[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Spent far too long at UBC doing a double major (Aquaculture & AgriBusiness) then a Master's in Aquacultural engineering. Ended up working on a lake-based salmon farm raising 3.5 million smolts for 4 years (about half the time I spent at U), then totally switched careers to tutoring (something I did p/t for years).

I loved fish farming but pay sucked (half what I make now), had to live far from family & friends, and working with a bunch of red-necks (I became a pseudo-red-neck with a truck, boat, & swearing like a logger) eventually made me realize it was time for a change. That & I blew out my knee & was getting dumber by the day working there.

Now, my new career required no extra education, just a willingness to work long hours, absorb & teach new subjects, and accept tat there are months when I'm too busy & others where I'm off completely.

In other words, figure out what you really want to do first. Going to U is NOT the end-all, be-all you may think it is. In fact, I can barely name any of my University friends who are still working in their field of study, except ones who studied specialties like Pharmacy.

For many of my less academically inclined students, if they like working with their hands, I recommend that they look at going into the trades, since they will finish quicker & have a solid careeer that is always in demand.

If I had to do it all over again, I think I would have tried cutting off a couple of years at UBC if possible. BTW, in my tutoring, I use almost none of what I studied, other than basic skills like as how to do proper academic papers, presentations, and such.

Think outside the box when considering what new career you might want to go into. Then look forward & think whether or not you can see yourself doing the same thing 5 years, 10 years from now.

The days when most people work at the same career are long over. We will probably average 3 or 4 major career changes in during our working years.

Good luck,

Anthony