Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Quiz of the Day: Job or Career or Both?

If it's Friday, it must be payday!

Is that you? Does your job consist of 40 hours and a paycheck? Or do you think of the time you spend devoted to employment as a step in your career and your wages as a welcome benefit? Does it have anything to do with loving what you do?

In other words, do you have a JOB or a CAREER? Is there a difference?

Photo Credit - o5com (Flickr)
Pathways to new employment
Right now, I don't have either. But when I was employed, I never thought I had a career. My jobs have always been administrative. You know, office type work. But there was no real continuity. I didn't really stay in the same field. I did have 2 jobs working in the legal ring. One was in a small private partnership that covered everything from divorce to buying a home. The other was with a national retail outfit working for corporate attorneys on all kinds of things like building stores, customer privacy, and trademarks.

But at each job I've had, I played a different role. Wore a different hat. Each employer ran in a different circle. No two were alike.

I do think there's a difference between a job and a career. I look at my employment history as a series of jobs I've held. Not a cohesive career.

It really hit home when I started looking for  a new job. I don't even know where to begin or where I should go next. If I had a career, say as an educator or a police officer, it'd be easy. I'd type "teacher" or "cop" in the advanced search boxes and hit the enter button to see what's out there on the job sites. But since I don't know what I am, I don't know what to search for. Very frustrating. And eye-opening at the same time.

At my age, it's too late for a career. My options are limited so I'm doing a lot of soul searching. I'm replaying my past job responsibilities over in my mind to figure out where I was happiest. What "hat" did I love the most and would want to revisit? I think once I figure that out, I'll know where I belong.

How about you? Job or Career? Same? Different? Does it matter? Did you set out to have a career and have you succeeded? Or is your work history similar to mine?

Again....does it matter?


3 comments:

  1. i have both, a job and career... I went to college for graphic design, but never worked in the field. While I was going to school I worked at a vets office and I have been doing it ever since! I wish the pay was better, as we all do, but we do this for the love of animals...

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  2. I sure you guessed it was me, I think I have updated my google account, so it should post stuff from me... lol.. keep writing! you have real talent!!

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  3. Thanks for the feedback, Lisa, and the compliment. I will be working real hard at this writing thing. Practice makes perfect (or so they say)!

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