If I'm the Guitar Hero, What Does That Make You?

Everybody's good at something. My mom used to always say that to us as kids, to inspire us to... um... do something? My parents were not the soccer mom and dad type. My brothers played little league for a bit. I played piano and took lessons for a bit. Um... I learned to drive?

In other words, I really feel that mom and dad did not inspire us to be driven, motivated or successful in life. They sort of left us to our own devices. Now, how I made it up the corporate ladder with so little schooling is anyone's guess. Being cute doesn't hurt. When you're 20-something and look good in a long, black jacket, you get more interviews.

How, with an unemployment rate topping 12% in my state, am I supposed to make a career change now, today, and have a clue as to what the world will look like in a year? Why didn't I know when I was 18 what I wanted to do? Except I kind of did, I just didn't have the resources to get there. I got accepted to a great music school but not enough scholarship to keep helping the family, who needed help. But I saw so many people in my chosen field struggling to buy groceries, waitressing to make ends meet, and I didn't want that life for myself. I had a dream that I intended to leave on the back burner for a short time.

Of the three siblings, I probably had the best, if short term, career success. One brother went to trade school and he still works in his chosen field. Sort of. He got his associates degree as a landscape architect. He works for a lawn company, spraying fertilizer. I think he likes it, but I know it's not a big moneymaker. My other brother never went to college. He wandered through manufacturing management for a while and is currently a graphic designer of sorts. He works for a baseball hat manufacturer, taking logos and making the art for production. He probably likes his job, too.

Me? I think I want to be a lot of things. Do they have lion tamer school? How about rodeo queen training? I want to be a fantastic cook, learn to tango, sit in a corner chair and write. But those things don't buy shoes for my boy who is now a size 11. Um, didn't we just buy shoes last month???

Recently, a headhunter called me a generalist - which is great if you work at a small company and have to wear many hats. But which hat fits me best? What do I want to be when I grow up? Um, is that a trick question? I want to be a rock star...

College applications sit on my table. I'm so tempted to work toward a bachelor of arts degree. But what would I specialize in, as a generalist? I WANT IT ALL. I'm not a fresh faced 18 year old, just out of school. I don't have time to throw a dart at a dart board with my eyes closed and see where it sticks. I can do most anything I put my mind to. This is literally a band-aid. So many people in the job market - so few jobs that will even look at me without that degree. At least for now.

Having lunch with a friend recently, she mentioned that most of the really successful people she knows didn't go to college. She has friends with a double masters that make less than her husband, who worked his way up the ladder in a family-owned company.

Where is that ladder?

I wish I had a crystal ball that would tell me what career would be successful. I'm a fabulous mom, a decent writer, a phenomenal boss and a nice person. I like to help others find their way to success. I like to fix things that aren't working. I like to manage a process and adjust until it runs smoothly. I work really hard and like time off, too.

I often wonder where I will be in five years. About 5 years ago, I was just starting to like the path in marketing that seemed to draw me in. Now? Who knows. I might just have to close my eyes and take a leap. Does anyone know if you can get a bachelors in puddle jumping?