I had a classmate ask me today how I decided on going for a Business Management Degree. He is just a 20 year old kid who is starting community college. I told him that I worked for several years and figured out what skills come naturally to me. Then I went back to school and just knew what I have a knack for. He said that was the best idea that he had heard of. I can't believe someone else has never said that to him before!
This also makes me feel that someone has failed this kid. My mother had always asked me what I thought I wanted to do. She told me to pick something that I liked to do and go to school for it. I knew that I liked to cook a lot, so off I went to culinary school. Well that lasted not long at all. I got to school and found out that I would never have a cushy 9-5 schedule. I would work long, odd hours. I knew that I would never have a normal life if I choose this path... so I bolted from that idea quickly. To this day, I still love to cook for my family and friends, but I will just keep it to them. I never want cooking to feel like a job.
When I moved back to Colorado in 2006 I started working retail. I quickly discovered that it came naturally to me, I loved having sales goals and fun customers. I also quickly moved up to an assistant manager, then to a store manager. I loved being responsible for making sale goals and training new employees. Supervision is not for everyone, but I know it's for me. I liked the long hours and responsibility. I did leave retail to experience other options though. I had too many people tell me I needed to try other things before I settle in retail.
So off I went to a completely different field... medical. I became a receptionist at an internists clinic. I loved that everything was new and challenging to me. I learned as much as I could in that position. I really liked the position, just not the company that I worked for. I wasn't sure if the medical field was really for me, so I once again took a chance and tried another field.. banking. I tried banking for a year, but realized it was ok, but not challenging enough for me. I missed the excitement of deadlines, or a busy doctor's office. This made me go back to the medical field, and I am still in it today. I have worked everything from billing, financing, scheduling and front desk in the medical scene. I feel very comfortable here, but know that I would like to combine my love for the medical field and management. Hopefully someday I could be an office manager at a practice, or even be a team lead at a hospital. Jobs always change, but I feel like I know what I am good at for once..