You’ll often hear when you first start out that the way to go about finding a career is figuring out what you love to do and finding someone who will pay you to do it. Makes sense–but it’s often easier said than done. However, taking the time necessary to figure out what you love to do and then developing a strategy to get there is well worth the effort.
My Husband
Yes, today I’m going to write about my husband, who started out as a Psychology major. His goal has always been to work with children and having had some pretty significant experiences at a camp for abused and neglected kids, he wanted to go into social work. Though it’s a very long story, he ended up teaching high school English in an inner city high school. He now is the assistant director of a large preschool sports program in Manhattan. He loves his job so much so that while we were considering a move that would make for a 90 minute commute–he was unwilling to consider looking for a new job. As it turns out he doesn’t have to, but that’s another story.
Loving your job often means feeling satisfied with what you’re doing. It means that the stress level is often low or at least manageable because again, you feel like you’re being productive.
Moving From Job to Job. . .Wisely
It is unlikely that you’ll land your dream job right out of college. First of all, chances are good that you’re still not sure what you want to do at age 22 or that you’ll change your mind once you start working. Secondly, it is likely that even if you’re positive beyond a doubt that you know exactly what you want to be doing, you will probably have to take baby steps to get there.
Remember my husband–the one who loves his job? The overarching goal has always been to work with children. He never took a job that didn’t fulfill this overarching goal. All of his experience on his resume, included some capacity with working with children: coaching basketball, tutoring math and science, teaching physical education. The trick to getting where you want to go is to ask yourself: how does the job I’m currently in help me get to my bigger goal? If you can answer that question well, then you’re well on your way to getting your dream job.
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.