look for something in your field that excites you, and try to pursue that option. Or else take some courses and switch to another branch of engineering. Solar and Renewable Energy Engineering sounds interesting to me.