3 Steps to a Fulfilling Career
Many people do jobs, not to be happy primarily, but to; put food on the table, have clothes to wear, pay the bills etc. which, for the most part, are wrong reasons but a necessary evil.
A job is what you do to get paid, not essentially what you do to be happy, but more about financial security. A career on the other hand is any chosen pursuit involving your interests, knowledge and skills; which may either involve different unrelated jobs in the same field or similar jobs in different fields. A career is a lifetime journey for creating and making good use of your skills, knowledge and experience, integrated into all the activities, events and relationships in your life.
So is it possible to have a career you find fulfilling and still earn a good pay? Be able to feed your kids fat, travel around the world at the snap of your fingers or basically enjoy life as far as your imagination takes you? Yes I’d say.
Research has it that the average worker will switch career 6-10 times in his lifetime. Not jobs, careers. That’s approximately 40 jobs in a lifetime. I believe it’s a slight exaggeration but it’s nothing out of this world. We are humans with insatiable needs and we would go any length to find a more satisfying life as long as we still have options.
A fulfilling career doesn’t happen by wishful thinking and it is usually different from the baby dreams and aspirations you had while you were much younger. In my adolescent years, I thought myself as an aspiring astronaut, I’m far from that now even though I space travel on web pages as a writer. My point is, your definition of a fulfilling career determines how far you’ll go in your career endeavour.
here are some of my thoughts on steps to defining a career path:
- Outline your interests and skills: It’s a clichéd tip but very true. You can’t have a fulfilling career doing something you don’t love. Why else would a top executive in a large corporation quit his job to take a teaching job? It’s nothing more than where his passion lies. Ask people you interact with on a daily basis; family, friends, colleagues, schoolmates, to give you clues on the kinds of job roles or careers you fit into and the ones that’ll fit you as well (they are two different things). This’ll give you an ideal picture of the different work environments you can fit into and also serve as a guide to preparing you towards a career in those different aspects.
- Do a thorough research: You can’t get a fulfilling job without possessing the requisite skills for the job. With a list of your interests and skills, find out what roles or job positions require those skills and do a checklist on the skills you already possess. An adequate research gives you a Google – Earth view of your preferred career choice, it zooms in on what employers expect candidates with your skill sets to deliver and helps you wrap your mind around the skills you need to acquire for jobs of your interest. Use this chart as a start point.
- Be Real: You can’t have it all but you can have it well enough. Don’t get caught up in the world of a perfectionist; give a specific, realistic definition of what an ideal career would be for you. This is what guides your job search and defines your level of job satisfaction. Avoid making lofty decisions on the kinds of jobs you deserve. Do not try to force fit all your skills into a job. Rather than list out specific jobs to match your skills and interests, identify a range of unrelated jobs to allow you explore those skills and also help you discover how you adapt in different work situations.
Finding a career that’s truly satisfying is not a smooth ride and it varies with individuals. Some get there fast while others take longer. Dare to take risks (calculated ones), It’s alright to play safe by treading carefully but you may never know how gratifying or rewarding an adventurous career pursuit might be.
There are no fixed rules to marking out a fulfilling career, it all starts and ends with you but you’ve got to have what it takes.
In an ideal world, what kind of job would you do, how do you plan to get there?
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This is a very interesting article. Please keep it up. I hope I can get informative write ups like this from you.
What happens to those without skills?
@ Iseghohi let them do volunteer service in area of their interest though it takes a cost from them but the gain far much outweigh the sacrifice. one of my colleagues did it, He paid transport fare far above the wage but now reaping the profit withing six months.
Waoh! You‘ve definitely impacted someone‘s life with this lovely write-up of yours. Ride on, more greeze to your elbow.
I’m a civil servant with a good degree but i want to go for lecturing in d varsity.How do i achieve it?
Hi Yusuf,
You can start a career in Education as a Lecturer but you must have a degree in Education to Lecture in any tertiary institution. You could earn a Postgraduate diploma in Education since you already have a first degree in a different field.
that’s great writer, i really wish to have a career in my field of study as an accountant, nothing in the world i so cherish other than to be just an accountant. thanks
When you have or focus on a career path rather than any type of job, you get more fulfilment out of life because you are doing what is in line with your inherent talents or God-given gifts!
But the truth is that you may not earn as much as your contemporaries do but have I not always said it to my friends before that money is not what determines the extent of our satisfaction and happiness in life?
If after choosing a career that you have flair for, at the end of the day you need to start from some b4 you can outrightly establish on your own.
Then you go looking for job, but the things you see out there are not in any way encouraging,
Eventually you just started working somewhere just to put something on your table, but deep down within you, you are not happy doing the job, what can you advice such a person?cos I found myself in that position 4 now.
I will not 4get to say thanks 4 the advice.
Hi Grace,
Nothing is more fulfilling than doing something you love but like you rightly said, you have to start somewhere. you don’t get perfect in one day and there’s a learning process for everything. You may not like your present situation but what’s more important is if you are learning anything new there. If you still learn new things, then it’s alright to bear under the present pains but if it doesn’t connect with your career dream then move on to the next big thing in your mind. Resist the fear to take risk, start something on your own if you can, don’t let present problems kill your big dream. I hope this helps.
I have gained a lot from this write up thanks and keep it up.
Waooo,i ve got a alot of lesson from this write up.thnx
Thanks for this insightful piece.I will pursue aquiring a skill set for my career path however difficult it seems.
Self improvemt is one key to havin a succesfl career. If u keep learnin new methods u wil remain relevant in ur chosen career
Interesting and motivating write up. thanks
I strongly believe in that write up and i am ready to make good use of it and moreso impact the knowledge in to friends and family
Its only the right thing to do.
Taking charge of your life and getting the freedom of owning your small busineess is the key!
So if you are working presently, keep saving to further your life career in the future.
I’m touched. I really need to think about myself once more. Thanks for this write up
I LOVE THIS.IT’S REALLY GREAT.