My Career advisor said I should be..

[cwf]

Since the New Year, 2018 is screaming toward us, Here is a different angle on 'resolutions...',,, it is really a loose idea... did you experience these pigeon holing evaluations? How close did they get in your best job?

In the 60's it was all the rage to test students for their best 'occupational aptitude'.

I was offered one job.... I should be in a Federal Fire Watch Tower, hundreds of miles from any other human being...

I wasn't hired.... there wasn't a Watch Tower that met those requirements... supposedly. That's ok.. I really love working with my hands, mechanics, electronics, flying... motorcycling.. etc... but now I can't do that stuff like before.. but still have the knack and itch...

Today, it is possible, I might be able to bring my AS to a remote place to man a 'Fire Watch Tower'... how would that work out? ... I wonder.

[xrvr]

In high school i was given one of those tests.i was supposed to be a farmer! So i married a women who likes to garden. Why eat something that comes out of the dirt when there are so many clean chemicals to consume? Thats a joke.

[mojo]

Check out the Jersey Jim fire tower near Durango Co. $40 a night,

[RandyNH]

These guys must have scored the same as you did on that test.

https://youtu.be/WkArlRbA9VM

[Acheron2010]

Well, not a fire tower, but some of the power companies west of the Mississippi have linemen with a service truck in the hinterlands maintaining transformers, towers and lines. Same with wind power turbines.
And there are a handful of lighthouses across the country that need resident lightkeepers.

[DoublTrouble]

I remember the testing. I remember the lists of occupations that I should not try... truly motivational.
So a surgeon I am not.
Happy New Year to all.

[hapsam]

Yeah, I took the Kuder Aptitude Test in 7th grade and it recommended I become a plumber (don't know why since I had one of the highest test scores in my school, unless my ethnicity relegated me to not aspire to more than that). Later in life another aptitude test recommended I should be a Marketing Manager, so it went from a manual laborer to a symbol of pure evil.

[cwf]

so.. how has your life turned out... how close was the test?

[Mollysdad]

Is it too late to become a bridge tender?

[DoublTrouble]

I would not change a thing.. I wonder if the best advice is not to listen to advice????

In all honesty, I am concerned that there seem to be fewer younger people entering the trades. It seems all " career counselors" focus on getting kids to 4 year schools- not the trades that keep this country running. Who will take care of my house, my car, my airstream and all that, when I am no longer able or willing?

[xrvr]

My test was over 50 years ago, there were agendas even then.

[Dingo Girl]

So few going into trades now that our local Career Tech has had to combine some of the classes because they were so small.

[Mollysdad]

I wish I had received some good concealing as a teen.
I loved my final career, but started 15 years too late.

[alphamale49]

1. life style is the highest priority. then 2. good health, which is usually not an issue. then 3. lots of money. 4. most jobs become boring after a while so that is usually at the bottom of the list, sadly it is usually entangled with number three.

[Seagars]

If counselors really cared. That would be nice.
Ours didn't. So I took my knowledge as a lackluster kid and found sales...
"Wallah"

[delongj]

Back in the day we had three choices if drafted: go to college if your grades warranted it; get married if you could find a gal willing; or, join the military if they would have you. Well not talk about the first two choices; however, the Marines were still looking for a few good men and were willing to accept some risky choices. Hello Marine Corps!!! Good luck on whatever you are up to! And may God Bless your New Year! jd

[79BMWR65]

Hello,
Might want to check the USA Jobs website, type in your career choices (I remember seeing Fire Watch, or something to that effect), & you can sign up for emails for permanent or temp positions all over the USA. I'll be joining you in about 8 years.

Good Luck & Happy New Year Everyone

[Snodinak]

In 1964 after graduating from high school it was automatic; you enlisted or got drafted. After four years in the military I went back to what I did prior, grocery business. That took me to Alaska where I realized working in a grocery store was not going to be my final plan. Thankfully God led me to a better job where I was able to retire with a decent income.

Fifteen years later I'm still enjoying retirement, old cars and now an old AS motor home which I hope takes me to new places like maybe "an old fire watch tower". Thanks for sharing.

Happy New Year, Bill

[McDave]

Back from Vietnam in the late 60’s, they sent me to Camp Lejeune to serve out a little less than a year that was left on my hitch in the Marines. I divided my time between the NCO club and the base library, where they had books on every conceivable occupation. After reading about 20 or so occupations I thought I might be interested in, I decided on becoming a CPA. I am now retired from about 45 years in that profession, and it worked out okay, but for all the wrong reasons, I’m afraid. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think my main criterion for a profession was to find one that paid well and where there wasn't much chance you would have to spend the night in the rain and mud. In retrospect, the main reason I joined the Marines rather than the Navy or Airforce was because of my love of the outdoors, which I totally ignored in my career search. Fortunately, summers are typically not busy times for CPA's, and I was able to indulge my love of the outdoors during my time off.

[tjdonahoe]

I was told to pay attention and quit looking out the window, and pull the shade because you aren’t going to make a living starring out the window.....I sit in them big trucks for 52 years , and made a good living as an owner operator, all the time looking out a window.....