Professional Prestige & Fulfillment | Asian American Poll

PROFESSIONAL PRESTIGE & FULFILLMENT
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:10:00 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

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WHAT YOU SAY

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AC Drop Out,

You don't have to be rich to be happy. You can be happy just being middle class, like me. I have no qualms with that. It's very comfortable and satisfying. Like i said, i'm not living just to make money. Of course, money is good. You need money to live, to do stuff, to have fun, but you've got to find that ideal medium. You don't need to go overboard.

Case in point: I look at my family doctor and he does not look like a happy camper at all. A worn and tired face all the time, no doubt the result of many years of too much work and little play. This guy has got a private practice but i've seen him making the rounds at the nearby hospital too. He has office hours 6 days a week and maybe works part of the seventh. He probably makes well over 100K a year i'm sure, but he's also putting his two sons through Harvard. This guy doesn't rest and it caught up to him. He was really sick earlier last year. My point being that money is nice but it's not worth it to kill yourself making tons of money that you'll never have time to enjoy. Wouldn't you like to spend more time with your friends and family? I can guarantee that on your death bed you will not say, "Oh i wish i could have worked more and made more money in my life." You're more likely to say, "Damn, i wasn't there when my daughter was born. I wasn't there at a lot of my son's games. I wish i could have spent more time with my wife."

I'm not sure about your friend who flipped out. I'd say he probably had some issues unrelated to his job. I have three friends who are elementary school teachers and they like it a lot. I think there is a certain satisfaction that comes with imparting your knowledge and wisdom onto others, shaping and influencing young minds. You say teachers get no respect? Who cares about lack of respect -- it's about your own personal satisfaction and fulfillment. And you are doing something noble and worthwhile, not just collecting cash. You don't think that is meaningful in life?
Valley Chinese Dude Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 22:31:11 (PST)

AC dropout,

America isn't Asia. There is almost no respect for teachers, not even at the university level.

It is tragic to hear something like this. I guess this country is heading for the worse and not for the better...maybe its on our capitalistic society at fault, if you don't make a hefty salary, then your are not a good person!

In my opinion, I think America has a significant amount of handicapped youth. Many of our youths are not properly educated and trained for their adult life. You could blame this on the education system and our culture that emphasize immediate gratification above everything else. Hell, teachers these days worry about their pay checks more than the progress of their students.

America has the worst foreign language departments, worst music programs, and the worst english writing classes. Even technology isn't emphasized enough to benefit the younger generations, who will probably see more tech gadgetry and innovations than any other previous generation.

Speaking of education, one thing they will not teach you is entrepreneurship. Many corporations fund learning institutions and that's one thing they do not want young people to learn. I would assume practical business skills are taught in a MBA program...

And making tons of $$$ often doesn't determine how talented or smart a person is, that's only if you're working for someone. I use to work for a clothing company (the name which I do not want to mention and no it's not Nautica) and many people who were making 60K or above obtain their positions through family ties and connections..it had nothing to do with ability.

I think anyone can start a business, all they have to do is take a small risk so they don't have to pay a big price if they don't succeed. If it works, then allow it grow. If it doesn't then you don't lose much. But again, it's easier said than done..

AA Renaissance    Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 14:48:25 (PST)
jjk,

If you are asking me on an industry level where there are opportunity for $$$ as an entreprenuer. I believe the next big market will not be anything glamourous. It will be support business. Or secondary businesses, back office businesses.

Like UPS, supports online stores. Like temp industry, support sick personell. Like information backup facilities and diaster recovery for data.

If you are interested in biotech. They would be stuff like medical supplies. New Pipet, flask, etc. Training dummies that simulate medical situations. Enzymes for Gene splicing. Saline solution for growing culture. Premade agar and agarose dishes.

My mom once said to me "The best hairdresser in the USA makes more money than me." So the point is just be the best at whatever field you are in and the $$$ issue will just disappear.

If I was still interested in Dermatology research and had the money I have now. I might have done something like this as a start-up instead. You can clone skin cell to make graphs as a type of bandage for ulcers that appear on the skin. Earthworm farms are a lucrative mail order business. Clone earthworm derm cells and use them as fish bait.

Stupid idea...but you never know. ^_^

I realized sometime during my senior year in highschool and freshman year in college, that I had no empathy. I would have no patience tutoring or helping other people. I've been in clinical situation with medical student in NYC. I would go on rounds with the residents and patients could have a terminal case of some rare derm tumor. And I would not care. Residents would be in disbelief that a patience declined treatment. I would be thinking that great, saves on filing insurance claims, next case.

So I was lucky early on to realise the clinical medicine was not for me. But I was also very lucky in discovering what I truly enjoyed during my college years.

First figure out what you like to do, then just be the best at what you do and everything else will fall in place. Because if you don't like what you do, you probably won't ever be the best.

So spend lot of time in highschool and college doing different things. Your sure find out what you don't like. If you are interested in biotech, see if your institutuion will give you credit if you become a research assistant at a biotech lab. Write to a lab near you and see if they will take you on as an assistant. If your are still in highschool, tell them you want to compete in the Westinghouse Science Competitiion.
AC dropout    Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 12:10:41 (PST)
Valley Chinese Dude,

One of my white friends went into the teaching right out of college and had a nervous breakdown the first year. He was huddled under his desk screaming until the paramedics dragged him out.

America isn't Asia. There is almost no respect for teachers, not even at the university level.

Stop spreading the poor man's myth "money doesn't always equal happiness." It is good to have. It is good to use. It can even buy happiness. Trust me as an immigrant that lived on both side of the poverty line in the USA. It is good stuff.

The question is can individual can come to terms with how much they can make based on their own talent, background, work ethic, etc. Once an individual has realistical assessed their own ability and what it is worth on the market, then they will find nirvana.
AC dropout    Monday, January 07, 2002 at 14:49:36 (PST)
AC Drop Out,

So medical field seems to be spiraling down, together with computer technology.

Then what do you think will be the next area to boom? I was considering biotechnology or biomedical engineering.
jjk    Monday, January 07, 2002 at 14:15:47 (PST)
Kevin,

Yeah, i am well aware that our colleagues in Silicon Valley are making obscene amounts of money and getting stock options (if they're still worth anything). If you are a contractor you can easily bank over 100K a year, no matter where you're at. But living in Silicon Valley and the SF bay area is also much more expensive than most other places in the nation. So although you're making more your standard of living is also higher and more expensive than a good majority of the nation. I hear that monthly rent or mortgage payments can be quite suicidal up there!

Frankly, that's not the lifestyle i care for. The money in IT is good but i'm not living to make money. It doesn't dominate my psyche and control where i want to go in life. Seems to me that usually the more money you make the more stress and grief you get from work and home. You've got to find that happy medium where you can be comfortable, but not too comfortable. Lawyers may make tons of money but they're also some of the most unhappy and unsatisifed people (according to surveys anyway). And from some of the posts in here, it also seems like there are lots of doctors who may be unhappy with their profession from all the govt. regulation, HMOs, etc.

So, bottom line: money doesn't always equal happiness. Of course, i'd rather be rich and miserable than poor and miserable. But you don't have to be either. Being in the middle is pleasant enough.

Anyway, another profession which probably brings lots of satisfaction and feelings of fullfillment is teaching. No one has talked about that in here but i think teaching is something that lots of people enjoy doing and it is a noble profession. I'm thinking about teaching computer programming part-time, after work, at a local public university in a few years, when i'm older and more settled down. That sounds like fun.
Valley Chinese Dude    Sunday, January 06, 2002 at 17:24:08 (PST)

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