Looking for advice about finding a job

[herbert_quain]

I am 33 y.o. and I am presently looking for a job. Unfortunately it is not clear to me what kind of job I should look for. At university I got a master in computer science and afterwards got a PhD in maths, I worked for universities for a while and then quitted when I understood it was not the right place for me.
My specialization is dynamical systems and it is not anything companies look for unlike financial mathematics, statistics or optimization.
I have considered programming, but honestly this career suits better INTJ or ISTP people.

I am interested in programming only as a tool to use for something else I like, like when I was working at university. Also the fact I studied computer science should not lead to pursue a career as a programmer.
You don’t learn how to program at university, you learn it by yourself. At university you learn some logical theory about how to design the structure of an operative system or a database, but once you made this design you don’t need to program at all, you can let somebody else doing the programming.


I have been studied until I was 30 and now I see my self in the situation where I don’t have yet an education which make me find a good job easily.
Companies only want people with experience in the field of the position they offer for.
I studied a lot of stuff and I could pick quickly a new subject if I consider it interesting but I cant hardly see any company out there giving me a chance.
So I have to figure out a subject which I like and which is very popular in business and I should take a course or something, but I quite don’t know how to choose, it is difficult for me to focus on just one thing and in general (as a true INTP) I like things which are too theoretical for most companies.

 

[just george]

The most important thing to know about any type of job is what j.o.b stands for - just over broke.

Might want to think about starting a business. If you can't start a business, find a partner who wants to start a business. If you can't find a partner, find a bunch of people and go in as a team.

Jobs are things you do when everything else fails, imo

 

[Hadoblado]

I agree with George.

 

[herbert_quain]

The most important thing to know about any type of job is what j.o.b stands for - just over broke.

Might want to think about starting a business. If you can't start a business, find a partner who wants to start a business. If you can't find a partner, find a bunch of people and go in as a team.

Jobs are things you do when everything else fails, imo

Dude I could not agree with you more and I am exactly just over broke after quitting a business who went bad.
But now I would like to find a job and working for somebody for a period, meeting new people, getting new experiences and meanwhile thinking to a new possible business idea for the future.

Is everybody here self-employed / entrepreneur?

 

[doncarlzone]

Dude I could not agree with you more and I am exactly just over broke after quitting a business who went bad.
But now I would like to find a job and working for somebody for a period, meeting new people, getting new experiences and meanwhile thinking to a new possible business idea for the future.

Is everybody here self-employed / entrepreneur?

Of course not. I don't have any statistics but I'm sure it's very mixed.
Becoming an entrepreneur honestly frightens me, not the part about being independent from an employer but the part about being dependent on a project/idea.

It's possible to work for a company while still maintaining your independence, i.e. you know exactly what your company expects from you and you deliver without being micro managed. With a good track record, here will be room for doing little but getting paid well. Or another way to put it: A lot of time to make an impressionable impact.

I'm rather inexperienced compared to you so I won't pretend I can give you much advice. However, out of curiosity, what are you expecting in terms of salary and social status? How low are you willing to go to work your way up and, how far up are you expecting to be in the corporate ladder? You have a very impressive educational CV which could indicate a lot of ambition.

 

[Vrecknidj]

So step outside your specialization, use the fact that you're really good at math to make a bunch of money for an organization that needs mathematicians.

I don't see the problem.

 

[r4ch3l]

Jobs are things you do when everything else fails, imo

Story of my life so far/words to live by.

Presently looking for a job.
The random contract warrior thing is getting old and the stress of not knowing what is going to happen next all the time fucks with my head. At this point I believe I will have more freed up energy for my side projects/hustles if i get a 9-5 for a bit.


I agree w/ Vrecknidj; look into working as a data scientist or something for the time being if you just need to get by, then keep interviewing and narrowing the focus on what you want to do or work on a business in your free time.

Where are you located?

 

[r4ch3l]

I worked for universities for a while and then quitted when I understood it was not the right place for me.

Why was the university environment a bad fit?
For many INTPs working in academia forever is ideal. But I understand each situation is unique and the politics are a strain on many of the professors/researchers I know.

My specialization is dynamical systems and it is not anything companies look for

(am extremely intrigued by you/your education)

I studied a lot of stuff and I could pick quickly a new subject if I consider it interesting but I cant hardly see any company out there giving me a chance.
So I have to figure out a subject which I like and which is very popular in business and I should take a course or something, but I quite don’t know how to choose, it is difficult for me to focus on just one thing and in general (as a true INTP) I like things which are too theoretical for most companies.

I relate. That's why I keep picking up new skills and learning to utilize them adequately -- but not in depth -- and then moving onto the next thing. It's frustrating...I'm starting on a second degree in CS now and am hoping I find my niche but concerned that this interest-hopping is going to be a lifelong problem and I'll end up doing something completely different from what I study for work...again...

 

[Brontosaurie]

The most important thing to know about any type of job is what j.o.b stands for - just over broke.

silly and lucid. me like.

 

[Analyzer]

I have considered programming, but honestly this career suits better INTJ or ISTP people.

I am interested in programming only as a tool to use for something else I like, like when I was working at university. Also the fact I studied computer science should not lead to pursue a career as a programmer.
You don’t learn how to program at university, you learn it by yourself. At university you learn some logical theory about how to design the structure of an operative system or a database, but once you made this design you don’t need to program at all, you can let somebody else doing the programming.
.

Why you say INTJ ISTP are better suited for that?

For dynamical systems wouldn't areas in geotechnology be useful? It seems as if you would do some programming even if you specialized in dynamical systems.

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

The most important thing to know about any type of job is what j.o.b stands for - just over broke.

Might want to think about starting a business. If you can't start a business, find a partner who wants to start a business. If you can't find a partner, find a bunch of people and go in as a team.

Jobs are things you do when everything else fails, imo

I didn't see anything in the OP that suggested he had much to go on for starting a business. IOW, what kind of business could he start given his stated skill sets? I'm sure there's something but I don't see it so I was wondering.

But I agree, being in business for yourself is the best! I'm doing that now (3rd one) and have done many j.o.b.s (just over broke sucka!) and the difference is clearer than night and day.

Edit: If I was working a j.o.b. and shot a skunk in the face with buckshot causing it to splatter all it's stink juice across one of our buildings causing us to have to shut down 3 of our 6 rooms until the weekend (not really a big deal but a deal) and get rid of a fig tree that produced lots of figs for us (we have 2 more), I'd probably be fired. But nope, I'm not.

 

[spoirier]

Would you like to be the manager for my project http://trust-forum.net ? I still don't have anyone to do it yet (once more, my recent hope about it gave no result).

 

[herbert_quain]

Thank you all for your comments and also for your encouragement. It's true that companies need mathematicians and with some specializations (statistics, mathematical finance, optimization..) you can find good jobs any minute.

Companies do not pay you for what you know but for what you can do with what you know. Led by my drive for general theories and philosophy I went into a field of math ( and in a sub field of the very large field of dynamical systems) which do not have interesting application for business.

I have always been interested more in theory than applications and in the end it is not a surprise I do not fit well in what companies looks for (and even the positions universities offers. I believe most of professors and researchers at universities in faculties of sciences are INTJ or ENTJ).

I presently do not see any serious opportunity to find a good job without moving towards a more business oriented specialization and starting from scratch (with internships and stages) because nobody hires people without experience.

I think also the fact I live in Europe plays a role, I have reasons to believe that the job market and the business opportunities in US are much more favorable.