Hi people,
I'm in the beginning stage towards my career. I'm currently preparing for university. Need to do the test and think of what to study.

People recommend I study programming, since it's in high demand in the workforce which means more money. However, I feel it's not the right work for me.
My issue is thinking about how it will lead me further in the career since I want to be in management. I want to focus on the big picture, on lots of technical data which keeps one place running. I am not such a visionary, but in my heart I feel like I can be a good manager - I love when things are in order, put intensive work and action based on relevant data. I love the action of working things out, understanding why things are done, etc.

The thing is, there are social forces I feel beyond my control that determine the winners of promotion, which can hinder true potential for management.
For instance, stealing ideas, pulling strings, making someone fall, demotivating, etc.
I can put the hard work on any place, even a ground-level job. But when there are co-workers, this is my weakness. I am generally an outsider when it comes to relationships with people. I can get along well, but not bond well.
I read articles which say that loving work does not mean promotion, but rather being liked by others. People may like me, but I don't think I'll be the kind of center of attention among the co-workers, as I can be very focused on work more than on bonding.
So this is why I feel a ground-level work which I'm not passionate about is not right for me.

I just started working at a pharmacy at a non-education work - a storage worker. This is a temporary job before university. When I'm at work I'm attentive to my managers and to the things I need to know. I sometimes ask a bit questions beyond my own job, or beyond what I need to know about my current job.
In general, I ask allot of questions that come in my mind when instructed, and mostly get along well on my own during work. I've worked 2 full-time shifts so far. The thing is, currently I've been working pretty much on my own, I think I'm the only storage worker in the pharmacy right now.
I have felt an intensive drive when working. It makes me feel workaholic.
But it's only a temporary job.

Eventually I have more questions than answers, since I've never experienced a career on my own. I only heard over the internet and read many articles about many work-oriented social topics.
I love putting energy in the workplace and I love the idea of management. I fear the competition between co-workers has components beyond work motivation and what is right.

I'd love to hear thoughts and experiences on this so my mind on this can be more settled.

Thanks!

[Skeezyks]

Hello Vibrating Obsidian: Well... I think you're correct that bonding with co-workers & supervisors is probably of more significance, in terms of who gets promoted into management positions, than is actual work skills. (Not that work skills aren't important too.) And, to some extent, this makes sense. After all, interpersonal skills are a big part of being a manager. But I don't know if this is something that is worth worrying too much about at this stage of you career preparation.

My personal opinion is that, at this point, what's important is to aim for something you'll enjoy doing & something where there will be management opportunities available, since that's what you ultimately want to do. There's no way, at this point, that you can foresee what opportunities may or may not come your way in the future. And you already understand the importance of interpersonal relations in the workplace. That, in itself, puts you one step ahead of a lot of people!

I'm like you, task-oriented, not people person. It doesn't work for our benefit this way, though, even if you are not seeking management positions. It's interesting that you think you like management and you are not a people person. Management is all about people. You have to organize them, delegate them, ... etc. I would give computer science a second thought while you have some time. You don't know if you will like it or not. Beside, entertain the idea that we like what we master, not only the opposite.

[guilloche]

Yup to what others are saying... if you're not a people person, don't aim for management. You will be miserable, and the people that work for you will be miserable.

I say this as someone that is also not a people-person (and who has specifically chosen to avoid moving into management) and as someone who has had really terrible managers.

Remember, as a manager - you have to do more than delegate work. You have to inspire people to do their best work, coach them about their career, listen to them complain (endlessly, imho!) about issues with the coworkers or clients, resolve personal disputes between people on your team, assess their performance (my job requires our manager to do formal reviews twice a year!) and if you're telling them they need to improve - you have to do it in a way that helps them want to improve and teaches them how to do that, not in a way that destroys their confidence and makes them miserable/stop trying. Oh, and you have to deal with issues that come up when somebody gets a serious illness or a team member passes away (I've had this happen at my place of work too).

There's a ton of people stuff involved to be good at it. And, nobody deserves a bad manager - they can really make your life awful.

When you say this: " I want to focus on the big picture, on lots of technical data which keeps one place running." - I'm a little confused, because "the big picture" and "lots of technical data" seem to be at odds?

If you like analyzing data (as opposed to writing code/programming) - there's a lot of work (and job opportunities, I believe) for data analysts. It's late and I'm probably forgetting the correct term - but people who can organize tons of data into meaningful information. Have you looked at "big data"? Though... it will probably require programming skills and advanced math skills.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by guilloche

...

If you like analyzing data (as opposed to writing code/programming) - there's a lot of work (and job opportunities, I believe) for data analysts. It's late and I'm probably forgetting the correct term - but people who can organize tons of data into meaningful information. Have you looked at "big data"? Though... it will probably require programming skills and advanced math skills.

....

Data Science is a mixture of many fields. There is no single field for the job. He would need some programming skills, and solid statistical analysis skills. I think computer science or statistics would be good fields to get into data science later on.

Data Science is actually on my list of options, but jobs demand allot of knowledge for it, but we'll see about it as I study, as it's usually a master's degree.

I must point out that the whole thinking about management is related to a personal issue. The reason is feeling I have not fulfilled and shown my potential well in life, and that I feel charms, impressions and all talk are listened to more than a fueling will to lead in a less plastic manner. I just don't buy charms anymore. I hate charmers.
From my experiences in my social life, there have been the people who would take the position of "leaders" in friend groups, being the center of attention for instance.
I can tell you, while I tended to like them the most, in time I started to hate them the most. Some of them would offend, say something insulting either indirectly or directly, they tend to think they know it all, and they'd want to learn from the people to fix and improve themselves. I say no, some of them don't deserve to eternally improve - there are people with low self-esteem out there and all they want to do is improve? Those people in time felt like they're not friends, not showing flaws, not showing humanity or not liking to show it. Just meant to charm and lead, that's all. Makes me really hate leader personalities.
I'm also not optimistic about my Y generation, which consists of an increasing % of ego and narcissism. How can a fair competition take place in such a setting?
I either made a right conclusion, or I don't know how management leadership truly works in the workforce.