Reflections

I like science. I like writing. I like talking about things - with various levels of seriousness - and I don't like thinking about how I'm going to apply all these things I talk about later in life. I knew all that even before I started doing this blog. I just got more of a chance to talk about it, and process some things about what I like about each.

• While I am interested in science and engineering, I'm still in the process of narrowing down exactly what I want to do in those fields.Which is what school is for, really - take classes, see what fits you. Not that the work you do in class necessarily is like the work you'll have to do on the job; I don't particularly like math, for example, but I am good at it, and in the right environment it might make an okay job.
• I love writing, and reading, and stories in general, but I don't even know where I'd start with a career that has something to do with that. I mean, it wouldn't even have to be directly related to that, not quite - my post on spoilers was in part musing on a career in, say, movie promotion. 
• Then again, I've heard it said that "your dream career might not exist yet". Maybe one day they'll be a need in society for something that applies/involves science, in a fun problem-solving way I wouldn't mind doing all day, with stories and writing involved too. Maybe it even exists already - I just haven't found it yet. Maybe it's just a matter of whose project you're working for. Or maybe there isn't, and I'll just find something close enough.

why not?...oh.

I kind of want to just choose some completely unexpected career. Like opening a bakery. I mean, I can't really bake (unless you count Betty Crocker, or recipies from the first page of Google search) but I could learn, right? Learn a bunch of recipes, maybe figure out how they work - what tastes good in what, what does what to the texture, why the hell red velvet cake has vinegar in it, etc. Besides, I can just hire some bakers to bake for me, and myself just manage the business. I don't know if I'd be good at managing a business. I'd probably be too scared to make any real bold business moves, and end up losing a lot of money. I think I might be pretty good at creating the concept for the bakery, though. It could be one of those theme bakeries. Kind of like Psycho Donuts without the donuts. Or the psycho. Well, I'd probably still have donuts in there somewhere, but instead of psychos I'd have something different. Like rollercoasters. Yup, I could have a rollercoaster themed bakery. And different stuff could be different rides, and the staff could scream when they had your order - no, they shouldn't. I wonder if a themed bakery like that would count as a creative and daring business move.

The moral here is I should never run a bakery.

I don't even know anymore

You know what would be a great job? A critic. Like a book critic or a movie critic or a TV show critic, just sit around and be surrounded by fiction all day and then look in-depth and talk about it. And then get paid for it.

That would be a great job for me - I mean, seeing as that's what I do with pretty much everything I read or watch anyway. It's kind of a problem , actually. I can't just like or dislike something, I need to figure out WHY, what parts, what I'd rather be different. Even if I love a book or movie, I usually find flaws. I really am interested in writing , and understanding how stories work, so I do know about what makes something good, how to analyze it. (And I'd love to learn more.) I know that writing isn't really practical except on the side, but this kind of job would let me involve elements of it in slightly different ways: over-analyze it all and then talk about it. Then people would actually listen to me for it, and use my judgement to use their own, and that would be really cool.

Continuing Speculations

I chose to do my career project on Software Engineering, based on my last blog post. I'm still not a hundred percent sure about it, but it does seem like an attractive option so far. The salary is good, various articles make it sound like there's a fairly good job market and it's only increasing, and all those logistic things don't seem to be much of an issue.

There's a couple more things I've been thinking about so far, though. A few people have mentioned that software engineering would be too much of a "cubicle job", since you just sit a computer and code all day. Now, I don't really have a problem with the actual coding part - as I discussed previously, I'm good at it and it's a fun sort of puzzle - but I don't know how long I'd be satisfied with not doing anything else, just sitting there. I don't know if I'd feel like I'd be living life to the fullest, as cliche as that sounds.

I've also been considering various other types of engineering, ones that might involve similar problem-solving strategies. A friend of mine is considering chemical engineering, and aerospace sounds pretty cool too. These would all be a lot more...active careers than software engineering, but they're still not quite the same. I don't think I'd enjoy being a mechanical engineer, though. The possibilities are a bit too infinite, if that makes any sense.