My Story: 3 Things That Got Me to My Dream Job

By Dr. Lisa M. Wisniewski 

My family always wanted me to go to college. The only question I had was which college I was going to attend not if I was going to attend college. This started early in my life as my parents always reinforced the ways that education can be helpful to building your career and a life. So, from an early age I knew college was going to be a part of my journey, there was just no question. While my parents were very supportive of college, they really did not know how to help me through college. 

My parents were unfamiliar with many of the systems of higher education including financial aid, how to pick classes, different majors, how to get started in a career field, and many other topics that were super important to my success in higher education. This only got worse as I decided to pursue higher degrees. During my undergraduate work in getting my bachelor’s degree there were many more supports in place like advisors, orientations, or other students that could help me. However, the further I went the less resources there seemed to be. My master’s degree program only had 25 students in the course many of them were working or had families so there was less time to socialize and learn from one another. All my classmates were amazing individuals, but we were all just super busy. It was difficult enough navigating this whole system to even think about what the future is after graduation. There were decisions I needed make such as do I go on to graduate school or where do I apply for jobs. I was a bit lost throughout my college journey but even more so at this point. 

It took an unexpected mentor to help me to apply to get my doctoral degree and I got in on the first application try. This mentor came out of nowhere and just said that I should pursue this, and he would not take no for an answer essentially. I am glad he came along at that time because I was more lost than I wanted to admit and if I did not listen to his advice, I probably would have struggled for much longer than I did. With his advice I enrolled into my doctoral program and continued my education while I looked for a job. The job I wanted took about another year and a half to two years after graduation to really become a reality. Part of what made it become a reality was that I was already enrolled in doctoral program and that helped me secure a full-time faculty position. So, while I was taking the time to get my dream job I was already working on the next phase of my career and working towards my doctoral degree. So, my college journey was filled with a lot of getting lost, figuring things out (and sometimes it felt too late), and finding mentors that helped me along the way. I want to share some of the things that helped me to get through this time. It felt appropriate to share it through the lens of what I did not know at this time: 

1. I did not understand college systems: I really did not understand how higher education worked and I think that led me to ask a lot of questions. I needed to learn how to navigate the system on my own and it made me ask very basic questions that I might not have asked otherwise. Through asking these questions I was able to find out about programs or opportunities that I might not have been curious about asking before. It was a lonely journey especially since many of my family members could not help me but this helped me to meet other people like academic advisors, faculty, and staff on college campuses that led me to the answers to my questions. Once I figured out the college system, I was able to grow in a way that I wanted to.

2. I did not get into my first graduate program: I applied into graduate school right after I got my bachelor’s degree. It was in a different field than I am working in now. During my undergraduate years I was convinced that this was the dream job for me. I did not get into my graduate program. I took that time to work a bit in the field and I realized it was not for me. I would go as far to say I hated the job, and I could not wait to get out. This sent me on a journey back to graduate school to find out the programs in my area and in a different field than I had originally thought. I could have avoided this by doing internships, but I did not know any better at the time. I am glad I still learned that lesson early in my life and could quickly change direction and get my dream job.

3. I did not have my dream job in my 20s and make a lot of money: the jobs I had in my 20s were things that I thought I wanted to do but when I was in the job, I realized it was not for me. I tried a few different jobs in that field and really could not find my place. I was miserable. Given that I did not stay in that field I did not make a lot of money. While this meant I struggled financially for quite some time it was also a blessing. It meant that I had freedom to make choices and not would be tied down to a high salary that I was scared to let go of. So, while I wish I did not have to struggle so much so early in my life I am glad that it put me on a path to where I wanted to end up.

These are just some of the things that I did early on in my career that helped me to get to where I wanted to be. Coming from an immigrant family there was very little information about college and how to do that successfully. It was difficult, it was a lot that I had to do on my own but I am glad that I had the opportunity to ask the questions and learn about the system that I eventually got to work in.