For years I wondered “What job should I have?” and was often confounded and confused with a direction in my life and career. Friends, family and society all had a certain influence on me and I tried to please everyone and ‘fit in’. But I was so unhappy and just felt utterly confused.
Your social background will have a great influence on which jobs and careers you even consider, and of course you self image, self worth, personality and psychological makeup will also influence your choice of career. In terms of “should have” it really is up to you to decide what you really want your life to be like. We all ‘buy into’ someone else’s take on what we “should” do with our lives to an extent. However, what we actually do will be determined by us – our values, principles and ideas about ourselves and the world.
Do you want a ‘job’?
The question “What job should I have” assumes two important points:
- That you ‘should’ have a job
- That you want a ‘job’
There are many ways to live and work that don’t require having a ‘job’. Most people want a job to get money and to live but there are many ways to get money and live that don’t necessarily mean having a job:
- A job or a career? A career is more vocational – it’s something that drives you and you have a passion for. It has more potential than a ‘job’ which merely implies that you are ‘working for money’ and often for someone else.
- Study/learn a vocation – Training for a job/career you love is much better in the long term than simply getting a job for the sake of the money. There are many opportunities for training and further education which offer grants, bursary’s or loans to enable you to do them.
- Get a job and train for your career part time.
- Start your own business and work for yourself. – Working for yourself is something many people want to do but often never do simply because they are afraid, ill-equipped or uncomfortable. Learn more about building an online business here.
Some people want a ‘job’ to get some money together for something like travelling. If this is the case your choice of job is not all that important because it is short lived. However, if you are looking for direction in life, your choice of job is more important. If you’re not happy in your job you will soon find yourself looking for something else.
What are your values?Â
A good place to start is with values. What are your values? Do you value money over community? Honesty and principles over profit? Family, travel, relationships? Do you want a dream job you love or is a job simply a means to an end and family is the most important thing to you? Do you want to serve your community, leave a legacy, serve humanity as a whole or help the planet? Or is making enough money just a chore which you are happy to get along with.
What is your passion?Â
“Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Doing a job you’re passionate about is so much more rewarding than doing a job you ‘have’ to do. If you dislike your job it can make life very hard. Being passionate about something can help you find a reason to do someone beyond the obvious monetary compensation.
What if money didn’t matter?Â
What job should I have?
Your ideal job will be one which lines up with your core values. Think about what kind of environment your would like to work and with what kind of people. Would your role involve helping others or creating something? How would your ideal job make you feel?
Ask yourself a few serious questions:
- What is my passion?
- What lights me up inside?
- How much would I like to earn?
- Would I like to travel with my job?
- What skills will I need for my job?
- How many hours would I like to work?
- Will I be my own boss?
- What are your hobbies and can you make a job from them?
- How can I best serve others in a way I would enjoy?
The more specific you can be about what you really want the better it is to narrow down to a specific career or line of work.
Build a business you’re passionate about
If you like the idea of working for yourself on your own terms and living a very flexible lifestyle, you can begin to learn how people are already taking advantage of tools, systems and technologies to build a lifestyle around their laptops, which can be operated anywhere globally with an internet connection. This can be done part time or full time from home or anywhere with an internet connection. Learn more here.