Retirees...if you could redo your career, what would you do differently?

Question

I hear some "older" people say if they could go back and have a different career, they would probably have worked in a different field than they did.

Do you regret going into the field you did? Was it your passion, or "just a paycheck?" What advice do you have for someone starting off in the working world? Thanks!

Answer 1

Don't regret it one bit. I entered the Navy as a Seaman Recruit from a cold-water tenement in Brooklyn. Went all over the world, rose in rank, and retired as a Lieutenant Commander. I've been back to the borough of Brooklyn twice in the past 50 years. The same sad people sitting on the same sad-looking "stoops" who've never been anywhere.
The advice for those entering the working world comes from a fellow who once ran the Ochsner Medical Center in
New Orleans:
1. Whatever you're given to do, do it with a smile.
2. Always keep an "in" with the "outs". That office or plant doesn't clean itself. Those folks who are considered "out" do.
3. Never get caught between the dog and the lamp post!

Answer 2

I started working at being a journalist, because I loved the job. But one does not move up the organization just by loving the job, and being good at it, there are so many other factors involved - the manner in which you handle office politics, your skills at negotiation, the manner in which you keep projecting yourself to your superiors.... I would get into the same field, but I would try and improve my PR and other related skills...And yes, the paycheck does matter, position and money go together, you cannot have one without the other..

Answer 3

I wish I had taken piano playing seriously, studied music in college and somehow had a career as a musician, either playing in an orchestra, symphony, or something like that. However, I don't grouse about it. I had a great career as a librarian, and love what I'm doing now as a volunteer.

Answer 4

I would not have spent so much time getting a traditional college education. I would have gone to a trade school and learned something that would have provided a decent income such as carpentry. A Masters Degree does not guarantee you a good paying job...trust me on this one.

Answer 5

I would still work in aviation but somehow I would convince the men I worked for that I was also a bread winner not just a breeder.

Answer 6

nursing career as an emergency flight nurse.
i have owned and piloted my own airplanes.
worked in law enforcement but love flying...
worked in nursing field as well but would have liked to have flown in a chopper transporting critically ill patients.

Answer 7

I was a civil servant. I think I would have learned the business and become an innkeeper at my own Bed & Breakfast. I would have called it "Rose Garden Inn."

My advice is to follow your dream. Also, save money as soon as you can earn it. Be your own boss.

Answer 8

The only thing I would have changed is School systems.

Answer 9

I would have had a career.