Do you have a job or a career? You might think there isn’t a difference between the two but there really is. Figuring out where you are might help determine the next steps you need to take.
A job is generally something you do temporarily. It may not have anything to do with what you are truly gifted at or what you would really like to do. You generally don’t expect to last long doing it.
On the other hand, a career tends to move you toward your ultimate goal. It is something you plan on sticking with. Of course, within a career you may land various positions but it all adds up to experience and skills you can use.
Sometimes your career path might change. For a long time I was convinced that my career path was education. I took online courses and got my foot in the door at a school supervising the lunchroom and playground for a middle school.
That position eventually opened the doors for me to work as a paraprofessional in another school. Eventually I moved on to become a preschool teacher.
Since then my career path has definitely changed. I am now in the field of writing. I started off writing for free on various websites. Then I moved to a writing position in which I literally made pennies every day.
From there I got a position writing articles where I was making a few bucks. Then eventually to where I am now, writing web content for law firms and of course, blogging here on Families.
The point I am trying to make is that we have to consider whether we are in a job or in a career. If what you are doing is just a job, what can you do to change it to a career? What position should you seek after?
Even in working from home we can find ourselves stuck in what we might call a “dead end job.” But what is your passion? What do you envision your career to be? Once you determine that, take steps to move toward it. Because the reality is that we are much happier with careers than we are with jobs.
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