Well, it's finally that time...school is done, summer is over, vacation has ended. It's time to start thinking about what to do with the rest of my life. Specifically, I need to think about a career. Sure, I will begin something soon that will pay the bills while I figure things out. But I want to really give some good thought to the long term. It would be sad to let momentum carry me through 40 years of the same job without ever having really thought about whether that's what I ought to be doing. And hopefully your accumulated wisdom will help me out. I think what I might do is systematically think about two things: what I think I want out of life (and how that fits with possible career choices), and possible jobs that I would consider doing (with pros and cons). For you older readers who love to give advice to young whelps, this is your chance to shine. Please give me your general thoughts on choosing a career. So here are some general thoughts about career choices:
You don't have to be passionate about your job. It's ok to compartmentalize; you can just do something from 9 to 5 to pay the bills, as long as the job leaves enough time, energy and money to do what you really want to be doing. So, for example, if you are really good at picking stocks but find it boring, and you love painting but could never get paid for it, there is nothing wrong with being a stock broker during the day even though it isn't your passion. I think it's silly and self-indulgent to be a starving artist when you could comfortably balance the two. In other words, I am not some hippie idealist who thinks you must just do whatever you are passionate about without considering the real world. The key, of course, is finding the balance. Don't let your job get in the way of your life either.Having said that, it would certainly be ideal to find a job you DO love. It would be wonderful to wake up and get paid to do something you would do for free, even if it means you aren't making top dollar. My dad loves his job in that way (inexplicably) and I would love to find something like that. Maybe I will make a list sometime of things I love to do, and I will see if I can make a career out of any of them. Even if you love your job, you aren't going to love it every day and you aren't going to love every aspect of it. It would be silly to expect that, and it would be stupid to reject a job that is only 97% good, or to quit every time you find yourself in a rut. If you continue to hate it for months or years, you might want to consider other alternatives. But you will have to show some stick-to-it-iveness, so expect it. People in my generation will probably have a lot of different careers. Nobody does the 'company man' thing anymore. So I need not stress over this decision as if I am setting my fate in stone.Having said that, though, people in my generation are absurdly self-indulgent in the way they flit between jobs as if they will be young forever, stopping off at mom and dad's basement when they can't find a job they 'love'. I don't want to be that guy any more than I already have. At some point, you do have to just pull the trigger and grow up and do something. We can't keep 'discovering ourselves' into our 40s. Basically, I just confused myself more. Nothing I just said helps me figure anything out. But I am not complaining. I realize what a luxury it is to be able to mull over this decision. For most of human history you just did whatever it is your dad did before you, or whatever the local lord told you to do. And in most of the world, even today, you do whatever you need to do to put food on the table, regardless of how you feel about it. Most people don't have this choice. So, I do appreciate what a blessing it is that I have the whole world to choose from. If I ever get frustrated by the decision, I will try to remember that it could certainly be a lot worse. Anybody have any thoughts? Anything you wish somebody had told you when you were in my place?
You don't have to be passionate about your job. It's ok to compartmentalize; you can just do something from 9 to 5 to pay the bills, as long as the job leaves enough time, energy and money to do what you really want to be doing. So, for example, if you are really good at picking stocks but find it boring, and you love painting but could never get paid for it, there is nothing wrong with being a stock broker during the day even though it isn't your passion. I think it's silly and self-indulgent to be a starving artist when you could comfortably balance the two. In other words, I am not some hippie idealist who thinks you must just do whatever you are passionate about without considering the real world. The key, of course, is finding the balance. Don't let your job get in the way of your life either.Having said that, it would certainly be ideal to find a job you DO love. It would be wonderful to wake up and get paid to do something you would do for free, even if it means you aren't making top dollar. My dad loves his job in that way (inexplicably) and I would love to find something like that. Maybe I will make a list sometime of things I love to do, and I will see if I can make a career out of any of them. Even if you love your job, you aren't going to love it every day and you aren't going to love every aspect of it. It would be silly to expect that, and it would be stupid to reject a job that is only 97% good, or to quit every time you find yourself in a rut. If you continue to hate it for months or years, you might want to consider other alternatives. But you will have to show some stick-to-it-iveness, so expect it. People in my generation will probably have a lot of different careers. Nobody does the 'company man' thing anymore. So I need not stress over this decision as if I am setting my fate in stone.Having said that, though, people in my generation are absurdly self-indulgent in the way they flit between jobs as if they will be young forever, stopping off at mom and dad's basement when they can't find a job they 'love'. I don't want to be that guy any more than I already have. At some point, you do have to just pull the trigger and grow up and do something. We can't keep 'discovering ourselves' into our 40s. Basically, I just confused myself more. Nothing I just said helps me figure anything out. But I am not complaining. I realize what a luxury it is to be able to mull over this decision. For most of human history you just did whatever it is your dad did before you, or whatever the local lord told you to do. And in most of the world, even today, you do whatever you need to do to put food on the table, regardless of how you feel about it. Most people don't have this choice. So, I do appreciate what a blessing it is that I have the whole world to choose from. If I ever get frustrated by the decision, I will try to remember that it could certainly be a lot worse. Anybody have any thoughts? Anything you wish somebody had told you when you were in my place?
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