Many of the students I've mentored over the years have had the mistaken notion that people choose a profession and move directly into it. In my experience, most people take a more circuitous route and learn valuable things on the way, especially in their first few part-time jobs. That was certainly my experience.
My beloved fender Telecaster delux with stratocaster neck and gibson humbucker pickups
I was a farmhand in my early teens, a hospital janitor in my mid-teens, and a professional musician in my later teens and early twenties planning to have a career in music
As a farmhand, I learned to appreciate the importance of manual labor to society and in particular being the first part of the supply chain in getting food to people’s tables. It also felt good to be so physical all day which resulted in my being in the best shape of my life during that period. The job also afforded me the freedom to practice my singing and music. The guys I worked with would often join in. I also learned to work a manual transmission while driving a truck filled with bales of hay. I needed to pick up all the hay bales if I popped the clutch and slid them off the back of the truck. I became pretty proficient at driving stick very early as a result.
I really enjoyed being a janitor because I could do my own thing, including practicing my singing while working and nobody cared because the role is strangely largely invisible to people. Having polished a huge floor with a industrial buffer so that you could see your reflection in the floor was hugely satisfying to me. Particularly meaningful was the fact that I met the smartest person I’ve ever encountered in my entire life in that job, a fellow janitor. I learned then to never judge a person by what they do. Since that job, I’ve always made a point to thank the janitor that comes to empty the trash bin in my office no matter how busy I am. I also acknowledge and greet the janitors elsewhere in the building when a see them and make sure to not mess up what they’ve just cleaned.
Music was going to be my chosen profession. While I enjoyed singing and playing in a house band every Saturday night and studying classical music at the Royal Conservatory of Music, it was my high school music teacher who said that most people who take music at university end up teaching music and then listening to bad music all day. I appreciated music teachers but I wanted to be a performer. I also visited the university music department I was considering attending and I saw students spending all day in tiny practice rooms. That wasn’t for me. I decided to make music my avocation.
I then pivoted and did undergraduate, masters, and doctoral studies initially in cognitive science and clinical psychology which later led to another pivot to research, specialization, and my life-long passion for, practice in, and leadership of design and research.
My early experiences made a huge impression on me and have made me a better person. I believe that every role we have is additive in terms of skill building. As an example, my early experience regularly being on stage in front of large crowds as a singer and musician made it a lot easier for me to feel comfortable speaking to large audiences in my role today.
So, my career path was circuitous and I’m glad that it was.