One of the most popular and most recommended jobs that most of my friends has considered at some point in their lives is the career choice of becoming a doctor. It is prestigious, stable, and well paid – to many, it is the iconic ideal job. Yet, I have never considered this. Partially due to my lack of general interest in science and mostly due to my dislike for death. People say doctors save lives and bring lives, but they also inform death. This can happen in diagnosis or in the surgery room. The thought of being a messenger of death scares me. (I welcome you to fight me on this).
Given my general lack of interest in science, I’ve ruled out many related fields: researcher, electrician, physicist, engineer, chemist, technician, and general scientist.
The Childhood Nightmare
A job that I have more seriously considered is the other “prestigious, stable and well paid” job – lawyer. I like talking and debating people (occasionally). And at least what I see in TV shows (like Scandal or How to Get Away with Murder), this job seems to be very dramatic and exciting. I like exciting things. Yet, in my last year of high school, I frequented the courthouse in Vancouver. Let’s just say things aren’t what I expected. Cases were long; some had upwards of hundreds of different times to meet at court. The whole procedure in most cases consisted of reading off of a binder or talking in legalease jargon. It was hard to keep focused on what’s happening (as I was later told, what happens to most juries). As a result of what I’ve learned, I am reconsidering the legal field.
If only this happens in real life…
I like to eat. I enjoy eating very much. But I am a horrible cook and I don’t have the interest that some people have in improving my cooking. I don’t plan to become a chief or a baker, so I suppose we can rule out restaurants manager, server, barista, and bartender.
What I do in kitchens…
Another industry that I don’t plan to enter is that of the entertainment. There is first the choice of actor. This job seems to require two main components generally. Love for the spotlight and physical attractiveness. I don’t have enough of either to make a serious or light consideration of acting. Another arm of this field is that of sport, music, or dance. All three require expertise in a very specific field and intense passion. I don’t happen to be blessed with the love or genius of a skill like these. Also, I tend to think these jobs tend to be short-lived. They have high physical demands that make them suitable for only a decade or two of employability.
I’m learning about myself through discovering what I don’t want to do…and this in turn continues to shape the kinds of jobs and internships I explore. Stay tuned for more on that… until then: What jobs do you not want to try? Why?