Endless Job Search

Try to find a career counselor who can assess your aptitude and strengths and offer practical suggestions based on these.

Don’t be afraid to look outside of the “normal” job range.

For example, I am an engineer. Many people have said to me things like “how can you be an engineer, you are female!” and other ignorant phrases, but I just tell them life has progressed pass the 1950’s.

Anyway, that was a little off topic, but my point is don’t be afraid to find something interesting that most people dont get jobs in.

Also, look for a large company that you can move around in. If you decide you dont like human resources, then you can move to the accounting department (or anything else) without compromising your pension, 401k etc.

Good luck!! Is there anything that you can think of that interests you even if it doesnt sound like a job? Share it with us and maybe we can help!!

If all else fails, become a pharmacist since the pay is great.

intellegent, Thanks for that laugh. You have a good sense of humor.

Anon I am a mechanical engineer. I graduated from Brooklyn Polytech with a Bachelors. I am trying to get my PE (already took the FE) and I am debating going for my MBA.

I love Math and its a career that drew me in. I work for Con Ed, so I dont work on “state of the art” stuff, but I like the classics (pumps, piping, heat transfer) etc which is what I am doing now. Con Ed is also a GREAT company to work for because they are really accomodating with Shabbos and holidays.

I took very few humanities courses and only one time did I come across something that I found non kosher. It was a history class and the professor was showing a french video. He told us there was some nudity in it (which being female didnt really bother me), but it turned out to be male nudity. Luckily, I was able to look away and not really see much (besides, the scene itself was disturbing).

I agree with you about being a less problematic degree, although I personally dont have problems with people learning things like literature that is not “torah mandated” as long as you know that you wont be influenced by it.

I think people avoid engineering because they dont like math, but I think once someone shows you how to apply mathematical theory in a way you can understand, math makes a lot of sense.

Based on that post, I’ll venture to guess that you have set a very high bar for what is “not kosher”. Suffice it to say that most Orthodox folks would not (should not!) take any advice from you on what college courses are kosher/non kosher.

By the way, do people really call you “a female”? Or is that just how you think of yourself? It seems like a pretty un-progressive way to speak.

SJS, I attended a midwestern state university. It was huge but I lived with my parents for free & paid only in-state tuition. I also preferred the classic ME stuff–I did work a summer for the local electric utility but only did intern-type stuff. That’s great that Con Ed is good about shabbos–do you do a lot of field work? I took the FE right after I graduated–that way I didn’t have to worry about forgetting all about electric circuits.

I worked for a defense contractor which sounds high-tech but was generally the regular engineering stuff, plus everything had to meet military specs.

I figured I’d like engineering because when I was in high school I liked math & physics and, even though everyone else disliked word problems, I thought they were neat.

Sorry about taking this off-topic.

I agree with the posters who suggested vocational testing.

Another point: if you like some aspects of teaching but have trouble with large classes & grading lots of papers, tutoring one-on-one or in small groups may be a better fit for you.

You may want to try to sign up with a temp agency; that could give you a chance to work at different companies & find out about different jobs.

Squeak – I dont think anyone should take halachic or hashkafic advice from ANYONE on the internet, me included. And I may not be as stringent as some, but I can tell “treif” from “kosher” – although the kosher part is a little bit more subjective.

My rabbinic authorities have no problem with me learning things like English Literature. Reading Harry Potter is not going to turn me to witch craft. Reading Crime and Punishment will not cause me to nor prevent me from murdering my landlord for money – it just gave me an interesting perspective on someone who though the end justified the means and then what happened (he kills his landlord for money because he thinks he can change the world if he only had some money). It didnt corrupt me, just gave me a different view on things [yes, morals should be learned from Torah sources, and this is just a different perspective]. And honestly, I think its a good lesson for everyone to learn (especially some Jews who think they are above the law).

However, if you think reading these kinds of things will corrupt you, even though it might be mutar, you should stay away.

Most bachelor degrees nowadays require many credits of humanities. Many of these classes are very problematic. I opted not to take a psychology class because it was taught by a vulgar professor. I avoided things which were not kosher for me – but in my humble opinion (supported by my Rabbis), english literature is fine to learn. That is all I meant (and this might be a ramble). Since Engineering requires less humanities, you have less opportunity to fall into classes that are inappropriate. A little research goes a long way to find out how kosher a class is.

BTW, why is “female” un-progressive? Is it different from “woman”? I’m not specifically a “progressive” person (I’m more of a striver for equality). And yes, I have been refered to as female.

Would anyone be interested in a longer post on how to get into computer programming? I would be happy to write it, but would like to know that someone will care before I spend a few hours on it.

Zach, I think people will find it beneficial if you post about programming.

Ok, I will work on a piece on how to get into programming. However I work a lot of hours these days so it may take me some time, I’ll send it in for a top level post when I have it done.