If you should ask a typical 10-year old about what he/she wants to be when he/she grows up, he/she will name at least one of the following professions:- doctor, lawyer, scientist, business person, engineer, police, fireman, computer programmer.
As this pre-teen grows however, and depending on his/her:
a) Level of exposure to people in these professions
b) Level of exposure to people in other professions
c) Family's ability to finance a college education,
his/her choice of career, will change.
As students go through high school, many just want to pursue a career where there's a big pay-day at the end of the week, or month.
What they neglect to do, is to ask people in these professions, what a typical day is like, in order to properly assess, whether or not that they'd like that profession.
With the big pay-day in mind, many are unprepared for the rigours and the taxing nature that some of these professions, have, on their emotions and time.
E.g. doctors work for long, hard hours (and have to face the possible death of some of their patients) and a fireman is constantly exposed to danger and the loss of property and life.
Two very taxing professions on both the mind and body, but two professions that are very much glorified.
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I believe that you are called to do certain things in life (in that God has put that urge in your life to do/accomplish certain things during your lifetime).
I also strongly believe, that your career should reflect your calling.
Let me explain:
A career is described in Farlex's Free dictionary as:
a. A chosen pursuit; a profession or occupation.
b. The general course or progression of one's working life or one's professional achievements.
These definitions demonstrate that a career is more than just going to work. It is something you pursue during your working life, that enables you to succeed at work and in your life outside of work.
While a calling, according to Answers.com, is:
a. An inner urge or a strong impulse, especially one believed to be divinely inspired to accept the Gospels as truth and Jesus as one's personal savior.
b. An occupation, profession, or career.
I'd like to expand on the definition in point, a.,above and further define a calling as a strong inner urge, put in you by God, to do something (useful) with your life. The means your broader life, not just your work life. This definition also means that the useful thing(s) you do with your life, should honour God and help others.
But since your work life takes up 8-10 hours of your 16-hour waking life (most adults are awake for 16 hours, out of a 24-hour day), I strongly feel that it should be aligned to your calling.
Let me explain further by giving two examples:
1. Do you have a special urge (inner drive) to raise funds to help people and have been doing so on a small scale? Then maybe careers that allow you to raise money for worthwhile causes, are the right jobs for you. These can range from non-profit work, to becoming a venture capitalist who raises money for fledgling companies.
2. Do you like solving problems?...then maybe jobs that enable you to make use of these skills, e.g. being a mathematician, auditor, manager, business owner, consultant, researcher, pathologist, are the right jobs for you.
Your personality determines whether or not you'll succeed at your chosen profession, so too, does your educational background, your ability to focus, teamworking skills and willingness to learn.
But you'll succeed even more, if your career is based on what you've been called to do.
Why?
Because your career will be based on things that you like doing, things that give you deep satisfaction and things from which you will feel fulfilled.
Some of you may be wondering, "how do I figure out what I'm called to do?...I have an inner urge/drive to do so many things!!!"
Well, there are assessment tests that you can take, to determine, what best motivates you, and as such, what your ideal profession should be.
A company that really takes the guess-work out of choosing a career, based on your calling, is: AnalyzeMyCareer.com.
I have included their link, below. (Just click on the image.)
AnalyzeMyCareer.com are leaders in aptitude, personality and occupational assessments.
Their tests are constructed by psychologists, who use pyschology, your skills and aptitude, as this basis for making their assessments.
Please sign up to do their tests. (I highly recommend their combo package:"Expert Opinion Gold". It's a more comprehensive package that allows you to get a broader assessment, for less.)
...These tests also save you from months and years of mental wrangling and anguish over whether or not you're in the right career and help you to pinpoint:
a. The careers that you are best-suited for
And/or
b. Whether or not you'd be better at entrepreneurship.
(You can also click on this link to find out more about them: Find your vocation in life at AnalyzeMyCareer.com.)]
NB: These tests will give you a range of professions.
This is good, as they give you great insights into the many careers that you can have, based on your calling...
Please also note that most people will change careers at least five (5) times during their lifetime, so you need to acquire general skills that will allow you to do this seamlessly.
You should also acquire specialist skills, pertinent to your calling-based career, that are in great demand now and will be so, in the next 5-20 years, so that you can stand out from the crowd, when applying for jobs or starting a business, based on these skills.
When you look at your career in this light, you will see the necessity to be constantly upgrading your skills so that you can pursue excellence in your chosen profession and therefore be in demand by corporations and potential customers, globally.
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When you find your calling, it should make you feel like you're fulfilling your God-given purpose, in life.
When your career is aligned to your calling, you should be feeling more fulfilled, each day.
This fulfillment will also come from a career that pays you for your time, expertise and effort. (You must be able to find ways to make money from your career. It may not be millions of dollars, but it should make you comfortable.)
That's why I encourage everyone pursuing degrees, diplomas, and technical certificates, to do a Marketing course as a part of your Programme...you must know how to market yourself, so that your career will be profitable for you.
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So, does your career, reflect your calling?
It should, if you want to be true to the Person who put that inner urge in you in the first-place - God.
It should, if you want to be true to yourself.
What do you think?
(Inset shows picture of a Physical Therapist at work)
Gillian
