Career Interest

Career Interest

Eric Franklin

Gen 300 skills to for professional growth

Curt Crandall

February 20, 2006

Deciding on a career has been a challenge. My first career interest was to be a physical therapist. As a child I would look at my mother-nursing textbook was intrigued by the muscular and skeletal systems The most intriguing part was how muscles, tendons, and ligaments all work to attach themselves to our skeletal system to create motion. My second career interesteas in mass communications. After only one semester I realized that I had no real desire to pursue a career in this field. The around the same time I was offered a promotion as the evening manager at my part-time job. I quickly change my major to business administration In hopes of becoming a hotel G. M. and completed my associates degree in business administration, but found that Hospitality industry was not a suitable career choice. All this time I was overlooking the one interest that had been present from the beginning. My career interest is information technology, specifically Network administration.

At the age of 10 I had a huge interest and computers. I can remember getting my first computer. It was an Apple IIc. There was a game that I enjoyed playing on it, Wheel of Fortune, and one day as I went to insert the floppy disk and there was something preventing the computer from accepting the disk. I retrieved a screwdriver and proceeded to dismantle the computer. My mother walked in on me and was very up set about seeing the computer and it parts scattered about the floor. I assured her that I would have everything back together in no time. She stood over me and watched as I continued to look for the problem. I spotted the problem corrected it and put everything back together. From this point on I had more of an interest on how this machine works vs. just paying video games on it.

It was not until my senior in year high school that I was reintroduced computers. By this time, my old Apple IIc was a relic. My father purchased Packard-Bell that year for Christmas. This computer was way more advanced than the little Apple that I previously owned. I offered to set the computer up. Usually, I would just start plugging in cords and connecting what ever needed to be connected. But this time, I read all the directions before I started. At the time we had everything a printer, fax machine, and scanner. The scanner is till this day is still wanting to be installed. Then, I installed the software and drivers. I was so into this small task that I consider for the moment this being a career option. I shook of the consideration because I had made up my mind to major in physical therapy. A few months passed and the modem stopped working. We received a new one by mail and I was eager to get the device installed. I opened up the computer and was totally intrigued by all the separate parts connecting to make on unit. I look up all the parts, and definition for those parts to try to get a better understanding of how the whole system worked. I was so inclined that I was able to impress my father, who is a self-proclaimed computer expert, with my new acquired knowledge. Although, I was very interesting computers and IT: I never gave it a second thought as career in computers.

When I first decided to go to college I had no idea that I would change my major four times. My aspiration was to be a radio DJ or host my own radio talk show. As children, some friends and I would listento a local DJ named Doctor Jockenstine (Jock). He hosted a radio program called the Roll Call Show. Listeners would call in and Jock went through a spill of asking their name, zodiac sign, school attended, and favorite teacher. Then, he would let them do a freestyle rap to the music. I entered college knowing that I was going to complete my degree in mass communications. I went on a tour of the campus radio station with the department chair and few other mass communications students. After the tour and going over the curricula, I was certain that mass communications was not a career interest. Mass communications just did not give me that spark I had as a child. Around that same time, I worked at the Holiday Inn Riverport part-time as a front desk clerk. Most of my hours where on that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I was offered a job as that night manager. This required me to start working on a fulltime basis. It also sparked my interest in becoming a General Manager of a hotel. I changed my major to business administration. At this point, I thought that everything was set.. My expirence as the night manger was horrific. The lack of communication with the management team was extreamly poor. When I arrived to work at 2:30p, an hour before my shift, the front office manager was already gone for the day. There was a stretch where we went a month without communicating. The front desk was total out of sinc. Important information

like lists for large groups or VIP guests were never passed on to me at night. I would arrive at work and as soon as I get there I'm looking at checking in group with 80 rooms that were not pre-checked in. Nor did I have any information

that they were coming

so that i could prepare. Every day there was new drama and mostly because

our communication was non exitant. The owners of the Holiday Inn purchased another local hotel and offered me that job as the front office manager. This time I turned down the opportunity due my unpleasant experience as the evening manager. I still was interested in a career in management just not in that hospitality industry. About a year later, I graduated from the community college with an AA in business administration. I started looking for college to transfer to complete my bachelor's. After offering me the job as the front office manager, my employer offered someone out side that company to fill the position. This person only work for about three months before resigning. They once again offered me that position and this time I accepted. Accepting this position placed my academic goals on hold for much longer than I anticipated.