Where to Now?

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what is next in my career, and trying to balance the warring sides of my nature: the one who searches out comfort, and the one who searches for a way to do good. How does one satisfy both? Can one satisfy both? Since returning from China, I have come to the conclusion that I really want to continue my career path along its track to spend more time in China, promoting Chinese economic development through trade and business. But the question I am debating is how best to do that?

In the end, Doug and I agreed that we wanted some new adventure in our lives. Both of us have usually done the "safe" thing. We didn't go off into the wild blue yonder and teach English in China, or backpack through Europe for a summer. Instead we found jobs and started our careers, him in Finance, me in Marketing and International Trade. Now we've reached a point when we know we're nearing the end of the time in our lives when we can take a lot of big risks. So we've decided that the best way to have an adventure and yet still maintain a certain amount of comfort and security is to find jobs in China. I for one have always wanted to live and work overseas. I believe it provides a unique opportunity to explore other cultures and meet people from all walks of life.

To that end, I'm once again going back to Beijing to meet people and do informational interviews, but this time only for a few weeks, not the 3 months of last time. I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of interesting people, and determining, on a more real-world basis, where I fit in in the professional world. While I know what I want to do (i.e., market entry strategy consulting), my goal for this trip is to find out what the world at large will LET me do!

I'm looking forward to the next step, and jumping into a new adventure!