If I knew when I was 20 what I know now....

[death shot]

How can someone "steal" your career. Explain.

I was part of a small I.T. department in a charity hospital. We were integrated into the system of a larger, university-based medical system after my staff and I built the charity hospital's network from basically nothing. The takeover is something that happens, we understood that. But most of us received an offer to move to another company immediately. The institution that bought us out basically begged us to stay by guaranteeing us that we had jobs that would be in absolutely no danger if we came over. We came over, integrated our systems, and were immediately terminated on trumped up claims that were completely fabricated. One guy had a heart condition and ended up in the hospital over it. Some of us were even offered other positions in that same institution when a few sympathetic directors and managers in other departments caught wind of what was going on. In order to block that from happening, that same ***** manager made sure that we were terminated without the possibility of re-hire. We went to HR, nothing ever came of it.

 

[mkarim]



[SIZE=10pt][COLOR=000000]I was part of a small I.T. department in a charity hospital. We were integrated into the system of a larger, university-based medical system after my staff and I built the charity hospital's network from basically nothing. The takeover is something that happens, we understood that. But most of us received an offer to move to another company immediately. The institution that bought us out basically begged us to stay by guaranteeing us that we had jobs that would be in absolutely no danger if we came over. We came over, integrated our systems, and were immediately terminated on trumped up claims that were completely fabricated. One guy had a heart condition and ended up in the hospital over it. Some of us were even offered other positions in that same institution when a few sympathetic directors and managers in other departments caught wind of what was going on. In order to block that from happening, that same ***** manager made sure that we were terminated without the possibility of re-hire. We went to HR, nothing ever came of it.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Ok so you learnt a few important lessons which many don't get a chance to learn:

1. Never ever depend on an employer to take care of you in any way.
2. The only entity that can make or break your career (or life, in general,) is you.
3. Always keep your skills updated, esp in IT so job scurity rests with you, not your employer.

You're very lucky you went through this and, hopefully, will be much better off in the future.

 

[plei89]

Don't be afraid to take risks...

 

[foodguy]

short-term adaptability trumps long-term planning every time.

 

[mkarim]



I'd tell myself not to dump so much loot into the stock markets. Market gains over the past decade have mostly been flat to negative. Dollar for dollar I would have been better off buying a half dozen Rolex watches every year than putting that money into my retirement accounts.

The stock market is a huge casino that just uses our hard-earned money to fund the retirement s of brokers and market makers.

 

[bullrams]

1. Should have had my head out of ******, a.k.a, career-focussed
2. Taken active control of my life
3. Learnt Game

 

[HansderHund]

.

 

[YOLO EMSHI]

I'm beginning to think I'm investing too much time in my uni work. It has its rewards but where the **** has my life gone?

 

[Anthony K]



1. Should have had my head out of ******, a.k.a, career-focussed
2. Taken active control of my life

These two and my third. Be yourself don't follow other people's leads.

 

[bullrams]



short-term adaptability trumps long-term planning every time.

Makes sense a lot. But isn't this just a better way of saying, "keep compromising"?

 

[foodguy]



Makes sense a lot. But isn't this just a better way of saying, "keep compromising"?

nope. it just means that life changes in ways you don't expect it to. keep your eyes on what you once thought was the prize and you might miss some opportunities that will wind up being a lot more rewarding. and sometimes that does involve compromise. when you don't get what you're going for, i've found it's a lot better to try to make the best of the situation you find yourself in than to sit around and curse fate.

 

[bullrams]



nope. it just means that life changes in ways you don't expect it to. keep your eyes on what you once thought was the prize and you might miss some opportunities that will wind up being a lot more rewarding. and sometimes that does involve compromise. when you don't get what you're going for, i've found it's a lot better to try to make the best of the situation you find yourself in than to sit around and curse fate.

And the best shall it be

 

[Vastrm Darren]

I'm beginning to think I'm investing too much time in my uni work. It has its rewards but where the **** has my life gone?

I think there's a balance that is needed. A person with a 3.75 may not necessarily hit the ground running faster than the guy who has a 3.0 with a ton of experience. My advisor used to say that enthusiasm is one of the most important assets in the business world. I say keep working hard, keep getting good grades. But every now and then it's okay to half ass a homework assignment if it means taking out a pretty girl to dinner, doing more for your internship, etc. The GPA, although important, is not everything.

 

[Tiziani]

1. Perfectionism is not a virtue. Just steamroller your way from square 1 and you'll probably end up at a place that was even better than you first thought out.

2. Forgiveness is easier to win than permission.

3. Minor note to self - She's crazy and insecure. End it now.

 

[amathew]

1. Study less
2. Get game
3. Sleep with lots of bitches


I'm only 27, but that's my advice as someone who spent their late teen and early 20s studyint really hard and not having any fun.
Studying hard is great, just have balance in your life.