5 Alternative Career Paths

We've talked about alternative career paths and also thinking outside the box when it comes to choosing which universities to go to (I'm a keen supporter of liberal arts colleges in the US). Definitely not as much as one of our readers, Tiara, who through her blog, has been a consistent advocate of alternative career paths. I thought that I conduct a thought experiment and ask myself what 5 alternative career paths would I choose for myself if I could do it all over again. I thought it would be interesting if some of our readers shared their alternative career paths with us as well. Here are mine:

1) Study botany and work for companies / on projects related to reforestation

I've always liked the idea of working in the jungle (though I'd probably fail at it now) and I've always been horrified when hearing news items that jungles the size of Belgium are cleared from the Amazon every year. And close to home, the impact of illegal logging in Sabah, Sarawak and parts of Peninsular Malaysia. What better way to combine those two interests than to work to cultivate fast growing trees in forest farms so that actual jungles or forests don't have to be cleared? If I end up not liking the jungle that much, I could always work in a lab to create new stocks of faster growing, more durable trees.

2) Study math and computer science and work for a gaming company

Computer games are big business nowadays. Halo 3 grossed something like US170 million worldwide in a little under 24 hours. I'm a big fan of first person shooter games and strategy games like the Civilization series. I know that creating the games themselves might not be half as fun as playing them but I'd still like the intellectual challenge of constructing complex algorithms for the AI in games like Civ or thinking of better 'physics' when you shoot a monster with a sawed off shot gun in games in Serious Sam. It's not as easy as it might sound!

3) Study foreign languages and work as a translator or a journalist or a diplomat

I've always admired those who could speak half a dozen languages at a drop of the hat. You'd probably meet a ton of these people if you're working in an environment like the UN. Malaysians already have a head start compared to Americans or Brits for example, because many of us grow up speaking at least two languages - English & Malay, English and Chinese - and some of us three - English, Malay, Chinese or English, Malay, Tamil. Wouldn't it be great if we could pick up Japanese, Spanish, French and German along the way and perhaps some of the less commonly spoken Asian languages like Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog? I think I would have enjoyed the challenge of using this linguistic ability to work for the UN or as a roving journalist traveling the world or as a diplomat.

4) Study zoology or marine biology and work with animals

I've always been fascinated by sharks and am an avid watcher of Discovery during Shark Week. My dream is to swim with a great white without the protection of a cage (though I'm sure that will never happen or if it did, it would be the last thing I do). I've even more fascinated with sharks now that I've seen footage of how great whites in South Africa can jump out of the water when they are catching seals (they called it 'breaching') and how some sharks can be 'hypnotize' into a state of 'tonic' . If I don't make it with the sharks, I could always go study my other favorite animals - giant constrictor snakes such as the python and the anaconda or giant crocodiles.

5) Study graphic design and animatronics and work for a CGI / special effects company

I'm a big fan of sci-fi and action movies and what better way to influence the look and feel of these movies than to work for one of the companies such as Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) who help make these types of movies. I know that George Lucas has recently opened an animation studio in Singapore and I know some friends who work in this industry. I think it's really cool but you really have to be into the whole 'nerdy' Star Wars figures and sci-fi scene to have a passion for this.

It's too late for me to choose one of these career paths but perhaps for some of our readers, the world of choices is still open to them. We have enough people wanting to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, consultants, investment bankers and the like. How great would it be if we had more people working in jobs which they feel passionate about and at the same time are not 'run of the mill'. Too often, we choose jobs or career paths which are considered 'safe' but not necessarily what we're passionate about. If we can marry the two (interests and career path), how much more rewarding and fulfilling life would be. Ahhh, to be young again...