DISTANCE LEARNING | CONTINUING EDUCATION | ONLINE DEGREES

A new year brings new opportunity. People want to kick their bad habits. Some people want to change the world. The old man with the toga gets kicked out, replaced by the baby. You know, second chances and all that good stuff. If you find yourself in a career that has you dissatisfied, maybe because of low pay, lack of growth potential, or toxic environment, you may be thinking this is the year for a new career.

Depending on how far along you are in your career, jumping to a new career might be a big step for you. Switching careers might mean a significant pay cut. It might mean going back to school. It might mean moving to a new area. It might mean returning to square one, where you are the underling and you know nothing. What I’m trying to say is, moving to a new career is a big jump and should be decided on only after thorough research and soul-searching.

How do you know if you should start a new career? Dozens of questions could follow to answer this question. To start off, consider the following three questions:

1. What do I want? Too few people ask themselves what job they want to do, what they could do everyday and feel satisfied and engaged, or what their life’s passion is. The lucky ones are passionate about the big ticket jobs, like i-banking, entrepreneurship, or the law. Too many of us are truly passionate about things that are not considered secure or profitable.

Don’t get me wrong. Money is very important. But it isn’t the only consideration. I’ve harped on this before but only because it is regrettably true. Too many people pursue careers they have no passion for because of concerns over money. They mistakenly believe that the joy of being financially secure will replace the boredom and resulting mediocrity of being in a career that puts you to sleep.

A mentor of mine, a very rich one at that, once admonished me to work in whatever field I am passionate about. His words were, "Passion breeds excellence. If you do what you love, you will move up, be noticed, and make a contribution to the world. If you don’t do what you love, you will always be mediocre and second-rate." Consider that advice. "Pragmatism" tells us to take whatever we can get, give up what we love for security. It tells us passion won’t put food on the table or a roof overhead. But this so-called "pragmatic" viewpoint, a relic of the industrial age, includes one sadly false presumption: that one cannot follow one’s passion and make enough money to pay the bills. We live in the information age. Never has anyone been so able to take whatever their passion is and turn it into a very good living. The choice now is not passion versus security; it is passion versus mediocrity.

If you really want to move beyond just surviving from one unfulfilling job to the next and you really want to shine, consider this question first and consider it carefully. Remember: passion breeds excellence.

2. What do I need? Speaking of pragmatism, bills need to be paid, food does need to be provided, and shelter and health is preferrable. So, after zeroing in on what you are passionate about, it’s time to ask yourself what basic needs you need to have covered. This may mean determining how much you need to make at a minimum. It may also mean determining family obligations. Ask yourself what you can survive on and what you can really do.

By way of caution, be careful not to pad your projected budget with too many luxury items. For example, you may be budgeting several hundred dollars for a new Coach handbag. You may be used to taking Tahitian vacations every month to restore your tan. As long as you consider these items a necessity, you will find yourself tied down. Be willing to give these up (at least temporarily), and you may find you have more flexibility than you think. That career in ice sculpting may be closer than you think.

Of course, you may find that your needs eclipse what you can make in your dream job. If, for example, you’ve always loved collecting and arranging acorn tops into geometric patterns, but you’ve got a wife and seven kids to provide for, following your passion full-time might not be a responsible course of action. That does not mean, however, that you can’t begin working on your acorns on a part-time basis. A lot of people who have gotten into doing jobs they love have accomplished this by building it gradually on the side until it is big enough to sustain their lifestyle.

Be realistic about your needs and look for opportunities to work toward your passion.

3. When is the best time? Timing is everything. Deciding what you love to do does not necessarily make this the perfect time to make the jump. You need to take a variety of factors into consideration. Do you have the right educational basis or do you need to go back for some training? Do you have a solid financial position to work from? Do you have the personal contacts and relationships you need to make it work? Do you need an extra year or so to get ready? Is there an opportunity currently available that will disappear if you wait too long?

Carefully plot out your timetable, decide where your window of opportunity will be, and go for it.

Here’s wishing you the best in your career progress in 2008. If you make it big as the prime provider of acorn decor, Classes and Careers does accept donations and don’t say I never gave you anything.

Tags: advice, career, career change, job

 Email This Post


RELATED POSTS:

Accountancy Career: The Reasons Why You Should Choose Accounting
Finding A New Job: How To Use Career Training To Your Advantage
Woman Bites 1/3 of Sisters Nose Off

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Careers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.