How finding my passion helped broaden my job opportunities.

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I've always been into the IT world. I took classes and got my first certification (A+), but it's hard to find a job without the rest of the "standard" certs (MCITP/CCNA). I fully understand what I'm doing with the material, but I have reading comprehension troubles because of my Asperger's and it makes me a poor test taker. Not many companies will hire you without your certs. I ended up getting a job offer from my dad to do the office administration at his company. He works in metal fabrication and I was just completely uninterested, but I needed a job. Over the last few months, I've started learning that my passion wasn't really IT. My passion was finding solutions to problems, fixing things, and solving puzzles. Technology was just my medium for my passion. Just like someone who loves art chooses paint or charcoal as their medium.

Ever since working at my dad's shop, I've been able to pursue those passions. I still work with technology; troubleshooting computer, printer, fax and networking issues, typing, etc. I've also been able to have projects. Recently I turned the whole office paperless by scanning work orders into the computer and linking them to Quickbooks. My next big project is opening an eBay store for the company, which will help us grow bigger. Eventually, we want to expand by opening another shop and I can already smell the IT solutions with that. I've never been this excited about something in my whole life. It was very rewarding when my dad told me that my passion put a spark into everyone else that works here and they're just as excited.

Now don't get me wrong, my heart is still in IT. My dream is to become a security expert and possibly an IT director, but now I know that I can pursue my true passion in other fields, like office administration. Being certified also enforces my position where I work, making me invaluable to the company (dad's words, not mine). I could even become a doctor or an engineer and still be finding solutions and solving puzzles.

So, think about it. What are you getting from your "dream job"? Do you want to be a police officer? Maybe your passion is helping others or having authority. You could apply that to management! Do you want to fix machines? Maybe you could try fixing people as well by being a doctor! If you're a creative person, it doesn't restrict you to art. You could be a project manager.

Of course some of these things require a lot of expensive schooling and certain degrees, but I'm sure you get what I'm saying. I just see a lot of topics of people not being able to find a job because of their degree or what they want to do. My realization opened my eyes to more job opportunities and I wanted to share it in hopes that it may help some people who feel like they'll never find a job.

Cheers!

Great post!

Not only are you gaining useful on the job experience, but you are gaining well deserved confidence in your ability to be useful in other job settings!