Making a success of 'wrong' profession

JAKARTA (JP): A university student's entry in the letter's column of Kompas daily earlier this month is a lament about thwarted career ambitions.

Intent on going in to advertising, she joined a special course at a private university. After two years there, she was disappointed to find the program had been discontinued.

She deserves sympathy, of course, as she just wanted to fulfill her ambitions. But maybe she can take solace from the example of Nenny Soemawinata, a computer science graduate turned advertising expert and now general manager at private television station ANteve.

Or Hermawan Kertajaya, an electrical engineer by training who is better known as a marketing expert and the most expensive seminar speaker. They are part of a long list of people who have successfully detoured from their set career plans.

Perhaps it is incorrect to say they succeeded despite "wrongly" choosing their profession. People are free to choose any job as long as they enjoy doing it. The fact the formal educational background is unrelated should be unimportant. In short, a job is open to all interested parties as long as it does not require a particular expertise.

Sartono Mukadis, a human resources expert from PersoData, a human resources development institute, uses the graph of a mathematical group to describe the relationship between a person's interest and the type of job chosen. The first group consists of pictures of instruments, the second contains data and the third people.

It is likely that people who like instruments, for example, will take up jobs involving devices, such as those in electrical or computer engineering. People who like data may feel at home in jobs involving numbers such as accounting and statistics. Like people? Chances are you will select jobs involving human interaction such as management, public relations and marketing.

Sartono said boundaries of the three groups were not exclusive but sometimes form a meeting point. This means there are always people who can do jobs in the three areas.

Darwis Triadi is a case in point. He has a diploma from an aviation school and used to work as a pilot for chartered planes. Today, however, he is one of the country's best-known photographers.

These jobs involve the ability to control instruments but also touch on human relations as, Darwis said, "I mix a lot with models".

Nenny Soemawinata enrolled in a computer programming department although, in contrast to the stereotype of the egg- headed nerd, she described herself as an extrovert.

She took up computer programming because she knew that the computer would occupy an important position in the business world. But she also realized that as an extrovert, she could not stay long in a computer company. After trying her hand at several jobs, she has finally landed work as an advertising executive.

Nenny denies her choice of profession was merely by chance. She believes educational background should not keep someone locked in a professional career path.

"My educational background is still useful, especially in systematic thinking," she said.

According to Mukadis, education is important as a foundation from which other kinds of expertise can be developed to support a career or profession. "Schooling must serve as a foundation. This is the principle," he stressed.

He said those successful in jobs other than their formal background were probably people willing to work hard and continue learning.

If someone complains that he or she is not suitable for a job because of a different educational background, Mukadis said he will often quip in reply: "Maybe you are not fit for any jobs".

Hard work and openness to learning are what made Hermawan Kertajaya, Nenny Soemawinata and other national and international figures -- economist George Soros and Jodie Foster to name just two -- successful in their careers despite unrelated educational backgrounds.

Not to be forgotten is will. Hard work and continuous learning will mean nothing without determination. "If we have to work late into the night but we do not love our work, how could we stand it?" Nenny said.

As she can testify, the passport to career success does not only lie in the proper education background. Many people like the sticker "Just because you're certified does not mean you're qualified". The despondent university student can take heart that her education is only a stepping stone in the unpredictable and often exciting climb up the corporate ladder.

The above is an excerpt from the forthcoming Tiara. The complete article with sidebars will appear in the lifestyle biweekly when it goes on sale Wednesday. It is printed here courtesy of Tiara.