ANU Techlauncher Learning to Reflect Introduction

Today I had the delight of being in a classroom with the Australian National University's Techlaucher students, as well as those joining online (video available). Normally I stick to the mechanics of how the "Learning to Reflect" module I supervise is run. The staff of ANU Careers provide the actual content, running students through exercises to help them think about a career. However, after reading Becoming by Michelle Obama, I was inspired to talk a little about my own career. The point wasn't big-noting myself (well not entirely), it was to show a career is rarely a straight linear path. I happened to join ABS, just as they had millions of dollars for IT training I joined the DoD computer division only to have it abolished ending up in the nation's military HQ. I nominated for VP of the ACS, but ended up President. I joined ANU to do research and ended up teaching. The latest coincidence is that I went to an ACS meeting last night, and it was the launch of the new version of a computer job analysis used in Techlauncher. The person launching it happened to have an interest in training computer people in Indonesia, as do I ...