Reading Break Getaway - Impulsive College Travel

Floyd, one of my good friends at college, sat down at the table where I was enjoying great college cafeteria food.  It was the last Friday before Reading Break of my second semester of college.  He interrupted my culinary reverie wondering if I wanted join a group of friends on a road trip to California during the break.  No week-long lead up planning or anything like that.  Totally spur of the moment.  If I wanted to go, I needed to be ready by suppertime.  I had some questions that needed to be answered first:

• Who was going?  There would be 7 of us in two cars to begin with.  There'd be four in our car and we'd drop a fellow of at his parent's house in Olympia, Washington on our way down.  The other car would go on ahead of us.  There was a couple of 3rd years (Kelly B., and Dan P who we were dropping in Olympia), one second year (Dan J. whose Aunt we'd be staying with in LA), and the rest of us were first year students (Floyd D. who invited me, Andrew S. and Dan M.)
• When were we leaving?  Our car would leave that evening after supper in Andrew's Subaru.  Kelly, Dan M. and Dan J. would leave earlier in the afternoon. 
• Where would we stay?  Dan J. had an aunt in LA with a condo that she was happy to let us stay in for the week.

From right to left:  Kelly B., Floyd D., Dan J., Dan M., and Andrew S.
This is in the lineup to 'Its a small world' at Disneyland.  We are wearing
hoodies we bought down at Venice Beach earlier in the week.

This all sounded great to me.  I told Floyd I'd have to call my parents and let them know what I was thinking, which I did straight-away.  My mom told me to get some travel insurance, since being Canadian I wouldn't be covered if a doctor/hospital visit was required.  I took that advice and arranged a week's worth of travel insurance that afternoon.  

I packed quickly - excited at the thought of going to California - somewhere I'd never been before - and to travel without parental supervision for the first time in my life.  Royce, another friend from across the hall in the dorm, walked in while I was packing.  He asked me what I was up to and I told him.  He couldn't believe I'd planned to go so impulsively, but was very interested in joining us.  I told him to talk to Floyd and he immediately went to find him.  In the end, Royce didn't come with us as he decided to stay and get some actual school work done.  

We left after supper in a snowstorm.  I don't think we were more than 2 miles across the border into the US when we skidded off the road into the ditch.  Fortunately the Subaru was an AWD and with the manpower we had in the car, we were back on the road in a jiffy.  Man, but it snowed that night.  We dropped Dan M. off at his parents' place in Olympia and decided to stay for a little bit and watch Lawrence of Arabia (first time I'd seen that movie).  I'm not sure why we did that as it was a long movie and we wasted a bunch of travel time.

Back on the road after the movie was done in (literally) the middle of the night, we drove into Portland Oregon and I-5 was was deserted.  Four lanes of highway with snow and nobody around?  We decided to do some donuts with the car.  Switching drivers we made it into northern California around mid-day the next Saturday and we were getting quite hungry and thirsty.  We stopped in Yreka, California for gas and some sustenance.  We were on a budget, so we bought a big, glass bottle of apple juice to share.  I don't remember what we ate, but I saved that bottle and still have it today - its our change jar

Apple juice bottle from Yreka, California

We drove in snow pretty much from the Canadian border all the way the Mt. Shasta in northern California.  Coming into California, they strongly suggested we put chains on the tires, but we couldn't afford them.  Besides, we were Canadians and had driven in snow a lot (never mind the fact that we had pushed the car out of the ditch the night before).  In the end, the snow wasn't a problem for us.

We detoured through San Fransisco on the way because none of us had been there and it seemed a shame to miss it.  That cut into our LA arrival time significantly, but just driving across the Golden Gate Bridge was worth it.  Now that I know more about California geography, I wished we'd stuck to highway 101 south from San Fransisco instead of going to back to the I-5, but no harm done.

We saw a possum cross the road in the middle of our second night of travel.  We thought it was a rat and couldn't believe how big it was.  Arriving in LA the next morning, we immediately drove through Hollywood and Beverly Hills.  We got enthralled with the morning sun shining through the palm trees on Sunset Blvd - I don't think any of us had seen palm trees before.  

Dan J.'s aunt lived in a condo in Rancho Palos Verdes - basically the opposite side of LA from Hollywood.  We made our way there and once we'd met everyone and caught up on our travel stories, Dan's aunt took us out for dinner to a restaurant on the pier that overlooked the surf.  I ate shark steak for the first time.

Running in the surf (we called it 'doing the
Chariots of Fire thing') on Venice Beach.

The rest of that week we spent doing LA things:

• Spent a day at Venice beach checking out muscle beach, the markets, the sand, and the entertainers there.
• Spent a day at Universal Studios.  Four of us got chosen to be included in a 'mock' Star Trek set shooting and got dress up as Klingons or Enterprise crew members.  We saw the set for 'Back to the Future' and a Miami Vice demonstration with actors and motorboats and pyro
• Tried surfing on Long Beach - I did not like how much the sand moved underneath my feet.  It almost left like quicksand if you stayed still.  
• Tried to get close to the red carpet on Oscar night (as the Oscars were happening sometime that week)
• Spent a day at Disneyland.  Lots of fun doing that with the guys.
• Some of the guys went to see a PGA tournament for a day.  Floyd and I decided to stay at the condo and suntan.  We bleached our hair with peroxide and it worked rather well.

In the end, it was a great trip.  Definitely worth our money and we certainly had stories to tell coming back to college.  Royce was pretty bummed he decided to stay back and still talks about regretting not going with us to this day.  

A postcard from the trip that I never ended up sending 
to my family back home.  It made it into the photo album though!

Tips for travelling during college reading breaks:

• Being impulsive makes it fun, but stay safe!  Get health insurance if you need to and make sure people know where you are.
• Keep a journal if you can - you'll capture some great memories.
• Make a point of making memories.  Do things you wouldn't normally do and budget accordingly.
• Bring some simple keepsakes back home.  I never thought I'd still have that change jar from the apple juice we drank in Yreka.  Its now a great show-and-tell piece for my kids.  The look on my son's face when I told him about our trip and then pointed to the bottle in the room and said 'that's the bottle' was priceless.
• Buy postcards and actually send them to friends and family

Targeted Job Hunting | Leveraging Your Contacts

Several years ago, I had a student (lets call him Jeremy to protect his privacy) with an accounting background in my WebDev Javascript and CMS courses at SAIT.  Jeremy was keen to learn and had lots of questions and actually sat beside 'Hermione' from this post of mine.  The story of how he found work after school was rather interesting, so I thought I'd share it.

Several weeks after school, Jeremy messaged me on LinkedIn and asked if I could connect him with one of my LinkedIn contacts - an HR manager at a company called Benevity.  Our initial correspondence on LinkedIn looked like this:

From Jeremy: 

Hi Perry, I was wondering if you can introduce me to xxxxx xxxxxxx? I'm looking to stand out among the applicants for their intern program and ask some insightful questions.

Thank you,

Jeremy

From Perry:

Hi Jeremy, 

I'll see what I can do but I can't guarantee anything. She works remotely in xxxxxx and frankly I found her a little difficult to get a hold of (some people work better remotely than others) I send her a message and refer you to her - we'll see what that does :-)

Perry

 

From Jeremy: 

Hi Perry, 

I understand, that's actually all I was looking for. Just an introduction through linkedin.

Have you ever written any coding tests through testdome? There's a preliminary screening interview I have the pleasure of taking by this Monday for xxxxxxxxx(some other company). The test itself is around 37 minutes and from what I've heard from Gary it was two questions on JS using for loops and if statements and one java question to solve some math problems. I think I may be overmatched but I'll still give it a shot.

Thank you Perry for reaching out to her.

Jeremy 

From Perry:

Jeremy, I sent her something like this:

Hi xxxxxxxx,

I had a student recently for several weeks at SAIT that is keen on getting an internship at Benevity. If possible I'd love the chance to refer him to you. His name is Jeremy XXXX. He is well spoken, seeks to understand and be understood, and was one of my top students.  Here's his contact info: xxxxxxxxx Let me know if there's anything else I can do to connect the two you.

Thanks,

Perry

I think Benevity would be a super cool place to work. They have a fantastic client list and a cool business. Good luck!

I haven't done any coding in testdome. I've never done a coding interview myself. Good luck with that too!

Perry

 

From Jeremy:

Hi Perry, 

Awesome, that's more than I could have asked for!

I'll keep you posted on how things go. 

.... and then several months later.....

From Jeremy:

 Hey Perry how's the teaching going this semester? Are there a lot of students? I'm not sure if I told you but I got hired on in October after the internship ended.

Jeremy

 

Jeremy then reached out to me and asked to take me out for coffee.  He wanted to thank me for setting all of that up for him as well as get some advice on his career path forward.

At the appointed time and place, we met for coffee and I got the back-story I had been missing...

After an education in business finance and becoming an accountant, he worked for a few years when he felt he needed a change.  A significant change.  He ended up travelling overseas and teaching English.  While he was doing that he got interested in web development and scoped out a school to learn from - it turned out to be SAIT, the school I was teaching in.  Not only did he scope out a school, but while still teaching English overseas he had discovered and investigated Benevity and decided to try and get work there when he was done.  

I have to say, when I discovered this, I was rather surprised with how he had planned things out, set goals for himself, and then made them happen - all the way down to targeting the place to work after school and leveraging me as a contact to get 'in the door' so-to-speak.  Its a great example of targeted job hunting and networking.

In Pursuit of a Dream

I've volunteered leading a senior high 'worship band' at the Christian School my kids have gone to for the last 6 years.  The first year I was there I had a young man who could play piano fantastic, but just wanted to sing with us.  'Josh' (name changed to protect his identity) had a dream to be an computer animator - making movies at a company like Pixar.  He was a gregarious, well-mannered, eloquent leader in the band and in the school....  and an average singer.

The school itself is rather small, and at that time didn't offer any computer programming or design courses.  Josh being the guy that he was did his own research online.  He downloaded software so he could program and do computer animations at home to learn and practice.  He'd sometimes post his efforts on Facebook.

At one point towards the end of his grade 12 year, I asked him what he was going to do after high school.  He told me his plan was to get a computer science degree and pursue computer animation for movie production.  Duly impressed, I remarked that I was working in the computer science field, but of course, not focused on computer animation.  I asked him which university he was planning to attend.  He told me his plan and the university he planned to attend, and he followed that plan.... for the next two years.

I'm not entirely sure what happened at that point.  He must have gotten inspired/encouraged to submit an internship application to Pixar (likely along with a demo movie animation he made, I'm assuming), because the next thing I know he's let all his friends know that he's going to be the youngest intern Pixar has ever had.  Talk about following your dream!  He interned at Pixar that summer, and then leveraging his experiences and new knowledge gained from there, he got a full time job a Sony Animation Studios being a computer animator.  He subsequently returned to Pixar to intern as an animator the following summer, and has been working in London, England for various Film animation companies since then!

The Job that Wasn't There - A Lesson in Applying for Jobs

Hermione (made up name to protect her identity) was a student in my fast-track Web Developer class at SAIT in early 2017.  Like a lot of students I get in that course, she was anxious about obtaining work after receiving her diploma.

One day in between exercises, I showed the class several 'Careers' web pages of good, local web design companies.  One of those companies was Critical Mass, a company I had actually consulted with before.  I often recommend this company to students because they have a world class client list, they do internships, and I have experience with them.  That particular day, they happened to have an opening at the time for a Junior Web Designer, but no posted opportunities for internships.  I encouraged the students to apply for the Junior Web Designer opportunity and Hermione challenged me...

"How can we do that when we don't have all the qualifications in their list of requirements?"

I often get this question, and I had an answer. "You need to understand how a company creates a job description.  Many put it together as a list of qualifications for the perfect candidate.  Others will build the job description based on an existing successful employee in the company. They realize that most of the applicants won't match all of the qualifications - and this is particularly true in the IT industry. "

Hermione digested my answer, and piped up again. "But we're still in school and we have several more weeks before we'd be available to start working!  Does it really make sense to apply now for a position like this?"

"Absolutely!" I replied. "You never know what might come out of an application.  The hiring process for many companies takes several weeks.  There's usually a bunch of interviews for them to schedule and have, and then some planning and logistics around actually bringing the successful applicant aboard.  You never know what will happen out of an application."

She still looked skeptical.  I moved the class onto another exercise and didn't think too much more about it.

Several weeks later, I received the following email from Hermione:

"I took your advice about applying for jobs and I applied at Critical Mass for a

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

Junior Web Developer position knowing that I was NOT qualified and that they probably never call me back. Guess what? They called me back! They don't think I am ready for the Junior Web Developer position, but they want me to interview for their internship program. The interview is on <blah>. Which leads me to the crux of this email. Would you consider being a reference for me? And do you have any advice for this interview?"

I responded:

"Lol Excellent!  Good for you, Hermione.

Certainly I can be a reference (as a teacher) for you.

Probably the best advice I have for your interview is if you don't have the right answer, straight up tell them.  But then also tell them you'll have to answer (or know about whatever their asking you) tomorrow.  In other words, when you get home, you'll investigate it and get the answers.  

Bring a notepad to the interview and make notes about anything like that (so you look like you mean business).  Come with a couple of questions as well.  Research in advance anything in the job description you don't know about so you feel prepared.  Research the company a bit - know where their office is, ensure you can make it there on time, who are their current clients, some of the history, etc. 

Smile!  I don't know if you read my blog post about that, but smiling is HUGE.  If you can, try and get an interview somewhere else first to practice and get the jitters out (and maybe get a competing offer) 

Hope that helps!  Good luck!"

She replied:

"Thank you! I appreciate the reference and the advice.

I've been panicking a little, I really thought they would never call. I'm scrambling to get my portfolio site updated for the interview, as well as just get prepared in general. I do have a practicum lined up though, so no pressure...sort of."

In the end, Hermione got the internship.  She was nervous going into the internship because she didn't feel entirely qualified.  I told her not to worry and ask LOTS of questions.  She ended up successfully completed her internship and came out feeling better about it than she expected to.  It was a great lesson for her (and for me and all more students who I tell this story to) of how there are opportunities that you don't see in the job market.

Degree Dead End?

I've been teaching part-time at SAIT since 2005.

Around 2009 I was teaching an Introduction to C# course to a full class of 'fast-track' students. We had just finished an intense exercise and so I thought I could give the students a mental break with some ad-libbing and expound on the importance of good soft-skills and a positive attitude in the IT industry.  One of the students at the back of the class (I'll call him 'Tom') interrupted me mid-sentence and challenged me

The main entrance to Heritage Hall at SAIT

on attitude:

"How do you think someone like me feels?  I just finished a computer science degree and no one wanted to hire me!  There were no jobs!  I had to come here and pay more tuition to become marketable in the field... And now the economy has downturned!  How can I have a good attitude??"

Everyone had been looking at Tom during his outburst.  He was one of the better students in the class and some of them knew his history.  He had their respect and their empathy.  Now they turned to face me en-mass to see how I'd respond.

I reached for a glass of water, took a sip, and dove in...

"I hear ya, Tom.  I got my start in the IT field in a course just like this one - fast-track, 9 months of training where I went from knowing virtually no code to being ready for an IT coding job.  Listen to my story..."

I proceeded to tell the class the story of my career change into IT and the challenges I had (you can read about it here).   After regaling them with my tale and convincing them that I had as much reason be have a bad attitude as Tom, I encouraged them all to keep their chins up and actively find ways to stay motivated and persistent in their job search.

It was a moment as an instructor that I won't forget.  A challenge from the class,  I tried to sincerely respond, and then...  I have wait and see what happens - if anything.  Often there isn't much feedback in these situations and it seems like my heartfelt words fall into into a void.  I cling to a hope that some of the students take what I say to heart.

~      ~      ~

Fast-forward almost a year.

I was walking in downtown Calgary to catch my bus home after work.  Low and behold, walking up the sidewalk towards me is Tom!  Recognizing me, he accelerated forward to shake my hand.

"Remember me?"  He asked, smiling.          How could I forget?

He proceeded to tell me that after school had finished he took what I said to heart, persevered in his job hunt and landed his dream job coding with an oil company in downtown Calgary.  His demeanour and outlook had totally changed.  He was upbeat, full of energy and brimming with hope.  I was SO encouraged.  He thanked me for sharing my story and thoughts on attitude back in class.  I wished him good luck with his coding career and we parted ways.

Attitude is huge.  Not just your attitude, but how you think and react to circumstances outside your control.  Take ownership of the things you can change.  Determine to make the things you can't change work in your favour, one way or the other.

What's Next?

These days getting an college education doesn't mean you'll be working in that discipline for the rest of your life.  Careers are much more fluid.  Job skills are more transferable.  Companies are more flexible, open, and I daresay even keenly interested in people work experience from other industries and practices.  Being agile and nimble are crucial in today's work environment.  Learning doesn't stop when school ends - its just beginning.

What's next for me?  Not sure.

Trying to follow the straight and narrow
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Given my experience in IT, I regularly get recruiters looking to potentially hire me for an IT contract from all over.  Its ironic that Google and Apple just dropped their requirement for new hires to have a degree - I was just thinking I might have to get mine in order for my next career steps.  In fact, I've just sent out requests for reference letters to that effect because I'll want to leverage my work experience for credit hours in my application for a degree.

In a couple of years our kids will be all done with regular school.  My wife is itching to move then I think.  I'd like to move as well.  Ensuring I have some kind of 'formal recognition' for my learning and work experience certainly wouldn't hurt my situation if I find myself in a new city without my well established network.

God's plan for us may figure prominently into a move as well.  I really don't know what the next step might be, but I want to be sure I'm following Him.  I pray that whatever road I choose to follow, He could say that I was a good and faithful servant and that like David, I served God's purpose in my generation.

I don't know at this point what 'move' means.  Is it a physical move, or something else?  I pray that I'd be totally open and surrendered to God's plan - easier said that done for this 'me' that I know that is fearful and fickle.  More IT?  Writing?  Teaching?  Volunteering?

Several examples I was reminded of this week...

• Jimmy Carter and his wife - 93 and 91 respectively - still building habitat for humanity houses
• Mother Theresa and her work helping the 'poorest of the poor'.
• Henri Nouwen leaving a distinguished career in teaching to work with the community at L'Arche.

Career Presentation @ James Fowler High School 2016

This past Thursday I did some presentations at James Fowler High School on what an IT (Information Technology) career is like.  I had a total of 3 presentations in the morning.  This was my second year presenting at James Fowler.  See this blog post for thoughts on my 2015 presentation.

The class I presented in (room 330 this year) held about 40 students.  The first two presentations it was full.  The third presentation had about 25 students.

I had my 'new, updated' presentation on prezi.com, however the computer I was presenting off of crashed right before the first presentation.  Yay IT! -> that's a sarcastic comment.  We managed to get it up and running in short order and after that things went well....  Click on the image below to view my presentation.

Click the image to view my presentation

Some thoughts I had after wrapping up:

• IT doesn't seem to be as interesting, exciting, or sexy as some other career options out there.  For example, the Calgary Police had to present in the gym (due to the amount of interest).  Here's some food for thought for people considering a career in policing (or  the fire department, or being an EMT):
• These careers involved shift work.  While that might seem interesting for a young person, I'll guarantee you don't want to be working shifts for the rest of your life if you can help it.  Its hard on your body physically and emotionally, and it can be hard on your family. 
• The fact that they are exciting correlates closely to the fact that they also can be quite stressful.  Can you deal well with a lot of stress?  Some people can, some can't.
• I wondered how I could make an IT career a more palatable, exciting option for students.  Perhaps it was by demonstrating that some of the richest people in the world currently had made their fortunes with IT?  (Bill Gates, Kevin O'Leary, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, etc.)  Or maybe it was by showing that the next biggest threat to the world was cyber related?  
• One of the big changes in careers in the last few decades has been the fact that irrespective of what career you target, you need to be prepared to learn for the rest of your life.  Technology is influencing and changing every career out there, and technology isn't going to stand still. 

Lost in Life? Extraordinary is Waiting for You

For years I lived with the fear that I wasn't entirely following God's plan for my life.  I was trying to as best I could, but I thought maybe I wasn't hearing His direction good enough, or I turned 'left' instead of 'right' at a crucial juncture and as a result, I missed God's perfect plan for my life.  Recently, I've been realizing (to my relief) that this was wrong thinking and a wrong perspective.

Over Christmas I watched part of this teaching below by Kris Vallotton on 'God's Purpose for our Lives' and got a glimpse of something I hadn't seen before - God's grace in the direction of my life.

How did I see that specifically, you may ask?  Well, in part of this talk above, Kris talks about how everyone wants to be 'extraordinary' - to be seen as special.  Kind of like 'The Special' in The Lego Movie.  We all have had the desire (I think) at some point in our lives to feel that way.  I always felt I had to be in the centre of God's perfect plan for my life to feel extraordinary..... and I didn't feel like that very often, so I felt like I was, perhaps, missing God, or not hearing Him, or making wrong turns, or something.

However, Kris suggests in his talk above that God has me right where He wants me, right now in this moment.  That was a liberating thought for me.  However, Kris took it further and added that if I want to live an extraordinary life, to simply ask God to come and help me be and/or do extra ordinary things today with the responsibilities and tasks that I have before me right now.  Examples he gives in the talk above: David was a shepherd when God empowered him to kill a lion, a bear, and a giant.  The disciples were fisherman before Jesus called them.  Gideon was a farmer.  Ruth was gleaning (would you consider that farming?).  Joseph was a prisoner.  I'm realizing that God can meet me right where I'm at, right now in my life.  I don't have to worry or fear any longer that I'm not in the middle of His plan for me.  He has a plan for me in this moment and place.  All I have to do is ask for Him to come and join me.

I'm trying....   will you?

What to Consider if You're Considering College - Book Review

I found this book at Chapters and it (of course) piqued my curiosity, given the title and content.  Frankly, this was another book that made me reconsider my own quest in writing a book for high school grads, as this one covers a lot of good material.   Chapters discuss the importance of good choices, knowing yourself, different types of colleges and technical institutes, volunteering, travel, and other options and considerations for high school grads.

There are different editions of the book published for different markets.  Canadian and American editions exist (and potentially other regions as well) and there are also College and University editions.  I bought an American College edition in Canada (go figure).  It was almost 270 pages.

While the authors covered a lot of good content, I think I would have found the book a bit of a hard slog to finish if I was 18 years old.  Parts of it weren't as engaging as I would have expected, given the target audience.  If you're a more cerebral high school grad, and your trying to figure out what to do, this might be the book for you.  As the authors aptly point out in the book: 'College is an expensive place to get your head together.'

Musing on Careers - New and Old

I did an informational interview with a student from one of my SAIT classes earlier this week, and one of his questions got me thinking.  He asked me what it was like starting a career in Information Technology before Google went public - as he put it, 'when IT was a cool and cutting edge industry with browsers and technology changing and evolving all the time.'

I answered him as best I could.  I felt I started my IT career at the tail end of that whole 'gold rush' as it were.  In many ways it felt like a bit of a lottery - if you chose the right company to work for, you could get rather rich;  if you chose the right technology or language to become an expert in, you could also get rich.  But if you missed out on either of those choices, well, it might not be the fairy-tale experience we hear in so many stories.  I fortunately chose a good language to focus on (java) at that time, and that helped establish my career.

I was reflecting on that conversation this evening, and I realized that while I had managed to get into IT reasonable close to when new media started going main stream, I have also had the distinction of having a career in an 'industry in decline' - print media.  Specifically newsprint.  That was a different feeling.  It was not well paying.  There was shift work.  Certainly more dangerous.  In fact, I just realized tonight that when we did maintenance on the press, we never 'locked it out' - a standard safety practice in many industries I had learned over a decade earlier in the saw mill.  The support for education (getting a journeyman's ticket) in the industry was poor.  In fact, it was a bit of joke.  We ran huge presses that would hardly fit in a gym, and the journeyman course was on a press that would fit in a closet.

What is the lesson here?  .... I can hear you thinking.

I got into printing because an organization had a need and I was asked to fill it.  I was tired of formal education and learning theory without practical, hands on experience.  I wanted to feel productive.  Printing really scratched that itch for me.  I didn't care how much I was making.  The product of my labour was tangible - I could see it and I knew I was learning good things and getting experience, and that felt good.

There's a time though, when you need to examine where you are and what your doing with your life.  Ask yourself if you can continue doing this for another 10 or 20 years.  Does it make practical sense for you to do it for that much longer?  Will it affect your health and your quality of life down the line, etc.  That's what my wife and I did.  And as a result, we sold our house, moved, and I went back to school.

Lonely Planet - 'The Big Trip' Book Review

2nd Edition Cover

Lonely Planet's 'The Big Trip' is billed as Your ultimate guide to gap years and overseas adventures.  I got my 2nd Edition copy from the library and it was published in 2011.  I see the 3rd edition just came out in May 2015 (Buy it here).  If you are at all considering a gap year (traveling after high school or in between college years) I'd high recommend buying this book.  It's a fantastic reference for young adult travellers.

Both editions have pretty much the same table of contents.  I'm assuming that the updates are mainly to addresses, information, and internet links in the book to organizations and companies that are referenced.

The book has 4 main parts:

• Part 1 is all about planning.
• Part 2 discusses different types of trips you can do.
• Part 3 splits the world up in the different geographical regions and talks about each one - where to go, what to expect, what to do, etc.
• Part 4 is essentially an appendix of internet references to help travellers with planning their trip. 

There are other sections in the book as well:

• An intro that talks about why to consider a 'big trip'.
• A section inside Part 3 that I found interesting on 'traveller's tales' - real life stories from people who did a trip and what they found.
• A photo essay section to whet you appetite for 'Big Trip Experiences'.

The 2nd edition copy I have is over 330 pages, many with full colour pictures.  This book is a MUST for anyone considering a Gap Year trip.

3rd Edition Cover

Undercurrents in My Job Journey

I have felt the pull of a couple of occupations even though I wasn't always 'involved' with them.  I think its important to acknowledge these undercurrents because they can sometimes turn into a 'mainstream' career path.  Be aware of the undercurrents in your life.  Keep them 'fed' if you can.  You never know when one can turn into a paying career that ends up being much more fulfilling and enjoyable than your current 9 to 5.

Some Job Journey Undercurrents I have are:

• Teaching.  In high school my brother and I thought we should both be teachers.  He could teach Physical Education, and I could teach band.  We could travel the world during our time off in the winters and summers.  It was a great dream, but never fully came to fruition.
  I believe my interest and passion here stems from my experience with piano and school teachers growing up.  Of all the teachers I've had, there were several who had an impact on me.  Betty-Anne was one of my piano teachers who left an indelible impression (see this post for more details).
  Learning must be fun but practical.  As I leaned into the 'undercurrent' of teaching and finding ways to practice it, more doors opened up for me.  I've taught piano and guitar lessons privately.  I've been teaching part-time at SAIT for the past 10 years now!
  
  Lessons I've learned with teaching:
• Be organized.  Have a plan.  Be prepared with your slides, curriculum, assignments and expectations (students leaving class, how marks will be allocated for assignments/tests, etc).  If you are confident and secure with your content, it will reflect in your teaching style and you'll ultimately be more effective.
• Privacy is important in a formal teaching context.
• Be patient.  Some people can pick things up quickly, others have to work hard at it (but when they get it, they'll never forget it).  Sometimes just the content itself can intimidate and create 'learner's block'.   Call it out - make your students aware of it.  Too many black notes on a music score or big new words in a new topic can be intimidating...
• Class discussion and real life stories are paramount to the learning experience.  When your students realize you can relate to them, everything becomes easier.   
• Get familiar with 'the outskirts.'  Find out what they aren't learning but they want or need to know.  Here is the place where you can move from good to great at teaching.  What do they want to learn?
• Marking is tedious
• Learning must be fun and practical.  You have to find a way to make the students see a reason for the mundane stuff (technique in playing an instrument).  

• Music.  As I mentioned above, even before leaving high school I thought I might become a band
  
  teacher.  I took a year of music in college but felt that I wasn't learning what I wanted to (I was also rather burnt out on formal education at the time).  In most of the places I've lived I've been involved in a volunteer capacity with some kind of music.  
  For years I thought I should have been a music pastor in a church.  However that door never opened for me.  I now see how that being a music pastor may have not been the best option for me - there's parts of that job description I would have been great at, but other responsibilities I would have bombed.  And then what would I have done?
  
  Lessons learned related to my involvement with music:
• What you sow is what you reap, garbage in, garbage out - even when you are talented.  Do your best, practice, and get better than 'good'.
• Opportunities for engaging involvement are around, maybe just not where you thought they were.  For years I was discouraged because I couldn't use my music the way I thought I should be able to.  Particularly with Music, people have preconceived ideas about how their 'career' should progress.  Let go of those and open your eyes and your mind to other opportunities.
• Keep it simple.  It took a long time for me to learn this lesson.  Its not about how busy or perfect you play.  Can you bring your emotions into the song?  Can you (yourself) feel and get lost in the music?
• Rests are important.  Too much of anything becomes noise.  
• Enjoy yourself and smile

• Writing.  I first got 'published' in high school.  Our school district put together a small book showcasing student writing, and I had two separate works published in to.  I've kept a journal since high school, and I've had a short humorous piece published in Reader's Digest.  I'd like to think that this blog is a stepping stone to a book called The Grad Gift.  Time will tell.  The biggest lesson I've learned with writing to date is
• Done is better than perfect.  Sigh.  Guess I'd better hit publish on this post then.

My Career Quest/Job Journey Links

• Considering Careers with Diversity
• Part 1 My Plan After High School Graduation
• Part 2 Work Experience in School
• Part 3 On My Own - The Tradesman
• Part 4 Married, Working, and Living Overseas 
• Part 5 Searching for a Real Career
• Part 6 A Career Change
• Part 7 A Career in IT

A Career in IT (My Job Journey Part 7)

For some background on how I changed directions into an IT career, check out this post.  Working in

IT has been a great experience for me on several different fronts:

• It has given me a bit of financial freedom.  We don't have to live paycheque to paycheque counting pennies like we did when I was a printing pressman.  We can actually afford to go on holidays as a family now.
• It has given me the opportunity to start and run my own small business (in our 10th year of operations now)
• Because most industries need IT in some form or fashion, I have experienced work in many different businesses.  To date, my IT jobs and contracts have had me working with hospitality, utilities, energy, finance, health, legal, construction, fleet and freight, telecom, and entertainment industries, with private and public companies, and also in provincial and municipal government arenas.
• I have more job security.  Demand is high for experienced IT professionals.  

Some of the lessons that I've learned in IT (although I think many of them are transferrable across any career path) are:

• You've got to look out for yourself.  Companies are only concerned about one thing and its not you.  It their bottom line - are they making money.  Be aware of the health of the company, your company's industry, and the economy as a whole.  Compare benefits and wages when and where you can.  Payscale.com, glassdoor.com, wageindicator.org, and salary.com are good places to start.
• Soft skills are super important!  Manners, communicating clearly in emails, listening vs. talking in meetings, integrity, and a smile will open doors.
• There are lots of 'unknown, un-posted, unrealized' jobs out there. New ones are being created all the time.  Some IT jobs you've probably never heard of:  puppet master, ethical hacker, environment specialist, agile guru, search engine optimization engineer, spring team lead....etc.
• Be ready to learn.  It's always changing.  Visual Basic has gone the way of the dodo.  Ruby and Python are 'in'.  Companies need to say competitive.  Continuous learning will be a requirement of any professional regardless of career path in the future.
• Don't submit to fear and intimidation.  Eloquent people intimidate me.  New concepts with big names give me 'learner's block'.  Don't give in to this fear.  
• Volunteer to learn new things.  Early in my IT career, I hadn't work with Unix or Linux operating systems.  The company I was working with at the time was looking for volunteers on a project, and the volunteers needed to work with those operating systems.  I jumped at the chance and it spring-boarded me into many other opportunities.  I still use Unix and Linux every day at work.
• Listen to your thoughts.  I found that I preferred to have 'the big picture' when working in an IT shop.  Coding on a small piece of functionality for one specific application wasn't for me.  I needed to understand the 'lay of the land'.  As a result, I choose jobs that gave me that 'view', and I've been much more successful and satisfied in my IT work.  I find I'm always poking new avenues for my career path in IT.   Don't be afraid to experiment a bit.

My Career Quest/Job Journey Links

• Considering Careers with Diversity
• Part 1 My Plan After High School Graduation
• Part 2 Work Experience in School
• Part 3 On My Own - The Tradesman
• Part 4 Married, Working, and Living Overseas 
• Part 5 Searching for a Real Career
• Part 6 A Career Change
• Part 7 A Career in IT
• Part 8 Undercurrents in My Career Quest

A Career Change (My Job Journey Part 6)

My wife, my parents, even I knew that I wouldn't be in the printing industry forever.  With the advent of the internet, print media would never command the same influence or resources as it had previously.  While I was a pressman, I bought a book on HTML and tried to teach myself but couldn't get into it.  I was learning through a process of trial and error that I don't learn efficiently on my own. 

During that time my brother went through a 9 month intensive IT training course for people who already had university degrees.  I couldn't believe the job offers he got what he was finished.  He had two offers from companies in different countries at 60k+ USD a year.  This was more that I could hope to make in printing even after I got another promotion - I wouldn't see that kind of money for 20 or 30 years.

That was all we needed to convince ourselves to put our house up for sale and try to enroll me in the same school.  I had to see if I could qualify for admission.  I didn't have a degree, and that was one of the stated requirements for students.  Apparently they had taken students without a degree in the past, though.  These students had to write and exam and a paper as to why they felt they should be considered for admission.  When trying to gain admission to schools or even trying to get a job, 'no' doesn't always mean no.  Put differently, requirements are guidelines, not rules.  Don't disqualify yourself because you don't appear to 'qualify' at a first glance.  I wrote the exam and did the essay and was ecstatic to get accepted to the school.

Tuition was expensive, so I also had to take out a student loan.  Getting out of high school, I was mortally afraid of getting into debt for an education that I wasn't sure was 'me.'  Now, with a family to support, I was doing just that.  Going back to school at the age of 30.  It was high stakes and I simply had to make it work and 'go for broke.'   Want some motivation in evaluating your direction in life?  Put a lot on line...

Vancouver, BC

I started school in January 2001 and that spring saw the beginnings of the 'dot.bomb' era in the stock market.  Up to this point, investors had been bullish (enthusiastic) about investing in IT companies.  However several large IT companies had posted questionable numbers that spring (Nortel being the main Canadian example) and the dot.com bubble burst causing stocks to slide.  As a result many IT companies went into receivership...  including the IT school I was going to.  While our school was closed, the receiver kept the Vancouver school open.  They gave us a living allowance and had us finish school there.  Because of all this I knew the IT job market was going to be tough to get into for a 'newbie' like me.  I consequently tried to get a certification in Java programming while I was still in school.... and I failed that test.  I resolved to write the test again after school was done (and I had more time to study for it).  Upon finishing school, I studied for two weeks, wrote the test and passed.   Significant personal investments of time or money have a way of pushing you to work hard.

Returning back home, I spent most of the next 10 months looking for work.  I called every software company in the yellow pages listings one by one, and asked for a job.  When I was turned down, I learned to ask if they knew of any other companies that were hiring.  I got a 2 month contract this way, but I completed it with no further opportunities.  We had been living off of our student credit line and in the end I had to take a job framing houses with a friend to make ends meet.  This felt terrible, kind of like a surrender.  However, after 4 weeks of framing houses, I got a call from a large IT consulting company who was interested in hiring me because of the Java certification I had persisted in obtaining after school.  If you have a goal, don't let failures or set backs stand in your way.  Persist, focus, and determine to accomplish it.

As badly as I wanted that java developer position, I managed to get lost driving to the interview.  (This was before the days of Google Maps)  Realizing I was going to be late, I phoned to let them know I was lost and confirmed the directions to the office.  I learned a big lesson there:  For important meetings and interviews, always double check the address and location of the meeting place.  Give yourself extra time to get there and never assume you know the way.  Fortunately, I did well on the interview and they offered me the job.

For the rest of my Job Journey and to read other career profiles, check out my Career Path Profiles page here or follow the links below:

• Considering Careers with Diversity
• Part 1 My Plan After High School Graduation
• Part 2 Work Experience in School
• Part 3 On My Own - The Tradesman
• Part 4 Married, Working, and Living Overseas 
• Part 5 Searching for a Real Career
• Part 6 A Career Change
• Part 7 A Career in IT
• Part 8 Undercurrents in My Career Quest

Searching for a Real Career (My Job Journey Part 5)

Returning from Poland, (see this post for background) my first priority was to get work so I could sponsor my wife to become a landed immigrant.  My Dad found me a job at the OSB (Oriented Strand Board) plant he was working at.  I was hired on as a general labourer.  Here's an outline of the lessons I learned there:

OSB Plant, paid by the hour (fall 1995 - spring 1997)

• Shift work is not easy - frankly, it can be dangerous. It's not for everyone.  I worked 12 hour shifts, 4 days on, 4 days off, and switch from days to nights every set of off days.  Shift transition 'hangover' between shifts were challenging.  Many times I fought to stay awake on the drive home from work.
• Think twice before you do something where you could get hurt.  I started as a general labourer doing cleanup.  The winter we had some large icicles from on the roof of one of the buildings.  Thinking they were a safety hazard, I tried to knock them down with a shoved.  I miscalculated their size and what they'd do when broken off, and one knocked off my hard hat and hit me in the head.  I had to go to the hospital for stitches.  
• Back injuries affect everything.  After some time I moved up to running a 'waferizer' - essentially a blender for wood.  Using pickaroons, we had to ensure the wood blocks entered the waferizer at a proper angle.  These wood blocks could be heavy and I strained my back trying to move one.  After getting home that night, the pain was so bad I could hardly breathe and I could feel it every move I made.   
• Unionized work isn't for everyone.  It can lead to some silly situations turning petty differences into a dispute that could terminate your employment.  You'll rarely reach your full potential working in a unionized plant/factory.  Promotions and/or better positions are based on seniority (how long you've worked at the plant).  The longer you've worked there, the more seniority you have.

Accountant...?
After several months in the OSB plant, I could not see myself working there for the rest of my life.  I started to search for a 'real career' - something I could see myself doing for the next 30-40 years.  At first, accounting seemed like a great option.  Every business, no matter the industry, needs accountants and I was good with numbers.  I discovered I could start taking accounting classes from home through the University of Athabasca.  I enrolled in a beginning accounting course and started working on assignments.  What I didn't 'account for' (pardon the pun) was how difficult with would be to do the course work alone and dealing with a shift work transition 'hangover.'  This was one of my first lessons in understanding my 'learning style'.  I eventually dropped the course and tried not to see it as a failure.  I had to move on and find something else....

Air Traffic Controller...?
Not long after that, I found a advertisement in the paper that NavCanada was looking to hire Air Traffic Controllers.  There was a preliminary math test candidates needed to write, and if they passed that and a subsequent personal interview, NavCanada would hire them and pay for their training.  I applied for the position, wrote the math exam and passed it.  I read plane magazines, books, and practiced more trigonometry to prepare for my interview.  When the time came, I met with couple of air traffic controllers and they grilled me on more math questions and why I was interested in the job.  After one particularly hard math question, they asked me 'are you sure?' and I said 'I think so.'  Apparently the lack of commitment and conviction in that answer sealed my fate.  Air Traffic controllers need to be firm, definitive, and exact.  My hesitant 'I think so' didn't cut it.

Printing Pressman...?
Searching through the paper again (this was before job postings were put on the internet), I found a posting in a nearby city in which a company was looking to hire another shift of pressmen.  I applied and after a lengthy process a group of us got hired.  Three weeks after starting work there, the contract they hired us for fell through and they laid us all off.  I had left a secure job at the OSB plant and moved to a new city for this position, so I wasn't very happy.  I called their head office (in the States) and nicely told them that I didn't think we had been treated very well.  After some back and forth with them over a period of a couple of weeks, they agreed to pay us a better severance package.  Through this I learned that workers should stand up for their rights and sometimes the little guy can get heard.  It was a good thing too, because I couldn't find another paying job for several months after that.

Printing was a skill I had the most expertise in at the time, so it made sense for me to try and find another job as a pressman.  I eventually found one, and I ended up working there for three and half years.

This is a Goss Community web press configured
in a similar way to what we ran.  There's a
web splicer on the right, a '4-high' stack on printing
units in the middle, and an anvil folder just to
the left of that.  Our press had 5 splicers, 2 anvil
folders, and 18 printing units.

Pressman, 1997-2001  paid by the hour ($14.50 - $18.63/hr) This newspaper printing outfit was some of the most intense work of my life.  My mind was so engaged during this time that I still dream about working here over 15 years later.

• Initially I didn't have enough experience for the position I was hired for.  This made things a bit stressful for everyone at first.  I was in fact demoted and had to wait extra long for a pay raise because of this.
• This print shop wasn't unionized, so we worked hard, sometimes through lunches.  
• I was pushed to learn a lot, and that's exactly what I did and I felt good about everything I accomplished there.  I made it back to the position I was hired for and I was respected for the work that I did.  
• It was dangerous work as the press was old and there were pinch points everywhere.  You had to clean the press while it was on.  Paper rolls where hundreds of pounds.
• A good attitude and a willingness to forgive can open doors.  There was a lot of frustration when I started because I couldn't pull my own weight.  A running joke on the team was everyone would ask me 'Are you dumb, yet?'  With all the hearing protection we had to wear, I would hear 'Are you done, yet?' and nod my head.  Hard work, a smile, and a willingness to learn helped me gain the respect of everyone and be a good influence there.

For the rest of my Job Journey and to read other career profiles, check out my Career Path Profiles page here or follow the links below:

• Considering Careers with Diversity
• Part 1 My Plan After High School Graduation
• Part 2 Work Experience in School
• Part 3 On My Own - The Tradesman
• Part 4 Married, Working, and Living Overseas 
• Part 5 Searching for a Real Career
• Part 6 A Career Change
• Part 7 A Career in IT
• Part 8 Undercurrents in My Career Quest