A Message to Those Confused About Career Direction (Part Deux)
Last week I wrote an essay about career confusion, the key point being that it’s normal to not know what you want from work.
Reader Dyane responded with a telling comment:
I have found that what makes it hard to explore whatever’s-currently-in-the-headlights is others telling me there’s something Big and Final out there that I will love alone, a sort of one-and-only work, even if unpaid. That makes me interpret normal difficulties as some indication that this isn’t IT.
She went on to add that:
… nothing is so perfect that it’s all I want to do, and when I’m having a hard time deciding it’s probably because the various options are equivalent, flawed but…just fine.
Dyane’s second point — nothing is so perfect that it’s all I want to do [emphasis mine] — brought to mind a book I bought a couple of years ago called One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success by Marci Alboher.
In her book, Alboher coined the term “slash career”: The notion that some people will be happier pursuing more than a single occupation.
It’s not merely that doing the same thing for six or eight or ten hours a day drives such people crazy. It’s that they have other, different skill sets, interests, and aspirations crying out for expression. That’s something few single-job careers can accommodate.
For those seeking more soul-satisfying work, Alboher recommends pursuing/creating multiple avocations. Thus the lawyer/farmer and the chef/musician/teacher.
Her examples of the “new model for work/life success” draw repeatedly from what seems to be a quite small circle of friends and acquaintances, most of whom are annoyingly accomplished and enjoy multiple Fabulous Careers. Still, the basic idea makes sense.
Now, you may well be thinking, “that’s all fine and good for a bunch of well-placed New York yuppies, but the rest of us have to put in eight-hour days to pull down decent coin.”
Point taken. The slash career approach is probably best for those who, in order to gain more fulfillment from work, are willing to earn less.
Still, for those who (naturally enough) remain confused about career direction, it’s worth considering that we all play multiple roles in family life: spouse/parent/sibling/child/breadwinner/dependent. Why not at work, too?
You may also enjoy:
“Are You an Amateur? Why Not?”
7 Comments to A Message to Those Confused About Career Direction (Part Deux)
This is very timely for me. For the last two years, I’ve been time-shifting at my day job (in IT for the last 18 years) so I could teach a class at the local college. Immensely satisfying. I felt that each job allowed me to exercise skills that contributed to performance at the other job. My new manager has decided that this isn’t a good idea (some noise about being defocused). Never mind a two year track record. No more teaching for now.
My point: as with all of these “new” ways of working (telecommuting, job sharing, time-shifting, etc..), the manager(s) for whom you work must agree. Sadly, this isn’t always (or even often?) the case.
Greg
Good point, Greg. I think the slash career notion implicitly assumes that one is already self-employed, or so in-demand that one can start treating one’s employer as a client.
Your boss isn’t yet enlightened enough to understand that he (she? Naw, probably a he) would have a happier, more motivated employee if he let you teach. Maybe it’s time to start considering him a client rather than an employer.
This post has some specific suggestions along those lines:
http://www.soulshelter.com/2008/06/18/how-to-go-solo-without-a-big-idea/
Hang in there. You are a teacher!
I am of of those “bosses” – I have about 75 people around the world who work for me in high-tech. It’s very demanding and sometimes (often) time-consuming.
That being said, I really encourage my people to have significant outside interests that could possibly turn into careers. My motivation is two-fold:
- People are worth more that just what they provide you with each day (I do not subscribe to the Darwinian view of man, where they can be thought of as tools and materials) – they have souls.
- They bring more to the job and the whole experience by having other things they pursue.
I maintain this “moral contract” with them: I am interested their success, whatever path that may take them down. While we are on the path together, I expect that they bring their energy and focus, and I offer challenge and flexibility. We both take away a lot more under these circumstances.
At the end of the day, employers have to grapple with a fundamental question: Do people matter? Is there an obligation beyond what they are doing for me right now?
Hi Tim,
British author, Ian Sanders has a book called “Juggle: Rethink work. Reclaim your Life!” with a similar theme.
We all have multiple interests and trying to limit ourselves to one and only one pursuit is bound to leave us wanting. Also, several different income earning areas diversifies risk.
We have to be careful to not spread ourselves too thin, we can’t be good at everything. However, a little diversity can make life much more interesting.
Many people have bought into the idea that there is one single passion that is going to keep them excited and happy for the rest of their careers. I believe that to be a myth. Everything has boring and tedious parts. Chasing the elusive perfect occupation will just leave you in career purgatory. Sometimes you just have to roll up your sleeves and do the work. If that doesn’t work, than diversify.
@TFF: Your comment reminds me how challenging, and rewarding, it must be to work as a professional manager. Sounds like at different times you have to serve as confidant and career counselor as well as work coach. And it sounds like your answer to the final question you pose is a soul affirming “yes.”
@John: Thanks for the book tip. I love your post on “The Enemy of Achievement: AND” — I’m working steadily toward the day, coming soon, when I can cut a whole lot of ANDs out of my life!
I enjoyed reading this post. I wasn’t aware of Marci’s book on Slash/Careers so will check that out. Thanks for the mention of my book John; yes, my book ‘Juggle! Rethink Work, Reclaim Your Life’ covers very similar ground. ‘Juggle!’ encourages the notion of plurality in our work lives – that we can carve out roles that reflect our multi-dimensional talents and desires, going beyond a single, fixed, job title. It’s the story of my own professional life ‘mixing things up’ and never having a simple answer to that dinner party question ‘What do you do?’!
will keep my eyes on Soul Shelter….
[...] voorbeelden die ze aandraagt zijn van mensen die al goed op weg waren met hun (eerste) carrière en begonnen aan een tweede toen er een moment was waarop het wat [...]