Career Choice

For most of us, making a career choice is one of the most profound yet difficult decisions that we experience in life.

First off, it’s a decision that the majority of us first need to make early on in our lives when we are still in – or just out of – school.

At that stage we are still on a steep learning curve when it comes to life and what it has to offer us, not to mention the fact that we have, as yet, no experience with which to gauge different careers for how they may suit our personality styles and ambitions.

And then, of course, there is the pressing issue of how we are going to make enough money to cope with the demands of further studies – and life in general – in the twenty-first century, a concern that can seriously cloud, or at least influence, our judgement when it comes to choosing the career that is best for us.

Advice from the more traditional ‘old school’ thinkers would be to bust a gut to get into the highest paying line of work and join the best company you can, then knuckle down, work really hard and save for your golden years when you can hopefully take it easy and enjoy the fruits of your long labour.

More progressive and contemporary advice might be to follow your passion. Choose to do what it is you love before you worry about how much it pays. If you love what you do, you’ll be happy and the money will take care of itself.

So, who to believe?
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Career choice (continued)

 

Trying both routes

As I look back on my own career, I’m happy to say I (somewhat unwittingly) tried both routes. I’m not convinced that the answer is completely clear cut but I hope that my experience might offer some value when it comes to the debate.

My parents, who were of modest means, bust a gut to put me through a university education, bless them both!

Dubious rationale

I chose to study civil engineering and, as I look back now my rationale as a young school leaver was primarily based on the uneducated advice of my greenhorn peers rather than anything I knew or my knowledge of what I felt passionate about.

I was a full two years into my degree when I started to realise that engineering was not my true passion or ‘calling’ … but the thought of giving up and the disappointment that would cause my hard pressed parents made me resolve to carry on and get through it.

Building stuff

After qualifying, I went to work for a major construction company. Life was tough – we started each morning at 7am and felt fortunate if we were able to knock off by 6pm. But the work was fulfilling – we were building stuff! Each day and each week things looked different on the site. There was real change, growth and development. And I felt proud knowing that I was partly responsible for that.

Heart before head

After six years, though, my heart started to get the better of my – by then, decidedly left-brain – head!

Desperate for a career that would bring me a great deal more interaction with people (said with great respect to all those hard working labourers and foremen that I had been working with) yet still determined to heed the advice to seek out a high paying career, I chose to study full time towards an MBA.

That was one very tough yet exhilarating year. I racked up a serious student loan, which just underlined the need to get a good job, but the degree opened doors that had previously been slammed shut.

Working with people

The job, when it did come, was a good one with a giant multinational company and, to my joy, the first non-engineering job I landed was in regional sales, quickly followed by a more senior job in the head office marketing department. I just loved the stimulation of working primarily with people rather than inanimate objects!

I had propelled myself into a good career in a company with excellent benefits. I had taken the old school advice and it was working for me … or was it?

Selling your soul

Whichever way you look and it – and no matter how honourable the company that you join (I believe my employer was amongst the best) corporate life still involves selling a part (in my case a pretty large part) of your soul.

You have to be prepared to forego a lot of what you truly want from life for what the company wants from you – and that is generally more true the higher up in the food chain you find yourself.

Chasing ‘success’?

Having ambition in the corporate world involves measuring your ‘success’ by how many rungs you are able to climb on the corporate ladder and the size of your pay check and bonuses. So you have to confront a very definite ‘catch 22’ when it comes to a corporate career.

The more ‘successful’ you are (read: the more senior your position) the more your desired personal life is stripped away from you!

Acting on my inner voice

I was to reach a relatively advanced age before I really started to listen to and act on my inner voice.

At some point I gave up the push for promotion (and pursuing those jobs that I thought would get me there) in favour of going after a job that I just knew I would love.

My world changes

I got it … and suddenly my world changed.

I started to relax, knowing that I had made the choice to do what I really wanted to do over doing what I thought I should do. Being passionate about my new job meant I was good at what I did. I no longer had to struggle with my confidence in a high profile job that I was simply trying to get by in.

And, with me finally responding to my inner voice, my world changed again and I found myself confronted with the opportunity to leave corporate life and start my own business.

My ego meets my inner voice

The prospect of imminent and substantial change (I had been in employment at that stage for twenty-seven years) brought on emotions of fear, uncertainty and even resentment until my inner voice instructed me to stop rejecting the chance that life was offering me and rather embrace it and look forward to the ride.

Never in my wildest dreams, up until that point, would I have imagined running my own life coach training company. Heck, I didn’t even know what life coaching was, back then!

Mysterious and beautiful ways

But life works in mysterious and beautiful ways. When you have a passion and you show an authentic willingness to commit to following it no matter what, surprising opportunities open up.

And the joy of working in a ‘job’ (I put this in inverted commas for good reason) that you just love, brings so many other benefits that money no longer becomes and end in itself but rather an outcome of the love and energy that you offer up to your passion.

Do I still miss the grand corporate perks and big bonuses?

Hell yes.

Do I miss anything else?

No.

Would I change back?

No.

My take on the debate

I guess my little story (I hope you’re still reading after that) goes to prove that there is value in both the old school advice and the more progressive thinking around choosing a career.

Choosing work that you really love in a field that you are passionate about is, in my opinion, definitely the way to go if you desire a more fulfilling, meaningful and inspiring life.

But experiencing the ‘old school’ way of life first can make following your passion at a later stage even sweeter and more meaningful.

Never too late for change

It is really never too late to change. You just need to have the inner strength and courage to make the change when the time is right. Keep listening to your inner voice!

Today I feel really privileged to be immersed in a business that involves helping people to start new careers in an industry that is all about helping others to experience greater personal freedom, confidence and growth.

That’s something I’m passionate about, something special 🙂

 

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