At this point in your life, if you were starting a new career, would you go for something challenging (that'll keep you on your toes), or something more laid back (think serenity)

I feel strongest and work the best in an environment where I can stay absolutely busy, not have to deal too much socially with other employees, and preferably deal with the public instead (I am very good with people, just not the people I actually have to see everyday. I don’t form social bonds very easily so.)

Something fast paced, something I can be proficient at because I am an absolute perfectionist when and where it actually matters, *Yes even with my horrible grammar and punctuation… LOL and I prefer my mind being kept occupied even 8 hours straight. I have been known to work straight through lunch happily.

I am an excellent employee. I just like to work alone, or in an intimate environment with a few close knit good people which is difficult.

Hmmmmm, I think both have equal pros and cons depending on the individual.

Laid back, but still where I get a good sense of accomplishment.

I’d love to be a museum docent. It looks laid back but there’s all kinds of behind the scenes busy bodyness I’d enjoy.

I took the challenging and think most any career done to its fullest has to be challenging for me. I can’t sit on a career without challenge.
Teacher, Pyschologist, Archaeologist, Architect.

Next life I guess..

Not that I thrive on stress (quite the opposite) but I’ve always been ambitious to the point of self destruction. Only now am I realizing what a bad fit that would be for me…give me serenity, please. Hopefully there exists such a job that I will still find interesting.

Serenity, hands down.

Although I am not there yet, I am at a point where I can at least see that pre-retirement career transition (in the distance) away from stressed out uber geek to something a bit more fulfilling.

At this point, as a retiree, I would definitely choose something mellow and undemanding. I’ve done my share of working in a “fast-paced environment” with “high productivity” and “aggressive deadlines” and a zero-sum rating game in which, for you to get ahead or even survive, somebody else has to lose.

If I were to go look for a job now, I’d probably look for something part-time, like the information desk in a bookstore or, maybe even better, answering phones and writing up orders in a small blue-collar business such as a roofer or lumberyard or auto glass installer. When things were quiet, I’d read, and there’d never be anything to keep me overtime or to worry about when I got home.

Luckily I can manage on my retirement income, supplemented with a few small paying jobs off and on and no steady hours of any kind. I did the 40+-hour work week for as many years as I had to, and now I don’t have to any more.

My mind has to be engaged and challenged with anything I do or I get really restless.

Every job I’ve had for well over ten years has been balls to the wall, go go go. And most times, I work two jobs.

I wouldn’t know ‘serene’ if it bit me in the tuchas (but then, ‘serene’ wouldn’t do that, would it?).

But then, recently, I landed a new teaching gig in the day program (I usually teach nights), and, to my surprise, it is sooooo laid back. The students, the staff, even the dean…it’s like they’re all on qualudes. It was disconcerting at first, but now, I’m really digging it. And, by contrast, it makes my other day job seem truly insane.

So I vote for ‘serene’ (and hopefully, I can move my entire career in that direction.

If I was starting something new I would be interested in pallitive care. This would be rewarding, stressful, and laid back all at the same time!

I have a talent for math and numbers, so I would go for what is comfortable.

I think it’s easier to start out in a stressful career and then move to something more mellow later in life. If you go mellow your whole life, you might wonder if you made the right decision. I don’t know many people that go from crazy to laid back and regret it, though.

I would like something fairly laid back but engaging.

If I were starting all over, I wouldn’t want something stressful, but I’d need something that would keep my mind engaged. I think I’d quite like being an antiques dealer or librarian.

Right now, all I want is something I really enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I like my job and I don’t dread going in every morning like I did with a previous job but it doesn’t excite me and my days often drag a bit. Whether it’s challenging or chilled I just want to feel passionate about it.

Decided to go for this. Here is an example of what I will be taking in a few months.

Serene. Who want’s to go home stressed out??

Serenity. No doubt about it.

I have spent my life learning new things and acquiring new skills. As a computer programmer this is necessary, because there are always new things coming out. I have grown weary of this. I find I spend much of my time learning the quirks of Microsoft products. There is also this. I am finding more and more an urge to impart what I know to others. I feel that one of the best things about learning is to be able to share what I know. I have been doing online math tutoring and I am about to do some face to face tutoring. I am facing retirement soon, but do not want to completely stop working.

The day I stop wanting to be more challenged is the day to poke me with a fork and say I am done.