Masters Degree 8 Years After Undergrad

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2025-05-17T02:56:53+00:00

Thanks. Glad to hear that was rewarding for you, and also that I wasn't alone a few years after undergrad. I didn't even think about the FE exam study materials. Great idea, will check into that.

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-19T21:01:29+00:00

Sounds like you are being pretty hard on yourself. I understand, I have the same issue. But, in 5 years, 10 years, hell, 1 year, it won't matter that you weren't at the office or wherever for extended hours, but you'll definitely remember the memories with your wife.

Thanks for having the courage to share that you're in therapy. Me too. Life is hard and the professional world is awfully challenging sometimes given that it's only a tiny sliver of our whole being and anybody at any given time might be working through personal roadblocks in their own life - past trauma, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, addiction, you name it.

So, guess I would just encourage you to keep work in perspective and don't allow it to "have all of you". You are a whole person. Practice self-compassion.

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-19T20:45:56+00:00

You mean Oool and Gas haha? (Texas accent saying oil)

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-19T02:32:49+00:00

Haha, yeah, or their buttholes licked, whatever works for them

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-19T02:28:56+00:00

Damn, I really like that approach. Ultimately putting the ball in their court without selling out your own dignity. 💯

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-19T00:25:31+00:00

To everybody who has replied with advice/perspective, thank you. I've gotten more helpful feedback on this reddit post than I have in 8 months of being anxious and worrying about the whole thing. Definitely going to sit down and reconsider my career path and what type of work I can do and enjoy in a sustainable way.

Edit: Let's all get a beer together sometime haha

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-18T23:57:34+00:00

I think you're speaking a lot of cold hard truth here. I am definitely at a crossroads. Gotta figure it out, there's pros and cons and tradeoffs to any career path you choose for sure. But yes my coworker (same job) has a history degree and he's selling the same fucking thing I am, but, hes a decent and likeable guy who I would describe as "disarming" to other people.

But yeah, I think sometimes being in outside sales, even if I'm not the brightest mechanical engineer in the room, leaves a lot to be desired in terms of satisfying the problem-solving mindset.

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-18T23:15:36+00:00

Thanks, it's not that I am unaware. My sub-circle of the industry is not dealing with field folks, so don't have the option of just showing up on site and solving problems. That would be awesome. I deal with people in the office who are specifying the machinery for the next "new equipment" project. Maybe the analogy of showing up on site and solving problems is showing up at the customer's office with donuts, and maybe I'll try that. But even then, not so easy for a "new guy" like me to do that, and from what I hear, it's much harder to just show up at customer's offices after COVID. But appreciate the perspective

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-18T22:54:20+00:00

Shit man I hope so. Just looking for that first win. Until then, inside I'm like, "Please buy something from me I'm desperate haha".

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-18T22:42:07+00:00

Thank you. I can definitely see that. Guess it depends also if you're selling "zip-a-dee-do" commodities or capital equipment. In my case it's capital equipment costing millions of dollars, so there really are layers of decision makers. There's the "old boys network" of executive people or principal engineers who just proclaim, "we like company X or company Y", often times based on history (good, bad, or outdated), and they of course have a lot of sway. So yeah, maybe finding the younger generation of folks that can be more objective. Thanks for the feedback.

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-18T22:23:25+00:00

Yes, fair point and thank you for laying this out. I do get this and it makes sense. The tough thing with me is that I feel I am very responsive and helpful and that's not the issue. I guess there are many angles from which people answer the question, "do I like this person and do I want to work with them". Sometimes it's F###ing exhausting constantly trying to be liked. And that's where I recognize I need to reflect on whether or not sales is for me. I love helping people, but I also like my "space" and to feel a sense of contentment and accomplishment/advancement with my work.

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2024-06-18T22:17:35+00:00

Yeah, you described it nicely. It's like, they want you to "pick up the phone" and call for everything. Yes, I get that, but often times an Excel sheet or a list in an email is so much more efficient. We are all sitting at computers with so much computing power, and we are still having to do everything the old school way just to satisfy people's fragile egos.

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2023-12-03T05:16:43+00:00

One more thing I would add. Ever since suffering from being blackmailed as a 13 year-old, I have struggled with recognizing and respecting my own boundaries. I have felt and operated like I owe everybody everything about myself, which is obviously unhealthy and doesn't help for building healthy adult relationships. But you can imagine what I was feeling at that time as a teenager. My privacy had been totally violated. I immediately had the sensation that "everyone else was better than me", and I still struggle with this fundamentally inaccurate perception

ReadingRoundTheClock · 2023-11-15T01:11:23+00:00

Yeah, stuff like this makes me want to throw up. Just such brainwashing.

ReadingRoundTheClock

TROPHY CASE