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Education

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Look at this list of global issues and find one that you feel passionate about. What are some ways you could contribute to solving this problem? What skills would you need to come up with solutions?

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Advice

Volunteer in your community.

General and Operations Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of public or private sector organizations. Duties and responsibilities include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources, but are too diverse and general in nature to be classified in any one functional area of management or administration, such as personnel, purchasing, or administrative services.

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Second Interest High-Point

First Interest High-Point

Third Interest High-Point

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

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Realistic

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Management Occupations

Top Executives

Direct and coordinate activities of businesses or departments concerned with the production, pricing, sales, or distribution of products.

Perform sales floor work, such as greeting or assisting customers, stocking shelves, or taking inventory.

Develop or implement product-marketing strategies, including advertising campaigns or sales promotions.

Direct non-merchandising departments of businesses, such as advertising or purchasing.

Recommend locations for new facilities or oversee the remodeling or renovating of current facilities.

Implement or oversee environmental management or sustainability programs addressing issues such as recycling, conservation, or waste management.

Review financial statements, sales or activity reports, or other performance data to measure productivity or goal achievement or to identify areas needing cost reduction or program improvement.

Direct administrative activities directly related to making products or providing services.

Prepare staff work schedules and assign specific duties.

Monitor suppliers to ensure that they efficiently and effectively provide needed goods or services within budgetary limits.

Direct or coordinate financial or budget activities to fund operations, maximize investments, or increase efficiency.

Establish or implement departmental policies, goals, objectives, or procedures in conjunction with board members, organization officials, or staff members.

Perform personnel functions such as selection, training, or evaluation.

Plan or direct activities such as sales promotions that require coordination with other department managers.

Set prices or credit terms for goods or services based on forecasts of customer demand.

Manage the movement of goods into and out of production facilities to ensure efficiency, effectiveness, or sustainability of operations.

10-key calculators

Cell phones

Computer scanners

Credit card processing machines

Desktop computers

Digital cameras

Handtrucks

Humidity test chambers

Laptop computers

Magnetic card readers

Personal computers

Personal digital assistants PDA

Photocopying equipment

Point of sale POS systems

Profilometers

Spectrometers

Surveillance cameras

Vacuum test chambers

ActionWare

Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop

ADP Workforce Now

AMG Teleran SalesInSync

Apache Hadoop

Apple Final Cut Pro

Atlassian JIRA

Autodesk AutoCAD

Avidian Technologies Prophet

Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge

Blackboard

Calendar and scheduling software

Citrix

CNC Mastercam

Computer aided manufacturing CAM software

Confluence

Customer information control system CICS

Data entry software

Datawatch Monarch

Deacom ERP

Delphi Technology

Dynamic Energy Systems MedAct

Extensible markup language XML

Facebook

FileMaker Pro

Fund accounting software

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Google AdWords

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HEAT Software GoldMine

Human resource management software HRMS

Human resources software

IBM Cognos Impromptu

IBM Domino

IBM InfoSphere DataStage

IBM Notes

IBM Power Systems software

IBM SPSS Statistics

InnQuest Software roomMaster

Intuit QuickBooks

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Job control language JCL

Kronos Workforce Payroll

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LexisNexis

LinkedIn

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Marketo Marketing Automation

Maximizer Software Maximizer Enterprise

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Microsoft Access

Microsoft Dynamics

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Microsoft Excel

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Microsoft Windows

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MicroStrategy

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Mozilla Firefox

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Nagios

NetSuite ERP

NetSuite NetCRM

Oracle E-Business Suite Financials

Oracle Eloqua

Oracle Fusion Applications

Oracle Hyperion

Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne

Oracle PeopleSoft

Oracle PeopleSoft Financials

My father died suddenly when I was about 25 while I was going through this questioning of my career.

Director of Water Programs

[Roadtripper #1] Elliott. [Nat] Elliott? I'm Nat. [Elliott] Nice to meet you. [Nat] My current job here is, um, I'm Director of Water Programs. We, um, help people in Ethiopia and Central African Republic, India get clean water and sanitation, uh, and hygiene. [Roadtripper #2] Like, how did you grow up knowing that you wanna do this type of thing? [Nat] I didn't. Ah...so, I was a bit ah...like you. I grew up in a, in a society where my dad was a banker, my mom worked in publishing, their peers were lawyers, doctors, bankers. There was like five career options. Ah, and so I was like, "All right, I guess I'll, you know, go and go "into publishing." And after my time there, I realized I hated reading, um, and I didn't wanna read any more books. It got to the point where I hated to fall asleep 'cause I knew I would have to wake up. Uh, and I was like, "All right. This was sort of a warning sign "that I was on the wrong track." And so, um, when I was about, when I was your age, when I was 28, uh, I quit my job and went back to school. I was a literature major, and I decided I wanted to be an engineer. [Elliott] The fact that you did a 180 from, you know, liberal arts to hard sciences is really, I think it speaks to, I think a lot of people are like, "Well if I do this "one thing, then I can't go back and do the other." Stepping into the geology realm, was it like, "Ooh, what did I--"? [Nat] I came through a path that I wouldn't recommend, uh, which was, uh, my father died suddenly, uh, when I was probably 25. And it was a bit of like while I was going through this questioning of my career, my father just died, and I was like, "I could just die." You know, it was completely unplanned. And it was like, "I don't have time doing something "I'm not excited about." Uh, and so I started with, um, pre-algebra, algeba-- [Elliott] Oh so you went back to undergrad? [Nat] Oh yeah, calculus, pre-calculus, uh, chemistry, physics, all from the bottom up. When I went to my, uh, grad school, I was in an engineering program. There were 60 students in it. Fifty-eight of them were engineers, one of them was a chemical engineer, and then there was me, the English major. What was exciting was that I think in our society, from a very early age, it's sort of you're, you're humanities or you're hard sciences, and that's not true. You can do both. You know, you're ending your meal, and you're like, "Oh, "you know, I can't do the tip. I can't figure out the tip." And that's like perfectly acceptable to say, but if you're like, "I can't read the menu, I'm illiterate." [Elliott] Right. [Nat] You know, that's not! And it, and it shouldn't be acceptable to be like, "I can't figure out, you know, 10% or 20%." And once you realize, the revelation that came to me is that hard science and math is just a language. Every equation is just a sentence. Uh, and once you understand like, "What is this sentence "trying to tell me?" Then uh, then it becomes very easy. Uh, then it sort of reveals itself. Ah, and then I, then I went and worked at the World Bank for nine years, and it was great. It was, I-I learned so much there. Lived in Washington for a while, I lived in, uh, Tanzania. And um, was just so struck by the water. It was just so obvious when you're there, the water problems. It's more people die from this than war. Uh, I mean, it's-it's just huge, and it's so solvable is what's so, ah, is so frustrating. Ah, but also so exciting, it's like it's a huge problem but we can solve it. Ah, and that's the exciting part of it. [Elliott] Touching back, like uh, you said at 25 your dad passed. Right before this experience, my father passed away. [Nat] Oh, I'm sorry. [Elliott] Yeah, thank you. And uh, three days before, actually, they called and said, "You can go on this." [Nat] Oh, jeez. [Elliott] Yeah, and so you said at 25 this happened, 28 you went back to school? [Nat] Yeah. [Elliott] Was that in the wake of this realization? [Nat] Yes. [Elliott] There was a change? [Nat] The, uh, uncomfortable question is whether I would have changed careers had he lived. [Elliott] Right. [Nat] And I don't know the answer to that. Um, my father was great. Always very supportive, um, and probably would have supported me making the change, but it sort of, there was a... a path that I was on. Um, and...by being struck by, uh, the...um, how little control we have over life, over the big things in life, uh, just said, "All right, "I've gotta, I gotta go be happier." Uh, and the other realization is that when I'm at work, in my working career, I spend more time with the people I work than with the people I love. Um, and so I better, if I'm gonna do that, it better be with people I wanna be with, doing something I wanna do. [Elliott] Absolutely. [Nat] But I'll tell you, in my 20s, I wasn't happy. Uh, 20s was a very difficult time for me. Thirties, I was so psyched to turn thirty, uh, and like start a new decade. [Elliott] Me too. [Nat] Thirties were great, thirties were great. So then, you know, the 40s are hopefully only gonna be better. Um, so it was, there was a um, very difficult growing period for me in the 20s. And don't let that stop you. 

Family

Societal Pressures

Transitions

Interview

The team lands at the doorstep of the MIT Media Lab, where they speak with a graduate assistant in the robotics department. Next, they talk with two women who founded sOccket, a soccer ball that generates electricity, and the co-founder of Bamboo Bike Studio. The Roadtrippers also stop at the USA Shaolin Temple in New York City, where they meet founder Shi Yan Ming who is known for his super-human abilities-such as breaking rocks with his skull. They end the week with Nat Paynter, director of water programs at Charity Water.


Getting in Touch with Childhood Dreams

My father died suddenly, uh, when I was probably about 25. And I was like, "I-I could just die. "I don't have time doing something I'm not "excited about." Ah...and so I quit my job and went back to school. I was a literature major and I decided I wanted to be an engineer. And so I started with pre-algebra, algebra-- [Roadtripper] Oh so you went back to undergrad? [Nat] Oh yeah, calculus, pre-calculus, all from the bottom up. I think in our society, from a very early age, it's sort of you're humanities or you're hard science. And that's not true. You can do both. 

Nat Paynter Highlight

When I went to my grad school, I was in an engineering program. There were 60 students in it. 58 of them were engineers. One of them was a chemical engineer. And then there was me, the english major. What was exciting was that, I think in our society from a very early age is sort of your humanities or your hard science and that's not true. You can do both. You're ending your meal and you're like oh, I can't do the tip. I can't figure out the tip. And that's like perfectly acceptable to say, but if you're like, I can't read the menu, I'm illiterate. >> Right. >> You know that's not and it shouldn't be acceptable to be like I can't figure out ten percent or 20 percent. Once you realize, the revelation that came to me is that hard science and math is just a language. >> Right. >> Every equation is just a sentence. And once you understand what is this sentence trying to tell me, then it becomes very easy. Then it sort of reveals itself. And then I went and worked at the Royal Bank for 9 years and it was great. I learned so much there, lived in Washington for a while. I lived in Tanzania, and I was just so struck by the water. It's just so obvious when you're there, the water problems. It's more people die from this than war. I mean it's just huge and it's so solvable is what's so, so frustrating but also so exciting. It's like it's a huge problem, but we can solve it and that's the exciting part of it. 

Dedication

Hard Science & Math Are Just Languages

Touching back, you said at 25 your dad passed. >> Yeah. >> Right before this experience my father passed away. >> Oh really, I'm sorry. >> Yeah, thank you. Three days before actually they called me and said you can go on this. >> Oh [INAUDIBLE]. >> And so you said at 25 this happened, 28 you went back to school. >> Yeah. >> Was that in the wake of this realization? >> Yes. There was a change? >> The uncomfortable question is whether I would have changed careers had he lived. >> Right. >> And I don't know the answer to that. My father was great, always very supportive and probably would have supported me making the change. But it's sort of, there was a path that I was on. And by being struck by how little control we have over life, over the big things in life. Just said all right, I gotta go be happier. And the other realization is that when I'm at work, in my working career, I spend more time with the people I work than with the people I love. And so if I'm going to do that, it better be with people I want to be with doing something I want to do. >> Absolutely. >> But I'll tell you, in my 20s I wasn't happy. 20s was a very difficult time for me. 30s, I was so psyched to turn 30 and start a new decade >> Me too. >> Thirties were great, thirties were great. So then the forties are hopefully only going to be better. So there was a very difficult growing period for me in the 20s, and don't let that stop you. 

I Gotta Be Happier

Hey. >> How are you? I'm Matt. >> Nice to meet you. My current job here is I'm director of water programs. We help people in Ethiopia, in Central African Republic, in India, get clean water and sanitation and hygiene. >> How did you grow up up knowing that you wanted to do this type of thing? >> I didn't. So, it was a bit like you. I grew up in a society where my dad was a banker. My mom worked in publishing. Their peers were lawyers, doctors, bankers. There's like five career options. And so I was like all right, I guess I'll go into publishing. And after my time there I realized I hated reading and I didn't want to read any more books. It got to the point where I hated to fall asleep because I knew I'd have to wake up. And it's like all right, this was sort of a warning sign that I was on the wrong track. And so when I was about your age, when I was 28, I quit my job and went back to school. I was a literature major and I decided I wanted to be an engineer. 

Pressure

Five Career Options

The fact that you did a 180 from liberal arts to hard sciences is really, I think it speaks to a lot of people like, what if I do this one thing then I can't go back and do the other. Stepping into the geology realm, was it like, oh, what did I? >> I came through a path that I wouldn't recommend, which was my father died suddenly when I was probably about 25. And it was bit of like while I was going through this questioning of my career, my father had just died and I was like I could just die. You know, it's completely unplanned and it's like I don't have time doing something I'm not excited about. And so I started with pre algebra, algebra- >> You went back to undergrad? >> Oh yeah. >> Wow. >> Calculus, pre calculus, chemistry, physics. Just all from the bottom up. 

180 Degree Turn to Hard Science

I was going back to freshman chemistry. So it was a bunch of 18 year olds who just like absorbed information. And that was, I wasn't performing at the level that they were. That's kind of humiliating. >> Did you live in the dorms? >> I did live in the dorms. >> [LAUGH] >> I know, unfortunately. But what it turned out, it wasn't obvious at the time, but actually I was ahead of my peer group, cuz they all went and did the same thing about a couple years later. Within my community, my social circle, I got much more praise about it, saying this is a brave thing to go and chase something that you wanna do. 

Courage

A Brave Thing To Chase What You Love

I was reading an article recently about a woman who's [COUGH] I think, chief operating officer at Facebook, she's 38. And she was saying that when I graduated college, this career didn't exist. And if I had planned what I wanted then, she went from Google to Facebook, I'm like, that whole industry didn't exist. >> Right. >> And so don't limit yourself to the options of today, because the one thing we know is they're gonna change. I mean for me it woulda been like, diving into Betamax. >> Right. >> You just completely choose something that has no future. And as what's just being open because there's whole new careers that don't exist now, that are in front of you. 

Opportunity

Don't Limit Yourself to the Options of Today

For engineers and I think for much, not to speak too broadly, but I think there's, in the math and the sciences, there's an answer. >> There is. >> And in what we do there isn't necessarily, or there are many. >> Right. >> And sort of the literature, the humanity side makes me comfortable, with that sorta living a bit without uncertainty. And then on the engineering side, it was sort of like, all right well let's find a solution, and work towards something. But there's also, there's this human nature aspect of it is fascinating and very difficult to solve. 

Engineering Offers the Answers

I think it's very important to follow through on something and see it through to it's end. But it's also when you know you are on the wrong path, then get off of it. But there's a lot of trying things out, putting your toe in the water here and there, and it takes a while to perhaps find the path. But when I was going back to school, because the courses I was taking it was essentially a pre-med curriculum. So I had a lot of people in my class who were 30, even 40 who were going back to do pre-med. And very few of them were Americans. There were many people from Asia, from Europe. And what they were always saying is that this is what's great about America, is you can change, that you have in other countries there is just no system for changing from high school. It's like you go to and end at law school, high school, and that's it. You have to know what you wanna be when you're 13. And I think it's an impossible thing to ask of a person. And in my experience, in my peer group, nobody is doing what they got a degree in. >> Sure. >> So they've all graduated with philosophy degrees, or language, or romance language, or mostly engineering, or things like that. They've all switched- >> Mm-hm. >> Along the line. And, it's not an easy process. But looking back, and when I look at what I'm proud of, it's that. 

Changing Paths

The technology hasn't really changed since the Romans. >> Yeah. >> It's pipes and wells, things like that. But it's the human element, getting people to change how they perceive their ownership over a water supply in their communities. It's getting them to own and having a proper latrine. Not just own it, but sort of value it. >> Right. >> And say, this is something that's important to my life and to my children's life. It requires a huge shift in cultural standards, in cultural norms. We saw something like this in New York in the 50s with spitting. It's like, now you ride on a bus that says no spitting and you're like, who spits? >> Right. >> Why would you even say that? But in the 50s it was a huge problem. It was a huge public health problem in New York, everyone's spitting. And now they're managed to do a massive cultural shift where it's just unacceptable. >> Right. >> And smoking's going in the same direction. This is gonna be unacceptable. 

Culture

Changing Cultural Standards

What was very revealing to me, or something I really admired from a person who was senior to me, is we did a meeting and he was like, I don't know the answer to that. And he'd say it with such authority. I was so impressed somebody admitting ignorance with confidence. And it's sort of once I got to that point where I could be like, I don't know the answer to that. I'll try to find it out, and then it suddenly, it was like, I don't have to know everything, I don't have to be the end all and be all at a given topic. And then that was I don't know, it was very liberating, and on the converse side then it seems everything else that he said, he must have known. >> Right, it felt confident- >> Exactly, and so it was very liberating. 

Confidence

Honesty

Admitting Ignorance with Confidence

The work that we do at Charity: Water I think is important, but what's so rewarding to me is learning about all these other countries, all these other parts of the world, and completely shaking up my perspective. I come from New York, thought New York was the center of the world, and if not New York, then America, and then I go and I'm living in Africa. And they're just vastly different perspectives of what's important and what's necessary, and different ways to live your life. And, so satisfying that curiosity is a large part of what's very rewarding to me about this work. 

Fulfillment

Shaking Up My Perspective

This generation, your generation is more engaged and more generally positive, more willing to >> Accept. >> Accept, and I mean just looking at you, my generation wouldn't have this demographic spread. And it's now like that's perfectly normal. And that's great, this acceptance of different cultures, different perspectives. It's just a wonderful direction that I think your generation is really moving towards. As a culture, as a society we're really moving in a great direction. And you think about what life was like in the 70s when I was a kid, that like New York now it's never been cleaner or safer than it is today. >> Yeah. >> When I was a kid it was like filthy and dangerous. And that was a lot nicer than it was when my parents were here. And so it's, these things are, I think it's, I personally feel very positive about it. 

Acceptance

Moving in a Great Direction

There's a lot of work now in economics of happiness, I don't know if you've seen it. >> Yeah, yeah. >> But it's one of the only things that a self-assessment is pretty accurate about. Like, if you ask somebody if they, in my line of work, if you ask them if they wash their hands after going to the bathroom, 99% of them say they do. But if you actually watch, it's only about 20%. So there's this huge false positive. But with happiness, if you ask people if they're happy, they generally say if they are they aren't. And for me, it's always I do think it's the only true success otherwise it's kind of like what's the point. And for me it's really finding this contentment. And it's something that I've sort of come to in the last year or two of getting past feeling like a fraud. And feeling content with my place in the world. There's a lot of stuff going on that I don't understand, I've been trying to figure out and it can be very stressful. But that's sort of part of the contentment. And that's, reaching that place of being happy, not wanting anyone else's life. 

Nat Paynter

Director of Water Programs

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Nat Paynter

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Do It Anyway