CONFUCIUS said it best, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in
your life.” According
to the U.S. Department of Labor, every year we spend at least 1896 hours at work. On average, we spend about nine hours everyday on work related activities.
Projected over a lifetime... and its pretty unfortunate spending all this time stuck in a profession we do not love.
Here
are some interesting Job Satisfaction statistics from salary.com:
- About 65% of workers say they are somewhat satisfied
in their jobs while less than 15% say they are extremely satisfied.
- The most satisfied age group in the work force is
working retirees and the least happy age group are the millennials,
those under 30.
- Roughly 35 percent of people said
they were not looking around for a job and 65 percent of them cited the
bad economy as the reason why. The need for a paycheck and benefits has the unhappy workers
flying under the radar until the economy recovers.
Indeed,
financial stability is important, but what's even more significant is pursuing a
career we're interested in. Of course, not everyone may get this opportunity but it's
our responsibility is to find the right balance - based on our values,
priorities, family obligations and preferences - between job satisfaction and earning a decent paycheck. The following tips serve as pointers towards bridging this gap.
1. Take the leap of faith and go for what you
want, not necessarily what’s convenient:
This rule is mostly relevant to college students and those still in the beginning phases of their careers. In order to choose the right career path one needs to know what what interests them and must have done substantial research on what the job entails. In business school, we’re taught to
choose smart goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reliable and Timely. Try
as much as possible to clarify the career path that is most compatible with
your passion.
2. Hone your talents:
Practice
makes perfect. The more you do, the more you understand and as we gain more skill in this particular field, our interests spur us to push the boundaries of occupational success. Following the logic of becoming an expert in a specific
field and going on to earning the right to command a price in a free market is not something
that comes easily for everyone. It takes a lot of hard work. Even the most talented professionals have to put in a fair amount of effort to deliver and improve as
time goes on. Working in a field you love increases the likelihood of becoming an outstanding professional.
3. Be creative in connecting the dots between your background and a new career:
The
world is changing and there are in-numerous combinations of how to connect our dynamic skill-set to any given career. With increasing development and influence of social media on business, management, marketing, advertisement, litigation, HR, ... Looking for a fulfilling niche, unique to our interests might not be so far fetched.
4. Career Shadowing:
If you can’t just pack up your day job for a
prospective intended field, it's perfectly understandable and you're not alone. However, the next best thing may be to make time to network with people within your prospective (dream) field. Take classes,
call businesses that interest you, volunteer, attend seminars and follow up
with the changing dynamics of these areas of interest. Most importantly, try
not to pass up opportunities to speak to professionals within your intended
field. In this economy improvisation is key and if you think enough, you might just spot an area in the industry which you're best suited for.
5. Beware of falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy:
“ I've already
come this far, I just can’t pack it all up and start all over”. Sounds
familiar? Psychologists and Economists love making references to the concept of sunk costs. These are
retrospective (past) costs that have already been incurred and cannot be
recovered. The more we invest in something the harder it is to abandon
it. For those of us with somewhat advanced careers, it may sound
ridiculous to even consider leaving our familiar career path for something different, even if its a field we may derive lot's of pleasure from. It's important to recognize this fallacy and correct its impact where necessary.
Doing what we love is one way of leading a fulfilling and no matter what happens we must always find
the love in what we do… Take calculated risks, expand our horizons, push limitations and try not to settle in any area of life, including our careers.
If
you have any tips on the best way of choosing and getting a career you love,
please share in the comments section.
Photo Courtesy:
http://www.momandamicrophone.com/2011/03/loving-what-you-do.html
References: http://www.salary.com/Articles/ArticleDetail.asp?tab=psn&cat=cat011&ser=ser032&part=par1356
