Future career criteria...

OK, so I'll try to articulate the future career criteria that I've come up with so far...

1. Time balance. One thing my dad helped articulate is that startup companies will almost never afford you this by the very design of the investment scenario. Investors get their return by getting results faster.
2. Independence. The business should remain steadfast in its upholding its own principles. Where things go awry is when other interests (e.g., appeasing Wall Street) takes precedence over doing the right thing.
3. Making a difference. This is vague, I know. I want to be really making a difference in someone's life, not just enhancing some businesses' "productivity."
4. Financially rewarding. There is still a pragmatic side of me that says that what I do has to be something that is not only worth money but also something that I feel good charging for. For example, while I think that providing alternative diabetes counseling could make money, I wouldn't feel good charging for it.

These are very strict criteria, I know. Interestingly, going back to a startup only meets 1 of the 4 (financially rewarding).

Marketing consulting for high tech startups also only meets 2 of the 4 (time and independence). My photo kiosk business meets the same two. My dad has suggested a career in private equity that meets 2 of the 4 (time and financially rewarding).