Career Path.

‘A human being must have occupation if he or she is not to become a nuisance to the world’.

-Dorothy L. Sayers

So a long time ago I decided that I would be a chef, a world famous chef that could only come from growing up watching Top cooks off of the food network as a kid.

The fortunate young man that I am I got into the only school in my state that offers a culinary arts intensive training course over 6-weeks of my summer. Slots are given to students showing exceptional dedication to an art.

My art happened to be food. I enjoyed aspects of food for more than just taste.

The way you could change a mediocre dish into a work of art with a little eye for detail and a lot of imagination.

I completed the program.

I was a large part of the culinary workforce that threw the governors wedding party.

Finished the program as the ‘most promising member’ of our culinary team.

I’m slightly competitive, which is good in the kitchen.

I felt completely vindicated.

I had found my calling.

At the same time I was participating in another academic program offered to only my schools students (my High School the top scores in the state, so therefore got most of the funding to do most of these projects).

It was a program focused on the Technology industry. The programs it focused on CCNA, CNET, Web Design and a few others.

I went into hardware my first year, then into CCNA and CNET my 2^nd year, all the while completing a Web Designing course through independent study course work while I was on the off-campus site.

While I was doing that course work in school my sophomore and junior year. I was working in a local restaurant.

I hated it.

I love cooking. But Hated the atmosphere of the kitchen I was working in.

By the time I moved into the house I currently still reside at, I was completely burnt out on cooking, as a way to make money anyway.

So I decided to ‘look into my options’ when it came to the Technology field.

I met with an academic adviser to incoming students at the local university and thought I would ask him a few questions regarding a career path in IT.

He broke it down for me. I had an idea that there was a level of income to be made out of the IT industry but had no idea that it would be something I could ever support myself with. I mean how could a single gay man support himself on a sixty-thousand dollar a year starting salary?

My Aunt was sitting right there the whole time, very quietly gasping at my remarks about not being sure about being able to support myself with that amount of income.

Now to clarify something, my not understanding that an income at that level starting out would sustain me just fine wasn’t from an inherent want for money in a greedy sense. It came from never really having a good idea of what a really decent wage was, my mother supported three children and herself on a twenty-thousand dollar a year wage.

Sixty-thousand dollars a year isn’t the set wage I’ve always wanted. I’ve always wanted a wage that would let me do some of the things I enjoy.

While still being able to breathe comfortably, humble expectations I swear.

So back to my Aunt laughing, I asked her why she was laughing and she explained to me, as an educated person with a PhD she made started out making less than that. PhD coming attached to about fourteen years of schooling, roughly.

I’m planning on four years.

So my dreams of being a world renowned chef were not crushed per say. But why work a job that only gets you as far as how good you are at cooking. Working hours when everyone else is off, with more times than not crappy benefits.

9am to 5pm sounded a little more appealing.

I’m just ready to be done with school and I haven’t even started yet.

Story of my life.