Look before you leap! – Part 2

I left off previously with my entrance into my new career of choice – ophthalmology. I knew it meant I would be making less money (especially at first, since, as I mentioned, I was making half of what I was used to making), but because I was in the healthcare field and would be helping people, I was willing to make that sacrifice.
I gave up a somewhat laid-back, corporate environment where my boss didn’t micromanage me because he trusted I knew how to do my job, to work at a place where I was constantly on my feet running around assisting ophthalmologists, being spoken to as if I were a child, and a little frightened and frustrated because of the sheer fact that this was all new for me. I went from interacting with salespeople and network technicians, to working with doctors and other prospective techs. I transitioned from a somewhat high-profile job at my old employer, to being just another body wearing scrubs. I gave up ordering cool “geek” stuff like computers, printers, software and peripherals, to instilling eyedrops in patients’ eyes and hoping they wouldn’t blink (which, most of the time, they did). It was a very trying time.

Well, for you to understand why my blog is titled as such, let me tell you what happened. After 2 months of working in eyecare, and having to do the same thing over and over again, it suddenly dawned on me that this wasn’t quite the right fit for me, either. I don’t like being bored, and this job was already becoming redundant. Maybe I should’ve persevered, been more stubborn and given it more of a chance as I normally tend to do. But I just had a gut feeling this wasn’t for me. And normally, when I ignore my gut feeling, I regret it later on. Not all the time, but this is my career I’m talking about – something I invest a good portion of my day doing. I didn’t expect this to be the elusive “dream job,” but I wanted to at least enjoy it and be passionate about what I was doing – and I didn’t. So, to wrap up this story, I decided to leave ophthalmology. I took a chance, and a leap, and it didn’t work out. I was disappointed, especially since I had made quite a sacrifice financially to make this change in my life, but somehow I knew I was doing the right thing.
So, the point of my first two blogs is this – REALLY do as much research as you possibly can into different careers you may be interested in. Talk to people in the field, and I would stress that job shadowing be mandatory in order for you to get a good idea of what the job entails. Although I was already enrolled in classes working towards my new goal as an ophthalmic assistant, the theory that I loved learning in the classroom is quite different from the clinical experience. I was not fortunate enough to be able to job shadow, due to the fact that I had a full-time day job, but if you can, fit that into your schedule.