In the coming weeks I will be doing a multi-part series on the topic of Career and Money. I plan on writing this series fairly organically so I don’t have a nice outline to share up front of what I am going to cover or how many articles will be in the series. So, for those Careerplanners out there, sorry to disappoint. However, I plan to approach this series much like I believe the career and money path unfolds throughout our life — there is an intention, plan, and goal, but we never really know how it is going to turn out; even the best laid ideas often take wicked ups, downs, detours, and new destinations. What I can say is that after you read this series you can bank on the fact that you’ll think about your day to day career and money differently. Even if you’re pleased as punch with what you are doing and what you are earning, I would bet my house that you’ll at least look at it from a fresh perspective.

Let’s start at the very beginning… how did we end up where we are today?

I think it all goes back to being a kid and the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. Quite a loaded question for a child, don’t you think? While some folks may have a deep knowing of what they really want to do (you know the person who knew at 4 that they wanted to be a doctor and actually became one and LIKED it), most of us haven’t a clue. We are just kids spitting out some idea of something because of what we’ve seen, heard, or read. I know when I was a kid for a time I wanted to be a veterinarian because I read James Herriot books, then I wanted to be a teacher because my Dad was one, I loved watching “The Human Body” (don’t remember the name of this in-depth look at the human body TV show but I know I watched religiously) on TV so I thought maybe I should be a doctor, and the list goes on and on. I never had any clear idea. And, while I am passionate about my current career path, I certainly don’t expect it’ll look the same in 10 or 15 years. I’m multi-talented and get bored easily.

The next big phase in this whole career idea thing happens as we get a little older and hit the high school years. By now we have some deeply ingrained message like “you need to get really good grades to amount to anything in this life”. Or, “if you get really good grades, go to a good college to get a degree, and do the ‘right thing’ you’ll be a success”. As someone who spent a few decades caught up in this facade, I can only say I wish there were a much more experiential approach to education. I also wish there was a plan to just live life for a few years after high school before having to decide a darn thing.

As if we’re not confused enough with adolescence, changes in our bodies, the various conflicting messages we get from the world around us, and our own approaching adulthood, we’re expected to have some clue of what we want to do with our work lives at the ripe age of 17 or 18. Yeah, right! For me I was busy trying to do the right thing, be rebellious on the side, and be someone I was not (in general and also because I was not out to myself at that point). I was highly intelligent, an over-achiever, had lots of potential but was utterly confused and clueless. I have to believe that most, if not all of us fall into this category. For teens that suddenly discover they are queer there is a whole mountain of added complexity to wrestle with – emotions, homophobia, expectations, and possibilities (both discovered and lost) at this charged time.

With all this going on — how many of you out there can say you chose the perfect college and course of study for what you REALLY want to do (this is assuming that at whatever age you are right now you even KNOW what you REALLY want to do)?

That’s what I thought. Not a huge gathering around the ‘got it perfect the first time’ circle.

From my current vantage point, I can’t say I have all the answers, I don’t ever expect to, nor will I ever pretend to have the right answer for anyone else. What I do know for sure is that there is more to a career than just a job and there is more to finances than just money. I also know there is far more to life than career and money. Yet, it is all interdependent and the career and money cards hold a lot of power in the other areas of our lives.

A Key Distinction

Before I dig deeper into this journey, let’s look at a few key distinctions that will be important as we have this conversation over the weeks.

Job vs. Career

Do you want a job or a career? This is such a fundamental question yet so often we don’t even ask ourselves the question. What’s the difference you say?

As I see it a job is simply a place you go or thing you do in order to bring in money to support your financial needs and desires. It doesn’t turn you on, you don’t bounce out of bed thrilled to be fulfilling a higher purpose, there is no overarching vision to it, you simply exchange an activity/skill for money.

A career on the other hand has much more to it. In the best cases it is a vocation tied to your life’s work. You derive meaning, satisfaction, and fulfillment from being able to work in a profession that has an impact on the world at large in some way. You derive personal growth, challenge, advancement, and purpose from your pursuit. Yes, it also meets the definition of a job since you do trade activity and skills for money, but you have far more of yourself invested in it than just time and money.

Don’t just take my word for it, look at these articles from Employment Times Online and Job Street for some further thoughts on the subject.

So, which do you really want? A career or just a job? Some people find that working a job allows them to pursue other things that mean more to them. It is a means to an end. Other people work ad-hoc for brief bursts of time so they can have extended time off to travel or pursue personal desires. Yet other people let their life revolve around their careers, but they don’t derive meaning or purpose from the endeavor. I’d venture to guess that there are a lot of professionals out there in this category. They are “successful” at least in terms of earnings or rank on the company/professional ladder yet the passion and spark are long gone. For others still, career is a fulfilling and integral part of their life.

What about you? Where do you fall on the job vs. career scale and how happy are you with your current circumstances?

Stay tuned for the next installment which will further help you assess how happy you are right now and how to tell if it is time for a change.

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Paula Gregorowicz is the Comfortable in Your Own Skin(tm) Coach and you can learn more at her website www.thepaulagcompany.com and blog www.coaching4lesbians.com .

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