Posted by Hal on November 04, 1999 at 09:55:52:
In Reply to: And I've Just Got To Ask This Question--Forgive Me posted by Jasper on November 03, 1999 at 17:15:12:
: : : Yes. I got my B.S. in mechanical engineering, and when I graduated ('93) I couldn't find a job in it. I floundered around for 3 miserable years either unemployed or in some job I hated, and finally decided my only choice was to go back to school and switch fields. This was still in my pre-enneagram, pre-spiritual days, and engineering still seemed like the answer to my life problems, so I got an M.S. in computer engineering. It pays the bills quite well, but I don't find the work very meaningful.
: : : - Hal -
: : One of the three Enneagram books I have (the Enneagram Made Easy)--this is a fun book--says as a recommendation "Try to Make four Creativity your Career" . Then the next recommendation under that one, "if you can't make your career in a creative endeavor you love and many can't, then make sure to pursue your creativity in your after work hours."
: : I am paraphrasing, but anyway, from your post on your vitals above, it seems to me that while the engineering career isn't creative enough or meaningful to you, you seem to be doing all the creative, spiritual stuff in your off hours (the spiritual groups, religion, hiking (I thought I saw that). Maybe to compensation for the lack thereof at work.
: : I can totally relate to this. I am in a similar situation in that my 9 to 5er isn't all that exciting, but I am constantly trying new things after work, and this seems to help. Don't knock those creative/spiritual endeavors just because you are not getting paid to do them. They count as much as your job in making up the total person you are. My Uncle, a dentist by trade and a violin player in a somewhat professional symphony here, never asks me when he cleans my teeth about my job, but about my avocations, what he really cares about.
: : P.S. While it is not my hobby, my roommate has three beautiful aquariums in our small apartment, the largest 125 gal. containing fresh water cyclids--angels, cory catfish, clown loaches. Watching this six take care of those aquariums inspires me to do my best in my own four ventures.--Jay
: :
: : P.P.S. My brother-in-law started out in engineering, then some years back after suffering depression, switched to business and climbed to an executive level, and seems happier, though he's a keep-silent eight and hard to read and hard to approach sometimes too. But I heard through the family grapevine that he's pursuing a P.h.d. in economics or finance and taking Ti Chi on the side. At the next holiday, Thanksgiving, I will find out the particulars.--Jay
:
: Followup. You are the only person I know from North Carolina so I have got to ask this question. You must understand that I hate talking politics, but since his name seems to be in the news so much these days and he has been representing your state for years, I've got to know:
: Does everybody in North Carolina love Jessie Helms? Jay
Hell no! I don't think any of the people I know like Jesse Helms, so I wonder who it is who keeps electing him. The more rural parts of the state tend to be much more conservative, so they must be the ones. We have some odd politics here--the state overall usually votes republican, but we've had the same democrat as governor for 17 years, and everyone seems to like him.
You're right, I do have many creative outlets outside of work, and I'm grateful that I now do have those things. For a long time I really didn't, and everything seemed very empty and worthless. For most of my life, I thought I would find that creativity and meaning in an engineering job, but have since found that I won't. It's not so much that I knock my creative outlets because I don't get paid for them, but more that I lament that I spend 8 hours a day doing something that feels very meaningless. It's a bit hard to reconcile sometimes--I wish I could do meaningful things all day, rather than just after work. Maybe I just need to find the meaning that I can at work, and I do try to do that. I at least try to find the spirituality and greater awareness that I can here so my day doesn't feel completely worthless. And it does give me some time for posting here throughout the day.
- Hal -