I’ve never had a stable, long-term career plan. In fact, when I went to college I didn’t really understand what a career was. I knew of a few professions — teaching, healthcare, firefighting, and doing things that involved giant offices in the city where people like my father went to work and worked somehow with money. Oh, and creative professions like designing things or performing in theatre. That was pretty much the extend of my understanding around the options available for my future.

For better or worse, I didn’t have the luxury of growing up in a place with vibrant creative minds put to business use like Silicon Valley. No, I grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey where the science/math nerds and the rest of us were kept very separate. Fast forward 29.5 years and here I am, a Director-level employee (in name only, not actually, but close enough) of a serious tech/software company. And I love the industry I’ve landed in. Somehow. From that little girl who had no idea that this type of job or company even existed growing up.

What I don’t love is my profession. If I thought that there was nothing in the corporate world that could fulfill me I’d learn to deal with it. The more I work, though, and the more opportunities I have to dabble in some other roles within the company by weaseling my way into projects, the more I’m reminded that my heart is in product management. Not marketing. Continue reading Switching Career Paths at 30 →