Thoughts on Professional Aspirations

Sometimes people around us ask us questions that we do not know how to answer exactly.  It seems like a simple question, "What kind of job do you want?" But really, I find that question quite difficult to answer.

I have been a scholar for a long time and my interests are not really confined to one particular field.  I have a B.S. in Mathematics and a Chemistry minor that I earned years ago.  Hence, I have a higher comfort level with respect to mathematics.  The chemistry minor was probably a direct result of my love for laboratory experiments.  Specifically, I really enjoy writing lab reports and analyzing data.  

My original intention was to earn a B.A. in Mathematics and earn a Master's in Civil Engineering in a 3-2 program (3 years for the B.A. and 2 years for the Master's degree, so 5 years).  However, life does not always happen the way we planned it to go.  

So I was pondering many different options for educational advancement.  I considered earning a Master's in Mathematics and becoming a government mathematician or teaching at the community college level.  I considered earning a degree in Construction Management because it was and still is of interest to me.  I considered pursuing Computer Science, since there was a news story about how computer science majors would not have a hard time finding employment after finishing their degrees.  

But after all of those considerations, I found myself back in square one: Civil Engineering.  I've been working on this degree since Spring 2005.  I have struggled so much with it.  Statics made me wonder whether I should continue pursuing civil engineering at all.  It took me two times to get through that course.  I had to bail out of a third additional attempt that I do not particularly count.

I KNOW THE FOLLOWING:

1. I am going to finish this civil engineering degree in May 2014.

2. I would like to work as either a planner or estimator in the beginning of my engineering career and work my way up to project management.

3. I do not have to be an engineer to be happy, but I DO need to finish this degree to be happy.  I do not like quitting anything.

4. I will have multiple avenues to pursue professionally (math, statistics, forensics, chemistry, programming, teaching, et cetera), so this variable economic market will not thwart me from working.

5. As long as the job I choose is respectable, is something that I enjoy doing, is something I can excel at, provides a sense of productivity, makes a difference, and has allowances for advancement, I'm open to all sorts of opportunities.

So to answer the question: What kind of job do I want?

I want a job that I can be good at, will compliment my past education, will allow me to finish my civil engineering degree next year, and will make a difference.  That probably means a summer job.

I plan on specializing in water/environmental disciplines, so conservation is an area of interest for me.  Hence, if I could work to assist conservation efforts, that would be awesome.  However, I am also aware that I could tutor mathematics to receive another means of that sort of fulfillment.  Therefore, I am sure  there are means to fulfill our lives to achieve happiness in multiple ways.