| Have
you thought about how much time of your life is
spent working? A quick analysis may reveal that
you spend more time working than doing anything
else in life. Just think about it. For many people
there is no such thing as the 8 hours a day/40
hours a week -work week. Whether you are in a
professional, technical or administrative field
you are probably working or will work more than
8 hours a day.
If
you are in a very competitive field you are probably
working 10 - 16 hours a day and taking work home
nights and weekends. You may be working on your
vacation. Of 24 hours in a day, work takes up
more than 1/2 the time we spend awake during the
day and week. Therefore, one can reason that if
you hate or dislike your work and your job, you
hate or dislike a significant part of your life.
Considering this fact, isn't it important that
you spend your working hours doing something that
provides you a sense of fulfillment, purpose and
happiness?
The
more you are passionate and satisfied with your
work and career the more you will accomplish,
earn and achieve. The happier you are with your
job means the happier you are with your life.
Working in a career or job that is unfulfilling
and unsatisfactory can have a negative impact
on your job performance and prevent career achievement
and growth in earnings. Studies have shown a link
between career dissatisfaction and long-term personal
and health problems.
You
want to find a career that you love, enjoy and
that provides you a sense of purpose, satisfaction,
happiness and fulfillment. You also want to find
a career that meets your needs and provides you
the life style that you want to live. Simply put
you want to find a career you are passionate about.
In
choosing a career you should make a list of what
is most important to you and begin the process
from there. Decide if it is passion and a love
for the career and the work involved that is critical
for you or is it money and the salary you will
be paid. Of course the more money you make the
better lifestyle you can have. For others lifestyle
is the most important factor. Some people may
want a career and job that provides them a certain
level of freedom and flexibility, allows them
to work in particular environment or an opportunity
where they can telework/telecommute. Ideally,
you want to find a career and job with a career
field that provides you most of the creature comforts
of life.
Choosing
the right career involves self-Assessment, career
exploration and evaluation and career matching
and fitting. No matter what stage of life you
are in, it is never too late to find the right
career. Before we examine the process of choosing
the "Right Career" it is important to
discuss the differences between a Job, Work, a
Career, and having Passion for what you do.
What
is a Job?
A job is a regular activity performed in exchange
for payment, especially as one's trade, occupation,
or profession. It is:
-
The principal activity in your life that you
do to earn money
- A
specific piece of work required to be done as
a duty or for a specific fee
- A
position in which one is employed.
- A
task that must be done.
- A
specified duty or responsibility.
- Something
resulting from or produced by work.
A
job does not equate to a career. Your job can
be your career but that is not always the case.
Your job is something you are doing now to make
money, your career is what you are planning or
aspiring to do. If you decided to work at McDonalds
or The Gap while in high school or college or
at any stage in life, you had a job. It was something
you did to have money for school and other things.
While working there you dreamed of being a lawyer,
doctor, FBI Agent, Mayor, or Business Owner. Those
are career aspirations, but in the meantime you
continue in school, studying and preparing yourself
for a particular career.
What
is Work?
Work is a physical or mental effort or activity
directed toward the production or accomplishment
of something. It is:
-
A job; employment: looking for work.
- A
trade, profession, or other means of livelihood.
- Something
that one is doing, making, or performing, especially
as an occupation or undertaking; a duty or task:
begin the day's work.
- An
amount of such activity either done or required:
a week's work.
- The
part of a day devoted to an occupation or undertaking
-
One's place of employment.
- Something
that has been produced or accomplished through
the effort, activity, or agency of a person
or thing.
Work
is just that, work and is necessary whether you
are in a job or a career. If you work hard and
do an outstanding job on a consistent basis you
will probably be successful at your job or in
your career.
What
is a Career?
- A
chosen pursuit; a profession or occupation.
- The
particular occupation for which you are trained.
- The
general course or progression of one's working
life or one's professional achievements: an
officer with a distinguished career; a teacher
in the midst of a long career.
- A
path or course.
- General
course of action or conduct in life, or in a
particular part or calling in life, or in some
special undertaking.
A
career is chosen pursuit; a profession or occupation.
It is not something you just do to make money,
it is a path or course that you choose and then
decide to pursue. Many careers require various
levels of training, education, and skill. If you
want to be a doctor you have to get a medical
degree, teachers have to get teaching certifications
and credentials, counselors have to have a masters
or doctorate, Navy Seals have to go through special
forces training. There are two things you should
consider when you choose a career. First, it should
be one you love, have passion for and it meets
all your needs, wants and desires. Second you
should understand that you can have as many careers
as you would like. Just because you pursue one
career does not mean you have to stay in it forever.
As life changes, our desires and goals change
and how we fulfill those goals will change also.
What
is Passion?
-
A powerful emotion, such as love or joy
- Ardent
love
- A
Strong desire
- The
object of such love or desire
- Boundless
enthusiasm: His skills as a player don't quite
match his passion for the game
- The
object of such enthusiasm: Fire is burning passion:
"In our youth our hearts were touched with
fire" (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.). Zeal
is strong, enthusiastic devotion to a cause,
ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its
furtherance: "Laurie [resolved], with a
glow of philanthropic zeal, to found and endow
an institution for... women with artistic tendencies"
(Louisa May Alcott). Ardor is fiery intensity
of feeling: "the furious ardor of my zeal
repressed" (Charles Churchill).
- Strong
feeling or emotion
- Any
object of warm affection or devotion; "the
theater was her first love"
Passion
is a strong emotion that evokes strong feelings.
Imagine going to work and loving what you do.
Imagine having joy and enthusiasm for your work.
Imagine feeling that your job and career fulfill
your needs, wants, goals and desires. That is
what you should strive for when choosing a career.
Getting
Started!
Some Things You Should Remember
Knowing the difference between a job, work and
career and having passion and a love for what
you do help you understand that:
-
Life is an integrated whole! Everything you
do involving work, life, and spirituality play
a major role in your life.
- A
significant amount of our life will be spent
at work!
- You
may not find your career passion overnight
- For
every passion there is a career
- What
you are passionate about will be what you are
successful in.
Finding
the work you love is not always easy. In fact,
finding the right career may be disruptive to
your current life, as you know it. It takes courage
to change. Making a career change may require
you to make significant adjustments in your life.
These changes may affect you and probably other
people in your life.
The
risks of staying in a job or work you hate, is
unchallenged by, or unsatisfied with include:
-
Physical Health Problems (Stress, Heart Attacks,
Anxiety, Anger)
- Mental
Health Problems (Depression, etc.)
- Stagnation
in one's career or life)
- Destroys
your Creativity
- Creates
a dullness of the mind
- Adversely
affects one's Personality
- Emotional
dissatisfaction
- Negatively
impact other areas of life (Relationships, Friendships,
Love, etc)
Career
Passion Blockers:
What stops us from finding our Career Passion?
There are factors that will impede or block your
desire for a career change. Knowing what they
are will develop strategies to effectively handle
them. Some of the blocker include:
-
Fear
o Afraid of Change
o Afraid of being different
o Fear of Non-Conformity
o Fear of what others might say and think
o Fear of the Unknown
o Fear of Failure
- Financial
Security in Current Job or Career Field
- Not
willing to put in the work, time and sacrifices
it may take
- Lack
of Confidence & Belief in Self
- Lack
of skill, education or knowledge
- Thinking
we are helpless, blaming others and making excuses
- Think
that what you love to do cannot possibly be
a career
Steps
to Choosing the Career that is Right for You
First: Self-Assessment
Self-assessment is the process of evaluating yourself
and determining your interests, skills, values,
strengths, weaknesses and personality style and
how they relate to your career development. Evaluating
yourself will help you discover your hidden skills,
determine your passions and interests and highlight
your talents. There are several self-assessments
tests you can take. Some of the more popular one
are:
-
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
- Strong
Interest Inventory (SII)
-
Campbell Interest Inventory (CII)
-
Self Directed Search (SDS)
-
FIRO-B
There
are other assessments tests that are more open-ended
and require you to write down your answers to
more questions. Some are free and others have
a fee. Some assessment tests allow you interpret
the results after completing the test while others
require the assistance of a Career Counselor.
Second:
Career Exploration and Evaluation
After you have conducted a self-assessment and
determined your values, strengths, weaknesses,
interests, loves and passions related to your
career work and life, you should match them with
a career field. Career exploration is one of the
most important aspects of your career and job
search. Researching a career fields is like the
job search itself. The process consists of gathering
information from online and printed resources
and people in the career field. Begin to gather
information about the various careers by reading
and evaluating job descriptions to determine the
outlook for the career field, and required training
and education.
When exploring various career fields you should
evaluate such factors as:
-
What you will do all day?
- What
qualifications, education and training are required?
- Work
environment
- Standard
career path
- Industry
hiring practices
- Employment
outlook and projections
- Salary
and status
- Typical
employers
- Travel
requirements
- Location/relocating
- Other
factors
Third:
Career Matching and Fitting
After completing the self-assessment and career
exploration process you should end up with a list
of matching and suitable careers based on your
results and findings. Obviously you can't do everything
on your list, nor will you want to. If need be,
do some additional research and exploration to
find the right match and fit. Determine if you
have the education, training, qualifications,
skills and experience that match the careers you
are interested in. If you do not have the education,
training, qualifications, skills and experience
necessary for the careers of interest you will
need to figure out how to obtain it.
When
you have narrowed your choices down to a few,
investigate further by conducting informational
interviews with persons working in the field.
You may also want to consider taking an internship
or externship or volunteering to make sure the
career is right for you. You can now make an educated
decision about what career is right for you and
the one you want to pursue.
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