Dilbert vu, n. An illusory feeling of having previously experienced a situation parodied in a Dilbert comic strip

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Then, I got tired of the Bull**** and decided to follow a personal ambition (same career, different location) – I became a full-time clown. I still consult on the side for friends and mom-and-pops in the computer field, but my full-time income is from being a family entertainer. And I’ll tell you – Megatrends had it right! High-tech/High-touch is the wave of the future (they said in 1982), and it’s pretty close to right!

Now, I work with my family, for my family. I earn a respectable income (higher than as an IT grunt, even an IT manager). My ulcer is gone, and I’m my own boss. Don’t be paralyzed about making the move – if you believe in you, and you’ve got a support network of friends to remind you why you did it, the non-sequitur jump can really change your life perspective!

As for switching, as a student I’m pretty limited, but I suppose I could take this as switching my social class. Right now I’m a bando- I’m in my schools drumline and marching band, and love it. Spend time not online playing drums. But if I could switch, I think I’d want to be more of a guitar player type than marching band/drumline type. Though going to Dayton, OH for world championships for WGI is pretty cool. They also have an awesomely compliant site. So yea- more of a harcore guitat player.

I would probably become a programmer. As of now, I am way more a sysadmin than a web developer (though I have to do a bit).

If I jumped fields, I would become a high school math teacher or a mass transportation planner. I have always wanted to correct math’s PR problem and work on making bus systems more friendly.

Outside, I at one stage seriously considered joining the army and becoming a sniper. Having since gotten engaged, probably not a great option anymore! Instead I’d probably move to something practical, like carpentry. Not sure it would fund my lifestyle particularly well tho!

As for the same industry, this ones a little tougher, hence doing this thing backward… I work for myself, so I pretty much have to have a dabble at everything… but if i could chose, I’d do whatever got me out of the office, around people and on the beach more… what job in the web/computer industry would offer me that??

Outside web stuff, I”d like to be some sort of statistician. The world is so complex that you can”t make any sort of really informed decision on big, important matters without some seriously good statistics. In that way, I”d be doing a little bit to save the world.

No, statisticians don’t get informed themselves. They form an opinion and then use their numbers to *cough* inform the rest of the world.

Outside web stuff, I’d like to be some sort of statistician. The world is so complex that you can’t make any sort of really informed decision on big, important matters without some seriously good statistics. In that way, I’d be doing a little bit to save the world.

Outside? A truck driver.
I never knew this, until my father started working as a truck dispatcher, but the smart and motivated ones make over $200k-300k a year. You get to travel a lot, and that’s a loooot of audiobook time.

I don’t think you’d enjoy programming for climatology/meteorology. A lot of it is heavy duty Fortran; readable and elegant it ain’t!