My daughter is 15 and spent last summer picking berries from 6 a.m. until around noon, then would report to her dishwashing job (which was a five- or six-hour shift) a few nights a week.
At first, she loved it all — the money, getting out of the house, the confidence it gave her. But she quickly fizzled and said to me one day while we were driving, “How do people work all the time? I hate working.”
It was the perfect time to tell her what I’ve learned about jobs, working, and building a career, in my 46 years of being on this Earth.
1. A job and a career can be different things.
A job is a great vehicle to get you from point to point. Say you want a promotion, or you are saving for something. Jobs don’t have to be a lifelong commitments. It’s more than OK to take a job you don’t like (as long as it doesn’t have an effect on your mental or physical health) to earn some money, get to the next step, or dip your toes into something you think you might enjoy.
I took a job right after college that I didn’t love until I could find my dream job. I washed dishes and cleaned classrooms in college so I could have some spending money. I didn’t like those jobs at all, but they were temporary. And when my paycheck came in on Friday afternoon, I felt happy I had money and there was a great sense of accomplishment attached.
It’s OK to do something you don’t love for a spell, especially if it gives you thicker skin. And it really makes you appreciate the right job when it comes along.
2. Think about how you want your life to look, then choose your career based on that.
So many of us think in terms of money or status when it comes to our careers. We believe because we are good at something (even if we don’t like it) that’s our calling.
If you want to work with women and you love skin care, think about becoming an esthetician. If you are more of an introvert and love to read, think about writing or going into publishing. If you love food, go cook for someone and open your own restaurant.
People overestimate their paycheck and underestimate their quality of life when it comes to their jobs.
3. You have to do something you love if you want to be happy.
I believe this with all my soul. I love my full-time writing career and each day I look forward to what I have to do. It’s fulfilling even when it doesn’t come easy. I once had a job making more money than any of my friends, but I was miserable. Everyone I worked with and all my friends and family knew it. It wasn’t until I left I realized how much time I wasted there.
4. Never live above your means.
This is something you will almost always be able to control. This allows you to have a nest egg and gives you options. If you are in an unhappy position and you need to leave, or you lose your job, you will have a huge peace of mind knowing you have a cushion.
5. It is OK to change your mind. It is OK to change your career.
Just because you go to school for something, have been at a job for 20 years, or feel like you won’t be good at what you really want to do, you have to believe in yourself. You are allowed to change careers and start something new whenever you want to. If it doesn’t work out, so what? It already isn’t going to work if you don’t try. The time will pass anyway. You might as well go for it.
6. You can do anything you want.
When I quit one of my jobs and wanted to start a home-staging business in the late '90s, everyone told me it was a dumb idea, no one would ever pay me to do it, and that I wasn’t very smart to give up my job with benefits.
I listened to them and now home staging is a booming business. Do not listen to what other people tell you about your career choice; they are not you, and they do not have to live your life. You do.
I hope my daughter takes this advice to heart and doesn’t learn the hard way like I did.
