What’s Your Dream Job? Thoughts On Making A Career Change

How does one’s career begin? Some people have their whole careers planned from the time they are early teens, and stick with the same career until they retire. Some hop from job to job and never really get a proper career going at any point. But more people start a career straight out of school, work at it for ten or twenty years and then by midlife, decide to have a complete change of scene.

So is it ever too late to be pursuing your dream job? Is it a smart idea to be switching careers at some point to go for what you really want? Furthermore, what causes the decision to pursue a particular career in the first place?

What is driving your career decisions?

Common Reasons For Choosing A Particular Career or Job

There are many reasons why people end up on a particular career path. Here are some common ones:

1. You may feel some pressure from loved ones or family members who want to see you find success in a given field. Many parents influence the choices made by their children. Some parents merely make suggestions while others are much more insistent. A lot of this would depend on family, cultural and societal dynamics as it pertains to you.

2. There are financial reasons that steer people to make a practical decision and opt for a job or career that pays something (anything!), rather than one that they’d consider their dream position.

3. You may feel that your job options are limited, so you’re taking the path of least resistance. A lot of people grow up in more isolated areas or smaller towns where job opportunities are limited or where one company or industry monopolizes the human resources in the region. Or perhaps you may feel that you don’t have the kind of education that can afford you more options. If you’re in this predicament, you can always move to a different city where your skills could be more in demand, but not everyone is inclined to leave familiar territory.

4. Some folks are actually lucky enough to find the job of their dreams. You could be at the right place at the right time with the right background, experience, talents and skills. If so, then we’d love to hear more about it (see comments 🙂 ).

For those who are still mulling over the possibility of making a job or career switch, there may come a time when you’ve built up the confidence or the resolve to make that shift. If you are seriously considering making a change this big in your life, you need to give it serious thought before making any move at all. Ideally, you should know why you’re thinking of doing this in the same way that you’re thinking about and mapping out your future.

What Kind Of Change Do You Seek?

There are a few ways you can arrive at this kind of fork in the road.

• You might have grown to dislike the job or situation that you’re in and you may just be looking for an “escape”. For instance, it might be that you have reached the end of the line at your current job. You might be going through the motions and feeling unchallenged by it. But this doesn’t mean you are disillusioned with your entire career. There could be another position that would be more fulfilling for you, but would still allow you to remain in your current field. Consider this idea before you jump ship into a totally different career too soon; after all, you’ve invested some time and effort going down this path for a while.
• Or you may come across a particular job that is in line with your skills and abilities. Perhaps you’ve found something better which appeals to you more. This may be the break you’ve been waiting for. Some people have such dreams prodding at them regularly throughout their lives, before they finally follow their heart (or their calling) and choose the career they should have chosen in the beginning.

Take note though, that sometimes, it isn’t a career change you want — it’s a JOB change. In other instances, it is a full career change that’s in the cards, owing to you being in the wrong career right now. In truth, you probably know that the answer is within you. Should you change directions entirely? Only you can find the answer. It all depends on your own situation.

But one rule applies across the board if you are wondering about making such a major change halfway through your working life. Don’t make any rash decisions — make sure you think about your situation and take time to ensure that you know where to go next. You’ll be facing a lot of tradeoffs and questions (while in some cases, the answers are more obvious), but if you focus on your own needs and life, and listen (but not necessarily give in) to what your loved ones are telling you, then you will be far more likely to know what the right decision will be.

Is This The Perfect Career Or What? One Lucky Guy’s Dream Job

It is heartening to know that there’s a lot out there that’s available to any job seeker. Think of a “need” and chances are, someone’s already invented a job to fill that need and address that demand. Take for instance this rather strange position that has originated from one of the most successful companies in the U.S. For those who want to be employed at a stable, high-paying job, then the following profile could very well be one of the best jobs in the world — especially if you are a creative type.

This job is one that inspires us all — even our kids.

It’s a job that allows you to be inventive, expressive, FUN, and continually creative.

It’s a job that rewards handsomely and has returned many millions, especially to its employees. It’s also a job that helps you remain fairly anonymous — well, except for the occasional media writeup.

This job is done by a “Google Doodler” (the fellow featured above is Dennis Hwang, known as Google’s official web artist and stylist). He’s maintained Google’s pages with the help of a team, and has been responsible for the ever famous Google doodles. Who knew that conceptualizing doodles would pay?

So what’s your dream job? Care to see if it’s as dreamy as the ones on this list?

Created June 29, 2007. Updated March 26, 2012. Copyright © 2012 The Digerati Life. All Rights Reserved.