(10-17-2014 03:07 PM)Tiger46 Wrote:  

(10-17-2014 12:41 PM)oldmangrizz Wrote:  I would not have quit the porn industry when I did. They really started making the big bucks a few years after I quit.

But you still get royalties every time someone selects "vintage" don't you?

I wish.

I'm fortunate, I wanted to be an architect since I was 10 and I am one with a potentially lucrative practice (admittedly still building financially, not uncommon for a startup) that is still in its infancy. I teach at a couple of local colleges, and live a pretty full, rich life and since I am still in my mid 30s, my prime is still to come professionally.

Not to say there aren't regrets on the margins. Should have lived 'lighter' for grad school. If I had been more frugal, my student loans would be a little smaller (I'd say 40% of mine were avoidable if I had been smarter at 23). I probably would have tried to focus as hard then as I do now. I wish I had been a little less risk adverse when I was younger and traveled more.

Big one is I wish I would have stuck with standup comedy as a side thing when I quit to pursue my AREs (Registered Architect licensing). I could have done both and the comedy is missed. I probably wasn't good enough to be a Louie CK level talent, but I had some skills and it is possible I could have been a 'club in NYC' level guy with some college tours as my ceiling.

That is my career thing. Not my 1st (arch) or 2nd (teaching arch), but my 'hobby' gig. I miss it sometimes. I got up on stage 6 months ago at a friend's urging and it's gone :(

Oh well, back to drawing

Funny story. When I was doing comedy I met http://www.walicollins.com and he started as an architectural designer and was working in an office during the day and standup at night. He was having nervous stress issues from overwork and the doctor told him "Choose: arch or comedy"

He chose comedy. I wonder if he has any regrets (I bet not)...

(10-17-2014 03:20 PM)Sundanceuiuc Wrote:  I'm fortunate, I wanted to be an architect since I was 10 and I am one with a potentially lucrative practice (admittedly still building financially, not uncommon for a startup) that is still in its infancy. I teach at a couple of local colleges, and live a pretty full, rich life and since I am still in my mid 30s, my prime is still to come professionally.

Not to say there aren't regrets on the margins. Should have lived 'lighter' for grad school. If I had been more frugal, my student loans would be a little smaller (I'd say 40% of mine were avoidable if I had been smarter at 23). I probably would have tried to focus as hard then as I do now. I wish I had been a little less risk adverse when I was younger and traveled more.

Big one is I wish I would have stuck with standup comedy as a side thing when I quit to pursue my AREs (Registered Architect licensing). I could have done both and the comedy is missed. I probably wasn't good enough to be a Louie CK level talent, but I had some skills and it is possible I could have been a 'club in NYC' level guy with some college tours as my ceiling.

That is my career thing. Not my 1st (arch) or 2nd (teaching arch), but my 'hobby' gig. I miss it sometimes. I got up on stage 6 months ago at a friend's urging and it's gone :(

Oh well, back to drawing

If we can talk about hobbies, then I wish our band had actually done something instead of just playing at parties.

I wanted to get into physical therapist or athletic trainer. I had the training and supporters to do it. I wasn't focused on school early and wasn't until my last couple of years. I wish I had focused and could have done it. Now I'm a stay at home with my little girl and take care of all chores in and out. I wouldn't trade it but I still would have liked to have gotten that degree. I did get my degree in exss and was short a thesis to get my masters in health promotion

(10-17-2014 10:41 AM)tigergreen Wrote:  Instead of working full-time, I would have bitten the bullet & done internships (most were unpaid) in my major, Journalism. Even if I didn't make a career out of it, I might have had more freelance opportunities, etc.

My daughter made more than I do right out of school with her Journalism degree. She works hard, but it's a decent living. And there is a huge demand for it all over the country. You can move around with no restrictions.

I would have joined the Marine Corps before college rather than after graduation.

When I went to high school I was incredibly average, but I was very very good at test taking and paper writing. When I took my SAT (the first sitting of the 2400 scale), I ended up in a very good percentile. I received correspondence from some impressive schools (Carnegie-Mellon, Chicago, Davidson amongst them) after that, but I figured that my average study habits would kill me at those schools. I sort of wish that I had taken one of those opportunities up.

As far as career is concerned, I should've gone into accounting and did some study abroad to make connections. I'm actually going to be going back to school to take this up and hopefully parlay my new experience it IT to an IT advisory career.

(10-16-2014 11:03 AM)umbluegray Wrote:  I was pretty far along in my major when I realized it wasn't what I wanted to do. I figured it was too late to start from scratch so I stuck with it.

But if I had it to do all over again I would've gone either with engineering or law.

I think engineering would be more fun.

Think again on engineering.


I would go back and be a math professor. Basically stay in school the rest of my life and torture undergrads with hard tests and pop quiz's.

I probably would become a structural engineer or architect and design stadiums and arenas.

I would have married that cute freshman girl with the red hair that I met my sophomore year.

Oh, wait, I already did that 48 years ago. These darn senior moments.

As far as a career, I also could not have done better. MSME and then work on the Lockheed C-5A aircraft design, followed by thermal analysis on NASA projects like the Lunar Rover, Shuttle, etc. There have been sharp career shifts to a Fortune 500 company as a rotating equipment consultant, a stint running my family dairy farm, and then winding up as a small business owner consulting in Industrial Vibration.

My advice on careers is to never say "I wish that I had....". Bite the bullet and go do whatever it is that you want to do. I told our 3 kids "Life is too short to work at a job you don't like. Quit and go do something that you do like."


Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App

(10-20-2014 02:44 PM)JTiger Wrote:  

(10-16-2014 11:03 AM)umbluegray Wrote:  I was pretty far along in my major when I realized it wasn't what I wanted to do. I figured it was too late to start from scratch so I stuck with it.

But if I had it to do all over again I would've gone either with engineering or law.

I think engineering would be more fun.

Think again on engineering.


I would go back and be a math professor. Basically stay in school the rest of my life and torture undergrads with hard tests and pop quiz's.

And get a state pension.

(10-21-2014 08:41 AM)Tiger46 Wrote:  

(10-20-2014 02:44 PM)JTiger Wrote:  

(10-16-2014 11:03 AM)umbluegray Wrote:  I was pretty far along in my major when I realized it wasn't what I wanted to do. I figured it was too late to start from scratch so I stuck with it.

But if I had it to do all over again I would've gone either with engineering or law.

I think engineering would be more fun.

Think again on engineering.


I would go back and be a math professor. Basically stay in school the rest of my life and torture undergrads with hard tests and pop quiz's.

And get a state pension.

Public or private university would be okay with me

I like my career and I'd like to say that I wish I had worked harder in class so getting my undergrad degree didn't take 10 years, but I gained valuable work experience during that time so I'd say I've done pretty well.

(10-17-2014 10:41 AM)tigergreen Wrote:  Instead of working full-time, I would have bitten the bullet & done internships (most were unpaid) in my major, Journalism. Even if I didn't make a career out of it, I might have had more freelance opportunities, etc.

I've done a few internships since I've been in college (4 in total) and thank God that I have. I was an accounting major my sophomore year, got an internship the summer after, made real good money for an intern, but absolutely hated it. I changed to Finance the beginning of my junior year (switched and stayed with Econ the next semester), got an internship in the group sales department of a minor league baseball team, and found what I wanted to do with my life. The best things that come from internships, at least in the sports world, are the connections you develop. Those go a long way (or so I've been told).

About the only regret I have is that it'll take about 5 years for me graduate. Had I stuck with Accounting, I'd have been out in about 3 1/2 years.

Fine with the accounting degree. Would have double majored in math. Would have opened up a few more opportunities.

Lots of good posts in this thread.

Always wanted to get into architecture, but took a job in college as shipping/ receiving manager for a small local computer networking company. This was mid 90s when every office in America was starting to go online. Those sales reps would take orders all day and were making 6 figures easily. That was my plan once I graduated, so I scrapped architecture for a Bus Mgmt degree and as luck would have it, the local owners sold to a national company about 3 months before I graduated U of M and most of us part timers were let go.

Ultimately, through the years, things have worked out and I don't have too many regrets. I'm very happy at work and get to run a division of my company (contractor) as I see fit for the most part. That's an advantage of working at a small, family owned business. They don't question much as long as I am making them $$ and right now, revenues are about double from when I started. They have some nice perks (company paid health insurance, gas card, truck allowance). Its like I somewhat run my own business, but on the flip side, I don't have the financial risk of being an owner and if anything ever happened, I could most likely go to any one of my competitors and get a job. Student loans are paid off. No car notes. The wife and I live very comfortably.

I guess we all kind of wonder what if at times, but as Joe Walsh said "life's been good to me so far".

And then I also thought if I could have stepped in to intervene between Col Parker and Elvis about 1975....

(10-23-2014 10:24 AM)Tiger46 Wrote:  And then I also thought if I could have stepped in to intervene between Col Parker and Elvis about 1975....

I enrolled at Memphis State in 1975 so I could play racquetball with the team. Only problem was I was 13 and audited courses under my older brother's name. Anywho, that was about the time Red West saw me play at Don Kessinger's and started taking me out to play behind Graceland. My game was moving people around and I think he was hoping E would play to shake some weight. Never did. Free racquetball, though. Free pinball. Heaven.

(10-23-2014 11:41 AM)TiggerFan Wrote:  

(10-23-2014 10:24 AM)Tiger46 Wrote:  And then I also thought if I could have stepped in to intervene between Col Parker and Elvis about 1975....

I enrolled at Memphis State in 1975 so I could play racquetball with the team. Only problem was I was 13 and audited courses under my older brother's name. Anywho, that was about the time Red West saw me play at Don Kessinger's and started taking me out to play behind Graceland. My game was moving people around and I think he was hoping E would play to shake some weight. Never did. Free racquetball, though. Free pinball. Heaven.

Those were the days.

Remember when the guy scaled the fence at The White House a few weeks ago and got into The White House?

I told my wife that back in the day if someone did that at Graceland they would never make it to the house. Truth.