Whither one's career...?



I have always seemed to have way too many, and very diverse, interests for my own good. (Or just lack of focus, some would say). At any rate, I have always had difficulty staying focused on one goal and following one path to that goal. I admire those strange folks who knew, even in grade school "what they wanted to do when they grew up." I still don't know! Because so many college students, even seniors, come to their faculty advisors with the "I don't know what I want to do, and/or what I want to major in" question, one colleague had a quote framed in his office from Peter Drucker, a well-known Management authority as follows: "I'm fifty-seven, and I still don't know what I want to do!" I doubt it helped anyone, but I liked it because it was my lament as well.





When I was in high school, I sometimes thought I wanted to be a pilot, and considered the military academies as a possible route to a college degree. I also thought about engineering primarily because I heard that paid well and felt I could be successful in that field of study. When a football scholarship came along, I gave more thought to a career as a high school coach. I loved football, and felt I would be successful as a coach. However, the football career did not pan out, and it is difficult to be successful as a coach if you did not play the sport in college.







I volunteered for the draft and entered the Army to get the GI Bill's financial support for college. I still didn't know what i wanted to major in, but I knew I wanted a college degree to make a decent living. The thought that I should find the one job I would love to do simply did not enter the equation in my thinking about a career. I did not know anyone who truly loved their job. I thought you should work your job in order to enjoy life outside work. The more money you made, the more options you had to enjoy life outside work. Simple, I know, but there you are.





I selected engineering as my college major because it paid well, and selected Industrial Engineering because it was more general--and friends Herschel and Max were already majoring in it and recommended it. I took a minor in Metallurgical engineering so that I could get a scholarship they had available, and found I really liked that field. I had accepted an offer for a job in Birmingham in that field when a downturn in the economy caused the company to rescind the offer. I then went to Huntsville, took a job in project coordination with Brown Engineering, and went to work the same day, in the same office, as their new secretary hire, a gorgeous young woman named Marion "PeeWee" Harrison! I have never viewed that as simply good luck. It was definitely Providential. Making a career choice may have been random at times, but a mate choice was made for me.




I never really wanted to work as an Industrial Engineer, and never have. I used the I.E. degree to get a job in project management and that is really the field I worked in primarily. At Brown, I moved from a project coordination role to a project management role and then to head of an engineering department of over one hundred employees. I am sure I would have done well with advancement at Brown, but I already had an itch for something different. (There has been an almost permanent itch, actually!)



I also wanted to teach, and felt that college was the level I would like best, so I began working in that direction when Max and I went to Georgia Tech for a masters degree. I knew that I would need a doctorate to teach at the college level, and was delighted, after joining NASA/MSFC, to learn that they had supported several people in their doctoral studies. Max led the way in both these endeavors, but they were falling into place nicely with my vague long-term plans. I am grateful I was able to prepare for a teaching career while still supporting my growing family.



Even though I took the college teaching route and loved it, I still had a moment of pause sometime later. Shortly after my leaving Huntsville, my friend Herschel started up a new company, Dynetics, Inc. I am sure that, had I been in Huntsville at the time, I would probably have joined him in that endeavor. That would have probably been financially very rewarding (he is a multi-millionaire), but I don't think I would have liked that career path in any other way, so there is no real regret.



I had several opportunities to move into academic administration at various times in my academic career. I served as department head on two different occasions, and as dean for one year, but found all those experiences unfulfilling for various reasons. I sometimes think I should have followed that path more consistently, as there are higher-level jobs that might have been much more satisfying (VP and Prez). However, there is an obligatory apprenticeship, or progression, that I simply did not want to pursue.




I also found a teaching career allowed me the freedom of schedule that most jobs would not. I could remain involved with my family, especially my children, much more than I might have with other more time-demanding jobs. That was important to me. College teaching also allowed the opportunity to teach in Europe for a year, which may have been my most enjoyable teaching year! I also taught a couple of summers later in Europe. All in all I have no regrets about my career choices, and have been quite satisfied.



Now I am finally in full retirement, and must confess I sometimes have an itch! If there were good overseas teaching opportunities still, I might be tempted to go again--especially for a semester. I have even toyed with the idea of a visiting professorship in some other part of the country--Vermont for the fall season, for example. Then rush home before we were snow-bound for the winter! Or somewhere out west--I know, the romanticized West--not the real one. I would probably find my illusions shattered in the real one.



Of course, having grandchildren changes everything. I don't know if I could really go anywhere that might mean we would not see them for any extended period. They change so quickly! And with each new change or stage, they are so delightful in their responses and behavior and then ours, as well as their parents and uncles, reactions are also fun. So, most likely, I have finished my working career life and my new career is grandparenting. Maybe the best one yet!

Why must America allow gross ugliness in the name of "free enterprise"?


Blogs shouldn't just be places where we can blow off steam about our pet peeves, but...doggone it, I have to blow off some steam about one of mine.



My wife and I just returned from a vacation to southern England and I was struck once again by the contrast between almost any other developed country and ours in terms of the appreciation for aesthetics. As we drove along the motorways in England we saw lovely farms, gorgeous landscapes, just natural beauty all around. It was breath-taking at times. Then it dawned on me. I was NOT seeing any billboards or other ugly signs, no abandoned automobiles or farm equipment rusting away, no litter at all. As we entered cities, towns, and villages, we saw enchanting views at every turn. Attractive storefronts, many flower baskets hanging on lamp posts and on building window sills, well-maintained landscaping, etc. No ugly signs, only modest signs which clearly pointed out places of business without overwhelming us. Parking was carefully controlled, so that although very crowded in many cases, there was order and not mayhem in the parking lots and on the streets.




None of those businesses seemed to be lacking in customers; business seemed to be thriving. Farming seemed to be doing well. All around things were working fine without all the clutter of ugliness we are bombarded with each day. That picture does not happen by accident. Those countries have laws regulating littering, signage, and most other issues and they strongly enforce those laws. We actually have anti-littering laws. Have you ever known anyone to be charged under those laws? I haven't. We seem to have punted on that point. We also have this mindset that we should never interfere with business. "What's good for General Motors is good for the USA!" was the famous saying of long ago. Well, is that true? Does giving business carte blanche to police themselves result in a better America? I don't think so. The only reason any business does not pollute more is the laws we have in place controlling pollution. There is not one shred of evidence that business will police itself. Their focus is the bottom line. Period. Yet we seem to want desperately to believe that they will, and many of our leaders act on that "wish".




On the motorways, there were no awful-looking wrecks still being driven with smoke pouring from the tailpipe, missing mufflers and other parts, etc. All autos must meet strict inspections to even be driven, and all drivers must be well-trained to even drive. It makes a wonderful difference! All those wrecks also have to be re-cycled; not left to rust on cinder blocks and littered around the yards of homes. I have never seen that littered ugly image in all my travels in Europe and elsewhere; just in the good ole USA. Why is that?!



This same issue is seen in how we dispose of trash and garbage. We have large and usually unsightly garbage and trash receptacles in public view and with little control of aesthetics. We do have modest recycling programs in most cities in this country, but it is voluntary in almost all cases, and as a result only a small minority of the population practice recycling. In many other countries, it is mandatory and everyone participates. The difference is immense in so many ways. Not only are there large monetary savings possible, but also environmental and aesthetic impacts are very significant. Some have made all this a political issue in this country, so that if one is concerned about their environment and aesthetics, they are branded a left-wing liberal "tree-hugger" and ridiculed. How pathetic is that!



Well, I realize this blog is only cathartic for me and will not change a thing. Nevertheless, I feel better for having vented. I know few will even read this, but I wanted to shout it out anyway! We as a nation deserve better. We simply don't have enough gumption to say ENOUGH to all the ugliness and insist on a better way. Maybe our children will care more--or their children. There does seem to be an awareness among the young that our environment is fragile and in danger. Maybe there is hope for the future. That is a positive thought to end on.