It isn’t uncommon to end up in an unexpected career path. According to Forbes, it is projected millennials can have up to “15 to 20 jobs over the course of their working lives!” This doesn’t come as a shock to many of the BYU-Hawaii professors on campus whose own lives tended to hold a similar pattern. “It’s nice to set goals, but don’t be disappointed if you end up somewhere different than you planned.” This advice from entrepreneur advisor Alex Martinez echoed various professors at BYUH who expected to be pursuing a career after graduation that had little to do with what they did end up pursuing.Earl Wyman, a TESOL professor, wanted to be a public school teacher. After a couple of years in teaching he continued his education and went to get a master in geography. Part way through he had this realization: “ I [had] no idea what to do with geography.” He discontinued his geography study and moved to Japan where he taught English for two years. There he became inspired to go back to school once more and get a master in TESOL, which led him to be a TESOL professor at BYUH. His advice to students about to graduate from this university is: “Don’t be afraid to change directions.” Cynthia Compton, a history professor, said it took her a long time to find the path she felt was right to pursue. This was mainly because she was receiving pressure “to be practical” in her major and career choice, but within herself she felt her “calling was history.” Compton had to sit in various business classes and experiment with different majors to recognize the path for her was history, and luckily she found that path in college. Her main advice to the students of BYUH is to “choose a major that makes you think and analyze deeply, because to choose a major based off of a career is to have faith in something that is disappearing. It is not a guarantee to get a job in your directed path.” She urged the students to study what they are passionate about and she said if students would do that then, “they would be ready for whatever is to come.” Jeff Merril, an art professor, never expected to be teaching at a university. He was laid off from his illustration job and, for the next few years, he continued in freelance painting. To further his practice he made it back to school for a Masters of Fine Arts. Even then he did not expect to end up at a university teaching painting, but as the opportunity unfolded he accepted and has enjoyed working here. His advice to all students is to “keep doing your art and keep learning.”Alex Martinez, now a missionary in the entrepreneur department, expected to be working on Wall Street. He had studied electrical engineering, then went on to study in the electric power industry but quickly realized he was not enjoying the content of his studies. This realization led him to switch to pursuing an MBA where he felt a deep connection. He never finished his MBA but he understood the principles enough to lead him into the healthcare industry where he found most of his success. Though his career progression was far from his expectations he felt each step prepared him for the next opportunity. Pattie Sellers, editor of Fortune Magazine, coined the metaphor, “Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder.” Lori Goler, senior director of marketing at eBay added to this metaphor by saying, “Ladders are limiting— people can move up or down, on or off. Jungle gyms offer more creative exploration. There is only one way to get to the top of the ladder, but there are many ways to get to the top of a jungle gym.”
Writer: Katie Bak
