I entered the university as a journalism major, then realized I didn’t like to do interviews. Flirted with anthropology but decided to major in English Literature and be “pre-law.” That idea went out the window when I volunteered to read for a blind law student and discovered just how tedious the subject could be. By the beginning of my senior year, my adviser pointed out that I had almost equal credits in lit and psych, and suggested that I pick up a minor in psych. However, I had so many hours that, with two extra classes, I would qualify for bachelors in both. I ended up with a B.A. in English Literature and a B.S. in Psychology.
Meanwhile, ALL of my employment in college had been in the computer field, as a proctor and computer operator (back in the days when it was all done on mainframes.) After school, I got a job in D.C. at a small software company as a software designer. I hated the company, and quit without another job. The next day, I was hired by UMUC to edit the materials used for their distance learning curriculum, and to “troubleshoot” computer programs for a new distance learning initiative. I founded the software quality assurance department there, and quit seven years later to start my own QA firm. After three years I was tired of the travel and took a job with a D.C. consulting firm as a senior business analyst. I got to work at the beginning of the software development process, but I was still feeling the work stress that I had attributed to working against deadlines as the last department (QA) in the development cycle. My husband, toddler and I decided to return to my small Midwest hometown of 4,000 which obviously didn’t need a business analyst. I had a second child, then got an opportunity to work for a not-for-profit startup that worked to revitalize small town business districts. Three years later, I reluctantly quit due to childcare conflicts. Just a few months later, I got an opportunity to job-share a position as youth librarian at our local public library. Several years later, we had to move for my husband’s career. I decided to apply only to non-for-profits, and I’m currently the volunteer director at a small museum. Despite making much more money early in my career, my last two jobs have been by far the most satisfying.