A friend of mine has returned once again to a place called “career second-guessing.” He’s an IT guy who’s comfortable but not “happy” with his current employer or work situation. (It’s a decent paying job with little surprises but no room for growth.)
We’ve been bantering via email about what he should do. My last response was something that may be of interest to others, so I’m sharing it below.
“Do what you love” is probably the wrong thing to say. The correct thing to say is “Love what you do.” There are huge differences. Sounds almost the same, and it is — the difference is the chicken and egg.
If you believe, “Do what you love,” you must first figure out what you love — something that’s not easy to do, because we don’t know what we love until we find it. Think about the time before you met your significant other… If you had to describe your perfect mate (physically, mentally, emotionally, etc.), it wouldn’t necessarily describe him or her (at least, not in all ways). It’s no different with work.
Consider how many times we’ve said, “This is my dream job / mate / situation.” How many times has that panned out? Odds are, it flamed out more often than it panned out.
Some people get lucky and love what they do early in their professional career. Sometimes, over time, you fall out of love with what you’re doing. When you’re not loving what you do, it’s time to move on — just like it’s time to move on when you don’t love your mate. You’re fooling yourself otherwise.
I’ve changed jobs more times than most grown men can count (more than a baker’s dozen jobs since college). I average 1 1/2 years between job changes. For a period of time at each new job, I love what I am doing because it’s exciting and new, like a new girlfriend, or a new video game. Then I fall out of love, and I move on.
Your challenge is to find the thing that you’ll love to do, then hope that it’ll continue to keep your interest. If you don’t have it now, it’s time for a new job, where you may find it. If you don’t find it at the next job, then try again. Don’t lock yourself into something you don’t love to do.
Louis says:
This guy sounds familiar! It’s true I have not found what I love to do yet, and this is a bad thing, and the one thing that keeps me from progressing in my career. Sure as a blue collar city worker I maybe would have been happy with 20 years and out, but as a young man who enjoys learning and tinkering with technology IT just seems like a good fit. It’s also a tuff business to be in these days. So like a birthday each year I think about where I am and where I’m heading.
However, having a bunch of GOOD friends lending their advice makes a world of difference. When you receive different POV’s it helps a great deal.