Career vs. J.O.B.

[xi_o_teaz]

To clarify my own semantic definitions of Career vs. J.O.B. (Just Over Broke), since it has come up on more than one occasion recently:

I see a Career as a Calling that helps one enact their personal Values while making money doing it. A J.O.B. is something that people do to pay the bills, often resentfully so, precisely because they act against

Comments

[erl_queen]

I firmly believe that having a Career and not a J.O.B. is integral to personal Happiness and fulfillment.

I think there are exceptions to this. For some of us, what we are truly passionate about will never make us money. Yes, there might be some middle ground - I would get more out of working for a non-profit, for instance, than for the real estate industry, even if it wasn't my passion - but then there are other sacrifices involved, like making less money. For me, making really good money doing something not-full-time in a situation where I can mostly be myself, even if the job itself is meaningless to me, is a reasonable compromise and makes me happy. I have the money and time to fund the rest of my life, the stuff I really care about. Sure, if ever I get the chance to work something meaningful AND make this much money or more, I would jump at it, but it may never happen, and that's okay.

All that being said, I get your point. :)

[xi_o_teaz]

I think there are exceptions to this.

I know there are Exceptions to every general Rule ;-)

For some of us, what we are truly passionate about will never make us money.

Perhaps not directly. I'm not holding my breath for making a living off of "Practicing Magick," either ;-) However, I'd wager that there are other things that you are passionate about that you could utilize for what might be a more "fulfilling" Career for you. Of course, "Happiness" and "fulfillment" aren't high Values to some (not necessarily talking about you here), but they are to me, which is why I mentioned it. Some people put those Values below things like "making money" or "having more free time" or "not selling out" or "status" or any number of other things.

For me, making really good money doing something not-full-time in a situation where I can mostly be myself, even if the job itself is meaningless to me, is a reasonable compromise and makes me happy. I have the money and time to fund the rest of my life, the stuff I really care about.So, in a way

[erl_queen]

So, in a way, this fulfills your Values of having more free time and more money than comparable positions.

Good point. Yes, that's basically it. For me right now, making enough money to fund my Real Work and Real Life and having enough time for those things as well are my top priorities when it comes to career, more than Do Something Meaningful. Obviously it would be nice if someday I could have it all, but right now is not the time to be looking for greener pastures when I've already got a good deal!