Career Day

Kirk Salisbury
4/19/2010
Career Day

I attended the print journalism panel for career day.
I found it incredibly interesting that almost all of the professionals in print, had not intended to have that be their career path. I believe it was two of the six that intended on it. I also found it comforting to know that I was in good company when it came to people who were uncertain about their future. All of these people had to find ways to create jobs and prove their usefulness. It was also very refreshing to see how human these people were. They weren’t egocentric professionals, they were down to Earth people who enjoyed conversation about the earthquake just as much as the rest of the audience. As a PR major, it made me appreciate them and look forward to working with them.

Steve Jobs: Love and Loss

"I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that ever happened to me... It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." -- Steve Jobs

I had been thinking along those lines recently. My path had been pretty well charted until I got home from my mission in Australia. After getting home, and working full time at Qwest to make tuition money, I had feeling for a girl who dumped me. That was the start of a chain that changed my next three years and led me to where I am now... and where I'll go.

When she dumped me, I wanted to leave. I had the opportunity to go into sales (door-to-door sales). That experience gained my confidence when I returned to Cache Valley to go into talk to my neighbors about selling a service I would offer. Oddly enough, that led me into the door of a jewelry store owner who offerend me a job. I then decided Engineering wasn't my skill or what I love, but people and relations are my passion and specialty. So I changed my course. I now study Public Relations and Marketing. Ironically, the owners of that first store where I started working let me go during the economic crisis, but I recieved a call to work in another jewelry store where the opportunities are amazing, the pay is better, and the benefits are outstanding. The hardest to swallow experiences in my life so far have been by far the best ones for me - even though they are hard to see at the time.