Whenever I talk to my mom about my job (in the simplest terms possible), she inevitably sighs and says: I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’m glad you’re happy. I could never do and understand what you do on a daily basis.
It made me realize that I really do love my job.
Sometimes the work is frustrating, the clients are difficult or the pressure is heavy at certain points… but the only stress I’ve ever really experienced on the job, was when I worked for someone else.
Working for myself really opened up a world of possibilities. I now don’t have to answer to a stressed out manager who is under pressure from his boss, and even though I have to learn all the functions and roles that go into running a business (such as taxes), I couldn’t be happier.
However, I realize that my job description as well as the fact that I am a freelancer, is not everyone’s cup of tea.
So how do you figure out what you want to do?
I (luckily), fell into it by chance, but I did spend a good part of my formative years starting in high school, trying to figure out what I wanted to do as a career.
Top 5 Ways To Finding your Dream Job
1. Find out all the BAD things about the job
You already know the good — you’ve seen the rosy descriptions!
But are there long hours? What is the work like? What are the lowest points of the job? Is it risky or dangerous?
If you think you can stomach & deal with all the downsides to the job, then you are mentally prepped for what is about to come your way.
I have a doctor friend who was mentally prepared for the long, strange shift hours of working at a hospital ever since he decided he wanted to become a doctor in high school. He was told about the super long hours, the change from night shifts to day with a blink of an eye, and watched a bit of Grey’s Anatomy to get a feel for the hours he’d be putting in.
As a result, he pre-adjusted his thinking to accept these kinds of “down” moments on the job, and felt like the good parts outweighed the bad.
I have another doctor friend who didn’t mentally prepare herself, and after getting the degree and going into her internship, she calls me on occasion to vent her frustration, and constantly repeat her love for wanting to travel the world instead, and just be anywhere but at her job.
The best way to figure out the bad points are to ask someone who is already in the profession over a cup of coffee and/or ask to shadow them.
Keep in mind that they may love their jobs, and over coffee, may gloss over the bad parts because they can handle it — you, however, may not feel the same way, so I highly recommend shadowing them.
2. Don’t do it for the money
People get lured into jobs (such as law or medicine) because of the high salaries and possible early retirement.
What they fail to discover until it’s too late, is that money really isn’t everything. There are options however such as UCLA careers that offer both job satisfaction, great pay and its UCLA health benefits.
I’ve heard from friends that law is pretty boring, nothing at all like Law & Order or Damages, as seen on TV.
It’s a lot of paperwork, it’s analytical, long hours and not what people expected it to be.
You may just end up getting mad at everything and hanging it all up to be a mentally-balanced, fulfilled barista at Starbucks.
3. Don’t be afraid to change
Even if you’ve already committed and you are 5 years into your career: don’t be afraid of changing or exploring other careers mid-career.
You do NOT want to be entering your golden years of retirement, only to say: I feel like I’ve wasted my life and my career, I should have gone into _____________ instead.
It is never too late. My mom is the best example of this, being a career changer when she was in her 40s. She went back to school, got her honours degree and is now doing what she loves.
40 years (50 weeks in a year) x 40 hours a week = 80,000 hours
Do you really want to spend 80,000 hours doing something you hate?
To put it into another perspective, if you assume 16 waking hours in a day, and you work for 8 of them, do you really want to spend
16 waking hours x 7 days = 112 hours in a week
8 working hours x 5 days = 40 hours in a week
40 working hours / 112 available hours = 36% of your week
Do you want to spend a third of your week in a job that makes you unhappy?
That’s not even including overtime.
4. Check out Best & Worst Job Lists
If you are stuck as to where to begin, get a clue.
Just to get an idea of what jobs are available, look at what people consider to be bad and good jobs.
Jobs Rated 2010: A ranking of 200 jobs from Best to Worst, and their list of 10 best jobs of 2010.
Maybe reading a job description will hit your brain like a thunderbolt and make you think: That’s what I want to do!
Knowing what you don’t want, is half the battle.
5. Don’t rule out “blue collar” jobs
Jobs that deal with very mundane things like plumbing, selling car parts, or anything that isn’t sitting in a cubicle pushing keys, can be goldmines.
If you love working with cars as a hobby, consider building on that. Keep your eyes open and see where you could make money or profit off it.
It may not be sexy, but it could make you happy and earn you a good bit of money to boot.
BF knew a guy who was supposedly mentally retarded. The guy loved to work with cars, and ended up opening his own mechanic shop after he saved his cash from being a mechanic for a while.
Years later when they met up, the guy nonchalantly said he was doing okay, and owned a couple of garages now.
At the age of 35, he “retired”, and hired mechanics to work in his shops for him, and working on occasion. He now does whatever he wants.
So if you want to work outdoors, look at being a lumberjack, ranger… whatever floats your boat!
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
It is ironic that I am, at 40, contemplating going to school for something that I wanted to be when I was 18. There are many nay-sayers, then and now, and the future of librarians and libraries is not certain. But, that is what I wanted to do then. I love books, and reading. I check out about 4+ books a week. My Mom keeps saying that I shouldn’t bother because Libraries will no longer exist in 5 years, and it is so competitive. Any advice???
Awesome advice. Am in the process of discovering what I want to do next. Sometimes it is hard-as-hell and I feel like I am failing miserably… but I am sure there is light at the end of the tunnel!
I paid my dues and spent enough time working as a receptionist — it was part of the price I paid for moving around the country so indiscriminantly. But when the time came to find a career I was at a loss — I knew it would take months if not an entire year to find the job I was looking for (especially since I was unsure that it actually existed).
I got SO LUCKY. It just so happened that my partner and I decided to move across the country and return to our hometown. For two months we lived with my dad and ‘finding a job’ was my full-time job. Thanks to some really fortunate foresight, I had an arsenal of social media weapons to back me up in my job search and found my dream job within two months.
I can say with total honesty that had we not made the very difficult decision to move across the country, forcing me into unemployment, I never would have left the life-sucking job I had for anything better, and I would have remained light-years away from the happiness I have now.
I really think its important to find a job you love or at least like. I used to be on the camp of “its called work, not fun” but I’ve changed my mind. I understand that even good jobs are work and need to be taken seriously but at the same time you shouldn’t go to work and dread your job.
A lot of people go to college and major in subjects they don’t care for and then later on they go back for second degrees because they hate their careers. Part of the problem is with *some* parents pushing their kids into subjects they don’t like. Although I don’t get people who go into careers just because of what they see on tv.
I think shows like SATC and other women-friendly shows, tend to show advertisers, makeup directors and artists as being more glamourous and well-paid than they really are.
I think finding what you love is a hard thing to do. There’s so much out there, how do you choose?
The only way is to try, experiment and narrow down what you don’t want to do.
I'd recommend asking a friend who knows you really well what they think you'd be good at. You may be surprised at their insight! It took my best mate saying, almost flippently, 'Why don't you try web design?' before the light bulb came on.
A few courses and 2 and a half years later, I'm about to start work as a trainee web developer! (And since the job market has been awful recent, I count myself extremely lucky!)
I'm hoping that working in an IT field is going to be all that I hope – I've desperately wanted to work where there'll always be something new to learn, and since IT is forever changing, newer programs, different trends and such to consider and learn, hopefully I won't lack for new challenges! I have had a few jobs where I've learnt everything there was to know and got stuck – no career progression, no scope for more responsibilities or training – I kept getting stuck in a rut and becoming bored and frustrated.
So I'm looking forward to my new job. Taking a pay cut too but that'll increase with time and if I'm happy, then what does it really matter if I'm not earning that much?
I agree! IT always improves and changes, but while that\’s the fun of it, you have to be aware of how difficult it is to keep up with it.
I\’m good with a pay cut and more time because I won\’t need a lot of money.
I don't really know if I will ever find a job that I love.It sounds too good to be true. Most jobs that I've had, I've actually hated. I don't know, I've been trying to get used to the fact that only lucky people find jobs they love and maybe I will never be one of them?! Hate to be such a downer, but its just hard to believe that work can be enjoyable. I've never liked it, I like the money though. lol.
Your post has helped me decide I’m going back to school to study what I want, not Business which is what I wanted to study because it applies everywhere. Now the problem is deciding if I’m more interested in Fashion Merchandising or Psychology or what…
Can you take sample courses in each and see how it goes?
Both sound interesting, but what are your long-term career aspects and how easy would it be to enter the fields in both?
Great post!! Except that you use the word "mentally retarded" Call me overly politically correct and Canadian (lol), but I think it is mentally disabled.. =( I think Jennifer Aniston got reamed on TV because she used that "R" word recently.
I think that even doctors should learn to like their jobs.. I think if you like your job, you'll show it. There are so many doctors who are just in it for the money, who have terrible bedside manner (in which my BF experienced today talking to his endocrinologist…he's wanting to switch specialists because of this guy!), or who don't give a dam* about their patients.
I agree 100% about the shadowing bit, too. =)
At the same time, I think that having a side thing going on, be it a side gig, blogging, etc. can be a great way to keep things spicy at work. Call it work infidelity, I guess! =)
1. Be realistic about the "grunt" work you'll have to do to *get* to your dream position. You're going to have to put in your time as an Editorial Assistant and do a lot of fact-checking, running errands, etc. before becoming an Editor, and you're going to have to be willing to do these seemingly mundane, tedious tasks with a good attitude if you want to get to an Editor position.
2. Though every industry has its good and bad companies, certain industries are going to lead to certain corporate cultures. Hate being around Alpha Males? Sure, there are exceptions, but in general, even if you like the actual work, you're going to have a hard time finding a corporate culture that makes you happy in investment banking.
3. I hate to be a downer, and this seems against the whole idea of chasing your dream, but…Be *Somewhat* Realistic. Take risks and chase dreams, but don't be shocked if you just can't be a professional basketball player.
Great points. I agree the most with #3 — be somewhat realistic.
Also, if you can\’t hack it as a doctor, don\’t force it after failing the entrance exam 2, 3 times. Perhaps it wasn\’t meant to be. So.. I guess, be flexible!
Great timing for this article. I am a SAP Consultant and totally hate my job. But I 32 I feel like it's too late to go back to school. Your mom's story is very inspiring. Maybe you should write an article on her experience…
If you hate your job, you should think of a way to transition into something else related to your job skills & duties, without actually doing your job?
32 is YOUNG!!!
You are only 32?
I know a number of people who decided that they wanted to become Architects and then started the program at 35+ You are never too old to start doing something that you enjoy.
Money money money, I know so many people who are pissed all the time but say that they couldn't change because the money is so good. When I have moved in the past, the money was one of the lower factors, however I didn't move up in pay scale each time.
If you are going to hate the job, people or place, no amount of money is going to make that better in your everyday life.
One friend pines to move back to NS, but says she would have to take a $5k+ pay cut to do that, and that is just too much money. However I don't think that she has any redeeming qualities in the job she is. The only thing the area has going for it is the mountains, and that she can only enjoy on the weekends.
Hey, I hear you.
If money is such a big deal, then I\’d challenge them to cut back on expenses so it becomes less of a \”deal\”.
The points you make are really on-target. When I was younger I entered into a corporate job, even though I never wanted to work in corporate, because of the lure of the salary. I quit less than one-year into it because I knew it wasn't what I wanted; I just couldn't stand the cubicle life and the corporate politics. Instead, I took the path less traveled: helped my husband start a business. I also teach on the side (teaching isn't for everyone – you really must love it-, but the time off and the hours easily accommodate side businesses and hobbies.)