Be Honest...Did Any Of You Luck Into A Great Career/Job?

[Ozymandeas]

Fresh out of college, was job hunting and kept getting rejected.

There was this one job that stood out and I was like

End up getting the job and the Director called me personally and wanted to negotiate salary. I was like $50k

She was like $50k....naw we starting you at $80k with a bunch of crazy benefits


I remember I was on the bus when she called and was straight

That's good stuff breh.

 

[patscorpio]

Got hired by a big bank with precisely 0 financial experience. My background is very weird being a veteran and a esthetician

this might be lowkey one of the wildest things ive ever read on this site..youve had a unique career path breh lol

 

[Pedro Negro]

Sales is fukked up though. You can be a top seller then lose your job after a down month. Then where do you go? I guess sales jobs are plentiful anyways. Getting the role was probably a lot of luck but you were able to hold it for 7 years...that is all skill.

Sales is extremely fukked up breh, you ain't kidding. I enjoy the money I make and how easily some of its made, but it's a very taxing position to be in for so many reasons. That said, I wouldn't have it any other way. My job laid off a few people once COVID hit, but no one from the sales team, mainly CS and people from creative, order processors, etc.

I knew once that ax dropped they weren't touching the sales team because we're the most profitable division in the company.

 

[MoveForward]

Hell yeah, I work in sales and my base salary is more than what most people make in a year. When we add in the commission and the yearly bonus, I do well.

 

[Pedro Negro]

Hell yeah, I work in sales and my base salary is more than what most people make in a year. When we add in the commission and the yearly bonus, I do well.

When them monthly commisions hit your direct deposit

 

[MoveForward]

When them monthly commisions hit your direct deposit

Fa sho but the way they get taxed . Last month they stole $2100 from me, i try not to even look at my check stubs, it just pisses me off.

 

[Astroslik]

bro that’s too small
And u say u got a family? How y’all doing it?

706 isn't that small if youre single.

 

[DEANBIGBROTHERALLMIGHTY18]

Yeah, I accidentally fell into UX research when I was finishing up my PhD. My girlfriend at the time said a friend of her’s does cool work with technology. I contacted her friend and got the job. I had never heard of user experience research before, not even a little bit. But I was used to doing research in school, so I was a good fit. Little did I know UX research would become a popular career that pays well

I'm looking into careers after the military and UX is one of the careers I'm interested in

What does the average day looks like?
In your experience, what skills and personality types excel in this career?
What is the typical career trajectory?
What are the pro and cons of the career?

 

[MJ Truth]

Luck is preparedness meeting opportinity.

Edit: The only way someone can luck into a job is nepotism.

Not exactly. I lucked into a sales manager job I had literally no experience or preparation for based off of a chance meeting at a bar.

 

[filial_piety]

Yeah definitely...I love my job and make 6 figs...I feel like most high paying jobs are a combination of luck+right place, right time+ netowrking

 

[Deafheaven]

this might be lowkey one of the wildest things ive ever read on this site..youve had a unique career path breh lol

Im pretty sure Im the only nikka with this bg

Veteran status, being handsome and personable goes a loooonnngggg fukking way cuz I have no idea how I landed this shyt. My homegirl got hired around the same time as me for the same position has like 5 years federal exp in finance plus a BA and I make as much as her. She was fukking hot


Its mortgage too so mad job security, once the market rebounds next year that incentive pack gon put me in the next tax bracket

 

[KyokushinKarateMan]

I finessed my way into corporate finance by flat out lying on my resume I’m talking about huge lies. I’m worth 80-90k on the open market but I don’t ever see myself going back to corporate. I lasted bout 3-4 years.

But to say you need to lie just to get some decent shyt is an understatement. Lie, embellish, and deceive within reasonable limit, and to the level you feel comfortable at. I’m very comfortable lying in these folks face to try and get what I want, and I feel like I’m smarter than them, so I don’t respect none of that corporate shyt. Also, worse thing that can happen is you get found out in the interview process or on the job, but if you truly don’t give a fukk about that shyt possibly happening like me, what is the reason not to do it? These folks lied to get where they was at too. You create your own luck

Memo to anyone who reads the above post:

IT IS 100% TRUTH. PLEASE TAKE HEED IF NECESSARY.

 

[KyokushinKarateMan]

As for my own story, while I didn’t luck into my current career, nor do I make anywhere close to 6 figures, I do make a really decent amount of money for a single man with no kids, and I did indeed lie/embellish on my Resume’. And while I’m sure that I landed the actual position mostly through my previous experience and years of hard work, I have no doubt that the lying/embellishing on the resume and in the interview is what separated me from equally qualified applicants and put me over the top for getting the position.

 

[Macallik86]

I'm an English major drop out.

During the financial recession, I was sending out like 10 resumes a day and no one was hiring. It started to sink in that people aren't checking for me either because I didn't finish college or because the economy was shyt. I changed my goal in life to find a job doing whatever and stack bread until I could quit and try to trade the stock market for a living. Eventually I got a 3 month contract through temp agency paying $11/hr.

My job was answering phones all day in a call center, but on my way to work or during lunch breaks, I read books on decision making that I thought would help me when I got into the stock market. I was reading books like The Science of Self Control, Nudge, The Crowd, The Nature of Risk, etc. I kept bumping into this random 'higher up' that would occasionally ask me about the book I was reading, and we usually had like a minute of conversation on the elevator until we hit our floor and went our separate ways.

Fast forward to the company holiday party. Everyone is drunk and the higher up comes over and we start talking about books I've read, my foray into Options Trading and other random shyt I can't remember. It was one of many drunken conversations I have during the night, so I'm guessing I made a good impression, but it wasn't super memorable on my end. The next day, my boss calls me into his office. He tells me that he doesn't know what I said to the 'higher up', but based on the conversation that we had, the guy made a job offer that morning.

As it turns out, the higher up was the VP of Finance and a wing of the company that is responsible for analyzing/improving the decisions that our customers make, so all the books I was reading around the office actually lined up with what he was doing on a day-to-day basis.

Fast forward to now and I've had two promotions and more than tripled my salary.

Spoiler

The idea of this thread is dope AF. After reading the posts, some of my takeaways are:

1. You never know whether or not you will get a job until you try.
2. If you know people, ask them about openings to see what they can do. Getting your foot in the door by having someone vouch for you goes a long way. That is why networking is so important
3. There are instances where someone with zero experience gets a gig, but these are 'luck' and exceptions to the norm. For every poster in this thread, there are probably 100 Coli brehs on here that didn't get that break. The average black person's focus should be on becoming qualified for the job first, and then set yourself up to take advantage of a situation should luck arise... Things like studying the company's website/SEC filings, being confident in your ability to learn on-the-job (and/or after work hours end) will give you a leg up to separate yourself from the pack. It's rough out here and I don't see it getting any better until we get a handle on Covid so you will likely need to go above and beyond to be noticed for the foreseeable future. Swing over to the 6 Certs stickied threads for some motivation as the tone is just more positive/constructive than the Lounge will ever be.

 

[General Mills]

Yes indeed.



Years ago I was looking for a part time job. Saw a listing on Craigslist. It said “ Do you like sports? Do you want to get paid to watch them?”

I assumed it was a scam but applied. Did not hear anything for months. Then got a call and asked if I could interview. I’m like Yeah I will be there. I assumed it was going to be some telemarketing shyt when I got there. If it was I would leave.

I get there and find out it’s a IT company. They do all of the scoring systems for the PGA, NBA, NHL, Tennis, Olympics, Crossfit and others. They are also the IT help desk for the NHL and NBA. They simply wanted me to watch hockey and basketball games and monitor the websites. ESPN, nhl.com, nba.com, Yahoo etc. make sure the scores are updating correctly. I was And that was my part time gig for 6 years. Easy money doing stuff I would be doing in my spare time anyway. I quit my main job because I was having issues with my boss and was looking for another main gig. The boss at the part time job asked me to work for him as a IT tech in the help desk. I never worked IT in my life. I agreed. I was the only one there without a IT degree. lol. Next thing I know they are flying me to areas to help either train the scoring crews of the teams, help set up new areas like Orlando when they got their new building. Sent me to China for NBA preseason games. And Vegas every year for the NBA summer league. My brother was when he found out. Because he is a IT tech lol



I worked full time for three years as a IT tech. Flying everywhere for the NBA and the NHL. Ended up going back to my original full time job. They asked if I would come back and they gave me more money. Went back to doing the part time monitor job for the IT company


My main job now I lucked into also. I was looking for work because the job I was in had laid us all off. I needed something quick. My boy was doing sales for a website company. Got me in. After three months they asked if I could manage a customer service team for a new company they bought. I said sure. Did that. Then they said they are starting a new digital marketing division and they moved me there. With no experience or knowledge I became proficient in AdWords, seo, and digital marketing in general. Fast forward years later and now I am managing a book of business that grosses 6 million a year.

I told them I wanted to move back to Pittsburgh and they made me perm work from home before I could even ask. I am moving back to my hometown to do my first son duties. Have to take care of my folks. Also start talking over the family business. I will use my marketing skills to help grow that.