I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching about my career, lately.
And as a result, I’ve been a crazy mess full of anxiety!
But before I get into that, let me just make sure everyone understands something…
My life isn’t terrible! I really don’t don’t have much to complain about, at all.
I have an amazing fiance, we’re getting married in November, and our new house is supposed to be ready by then too.
So no, definitely not a terrible life.
But I’m 24 years old and I feel stuck.
Stuck in my career.
Stuck in a career that I’m not really passionate about.
Again…disclaimer here…I am SUPER THANKFUL for my job. SUPER THANKFUL for the amazing people that I get to work with.
But does the idea of doing this job for the rest of my life make me want to jump for joy?!?!?
No, I don’t think so.
Could I do it?
Sure…I’m pretty confident that I could perform really well at almost any job (with some training, obviously).
But do I WANT to do it? Do I WANT to do it forever?
That’s an entirely different question.
Call me naive, that’s fine, but I still really hope and believe that it’s possible to find a career and a job that you’re passionate about.
And more than that, I believe it’s what you should be striving for.
Sure, a job is a job and there are inevitably going to be days that suck…Days where I have no desire to get up for work, and instead want to spend my entire day binge-watching tv shows on Netflix.
But I want to wake up excited about the work that I’m doing.
I want to wake up and go to work and know that it’s something that I love and that I’m good at.
Something that I’m passionate about….
Something that does bring me a sense of personal satisfaction…
While knowing that I’m helping others in the process.
So when I think about what that is, I know the answer to it…
More than anything I want to be an On-boarding & Employee Development Specialist.
I want to work with companies, developing training sessions that will benefit both their employees and their leadership team.
I want to coach individuals to perform their best at a job, and I want to provide them with resources that help them get there.
If I could do that everyday, I’d be a really happy camper.
I know it.
But it’s not always so easy to transition into a new career field.
And I know I’m not the only one in this situation, for sure.
Especially us young professionals.
I mean, come on. We had to pick a major, something to study, when we were like 18 years old. At 18, I didn’t even know how to do my own laundry (thanks, momma, for all your help with that).
So I chose a major. And I got a Bachelors degree in Healthcare Administration. And I then went on to pursue a Masters degree in something that I assumed would complement my undergraduate education.
I earned my Master’s degree in Public Administration, as well as a Graduate Certificate in HR, and through that entire crazy process, I came to develop a passion for human resources and employee development.
Hence the creation of this blog, 3 years ago.
And you know what? It’s so great that I finally found something that makes me light up when I talk about it!!
It’s such a cool feeling!
Except for one thing…
I’ve never held a full-time job in HR!
So at this point in my career, when I’m already making a decent income and have a wedding and house to pay for, can I afford to take a job as a secretary in some HR office, hoping to climb that corporate ladder?
Not really.
Actually…I just looked at my bills for this month, and no….no I VERY MUCH can’t afford it.
(On a sidenote: think about how many young professionals out there are in a similar situation. They studied their butts off and studied something that they love, but got a job in something TOTALLY DIFFERENT because it paid the bills…because it allowed them to pay off their student loans. And now, 5…7 years later, they’re stuck at a job that they don’t really love, all for the money.)
So what are my options, then?
I can work really hard and continue to pursue this passion of mine in any way that I can, and hope that one day a company will allow me the opportunity to become an OED Specialist based solely on my volunteer experience and the content that I write on this blog…
Or, I can sell out.
I can do a job that I’m NOT passionate about, because it pays well.
And as the years go by, I can feel that much farther away from my dream.
Yea, it’s a little dramatic, but you know what I’m trying to say here.
Maybe it’s just me, and maybe I’m totally crazy, but I feel like I’m way too young to sell out. I’m way too young to not work towards the things that would make me happiest.
I’m way too young to make my career decisions solely on the digits that appear on my paycheck.
Because I really, truly believe that if more people did the things that they love to do, the workplace would be so much better.
If more people woke up excited to perform their job responsibilities, people would be happier! And people wouldn’t be so nasty at work! And people would be more productive! And people wouldn’t be so stressed all the time! And as a result, there’d be less heart attacks every year.
So I think this is the end of my rant. It’s been a while since I just word-vomited on a blog post.
But it’s how I feel, and I know I’m not alone.
Want more career advice?
Check out my book, Corporate Survival Guide For Your Twenties
And if you’re looking to start a profitable side hustle, check out my step-by-step guide (with screenshots) on how to start a blog! I’ve been blogging for six years and I’d love to walk you through the process!
Already a blogger and ready to take your blog to the next level?
Here’s an an awesome course I recommend that’ll walk you through growing your following, working with brands, and making money the first year!
Books on blogging to help you take your blog to the next level:
- Blog, Inc.
- Creative, Inc.
- How To Blog For Profit Without Selling Your Soul
- 365 Blog Topic Ideas: For The Lifestyle Blogger Who Has Nothing To Write About
- #GirlBoss
- Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job, Kill It In Your Career, Rock Social Media
- Crush It
- Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook
- Thrive
Books to help you deal with your twenties:
- 101 Secrets For Your Twenties
- Life After College
- The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter & How To Make The Most of Them
- Adulting: How To Become A Grown Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps
- All Groan Up: Searching For Self, Faith, and A Freaking Job!
Other stuff you might like:
- Generation Y Redefines Success
- How To Be Rich in Your Twenties
- The 5 Most Valuable Lessons Grad School Taught Me
- Pursue a Lifestyle, Not a Job
- Why It’s Okay to Be Excited About the Awesome Stuff You’re Doing
- Why We Need to Get Over Our Fear of Rejection
- Don’t Wait, Be Happy Now
- The 5 Best Investments You Can Make in College
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Great post!
Thanks!! Hope you’re having a great week!
Thanks, Cheyenne!
I graduated from college at 21 with a degree in education and a teaching licensure. I taught for two years then said I was DONE and never doing it again. I took a year off then had the opportunity to go back. And now I know that I am NEVER looking back; I was born to be a teacher! It’s important that you go after what you love to do and you’re right; don’t sell yourself short. A job isn’t worth it if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing. That one year break was just what I needed to wake me up and help me realize that I really do love teaching!
I often feel the same way. But it’s like there’s no easy way out because switching careers when you went to school for so many years and acquired SO much DEBT is just not practical. #struggle
#struggle is right, girl! But let’s just hope it all works out in the end! Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!
I feel that’s exactly where I’m stuck right now… I’m in my second year of uni… and deciding on where I’ll be heading after I graduate is impossible… I want to go into marketing honestly but Law pays better! But my heart isn’t in it at all. I really can’t be a person stuck in a job I hate!
Ahh the struggle is real!
Wow! I am totally in the same situation (minus the fiance and house lol)
I’m less than 2 months from my 26th birthday and a few weeks away from my 2 year anniversary at my current job. I started my blog a few months ago in hopes of discovering my new path. i understand how you can be grateful for your job but want a job that gives you more. I feel the same way. I currently am the Marketing Associate (the whole marketing department) for a commercial real estate firm, I’ve learned a lot but I’m starting to recognize that I’ve nearly reached the ceiling of my education there. I think we will both be fine because instead of just settling and complaining about whats missing we are looking for solutions and examining what we want. Good luck!
http://www.allthethingsido.com
Congratulations, making this choice now will save you years of regret. It’s not easy but no one is old enough to settle. Do what you love. You deserve it.
I don’t feel stuck at the moment but I don’t think I will want to be a teacher all my life. I’m the kind of person that is interested in a ton subjects but doesn’t have one true passion. I feel like the perfect career path for me would be to try different jobs and projects! I think I will always be open to new opportunites or even creating them myself 🙂 No matter what you decide do to, go for it and don’t look back!
Girl, you are SO not alone. I’m 24 as well, and some days I have the same feeling as you. I’m so excited to have discovered your blog – I’m loving your content and I’m feeling inspired. Know that you ARE helping people at work just by writing the amazing tips in this blog. I can’t wait for more!
This is a great post. I’m about 10 years older than you and I dealt with this issue for quite some time as well. Thanks for posting
Find your passion and work towards the goal. I’m now turning 30 in a job much like yours, knowing what I want to do but scared to take the leap because of finances.
Work towards finding that job you really love now; it doesn’t get any easier as you get older!
Will do, Pegi! Thanks for the advice 🙂
Now is the time to make the switch and do what you love. Before long, you’ll have a family and other worries, so while it’s just you, Do It! I know it may seem scary, but you sound really passionate, and I think you’ll do great.
Thanks, girl! Really appreciate the support! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
I don’t think it makes sense to expect that you can just jump into a job and immediately love it, because there is a learning curve. But in your case, it sounds like you’ve been with the job long enough to feel competent at it, so if you already know that doing this job well isn’t sufficient to give you the satisfaction and pleasure you want from your career, I think trying to find something new is a brilliant idea. I also think you’re very lucky to have some idea of what will give you that feeling of satisfaction, of having done something good today, and I hope you’re able to pursue it! Good luck!
I love this post, I’m so glad I came across this. I was in this same spot a few years ago, and am currently on my way out of it, and it is so invigorating! I’m 29 currently, spent 5 years getting my BS and MBA in accounting and spent several more years and thousands of dollars getting a CPA. Three years later, I couldn’t stand it, so I switched to a job that I thought would be the answer. It wasn’t.
So I decided to switch again, but this time I wanted to be really true to my heart. I wasn’t going to settle. I made the decision to not settle while dating many years ago, and it took me awhile to find someone, but when I did, she was my true soulmate. You can take the same approach with your career. You have to find yourself and be strong enough not to settle.
Anyway, my new “job” is a company I started, dedicated to helping our generation find what it is they were truly meant to be. I believe that passionate people change the world for the better, and the more passionate people are about what they do, the better they’ll be at it, the happier they’ll be and the world will be a better place. Our generation is effin’ incredible in their desire to leave a positive impact, it really is changing the way businesses operate. There’s nothing naive about it, don’t be afraid to go after it. You’re way ahead of most people in a lot of things. Also, I think you’re assuming too many things about “skills”. Here’s the funny thing about skills, if you spend 8 hours a day, every day doing something, you’re going to get good at it (with a few very specialized exceptions). So why not get paid to learn your skills? Who says you need “experience” to get a job. In reality, the good companies are looking for culture fits. The good companies out there hiring the person, not the resume.
Here’s another secret. You know how people say things like “most of the time companies only hire people they know”. This is, for the most part true when it comes to a pivotal role in an organization. This goes back to culture fit. It’s a lot easier to identify a culture fit when you know someone. But guess what? You can be the person that people know! Seek out people who are in roles and companies that you want to be in and ask them for coffee, don’t be shy. Most people will be flattered that you took an interest in what they do and took the initiative to reach out. Ask them lots of questions, about not just what they do, but how they got there, what they would do if they were in your shoes, ask them how you can help them, what their fears are, and most importantly just be a person and have an enjoyable/light conversation. Check back in, be a friend (not someone looking for a job), and do this over and over with different people. Soon enough, opportunities will present themselves naturally. You’ll be the “friend ” that got hired.
This is how you network, and this is how you get real jobs, not by going on job boards and blasting out 50 resumes. Everyone’s doing that, don’t do that, there’s too much competition and most of the time those jobs suck anyways. I’ve realized that the reason people do this, and really the reason people do most of the things they do is based on fear. Fear of not being able to pay bills, fear of not being good enough, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown. I’ve heard the song “Drive” by Incubus probably a million times, but until a few months ago I never truly knew what it was about. “And I can’t help but ask myself, how much I let the fear take the wheel and steer. It’s driven me before and it seems to be the way that everyone else gets around, but lately I’m beginning to find that when I drive myself my light is found.” Drive yourself, don’t let fear drive your life. This is why we stay with the status quo. I didn’t realize this until I started my own business business and finally let go of my fears. It’s really the greatest feeling in the world.
The fact that you have this awesome blog at such a young age means you’re way ahead of a lot of people. Try what I suggested and see if you don’t impress the sh*t out of people. I guarantee you will.
Anyway, sorry for rambling, but I’d like to chat with you some more about this, I think I could really help and I’d love to get your opinions on what I’m working on as well. Feel free to email me at Tim@TruCalling.net.
great post! I totally understand where you are coming from! I hope you figure it all out, that’s what I’m trying to do myself! 🙂
Although it sucks that you’re going through this, it’s also nice to hear your situation. I’m in the early 30s club, at a time where I feel I SHOULD have most things figured out, but I, too am stuck in my career. I spent most of my 20s trying to find myself and going from job to job. I settled for a steady job to bring in a steady paycheque, but I have been quite unhappy for the past couple of years. So now I am on a different career path in hopes of finding a job I actually enjoy doing.
Best of luck to you! 🙂
I found this post on Pinterestand thought I was reading my own life. I relate so well to this post. I too have developed a passion for human resources and I am pursuing a masters in communications. It is nice to know that other people feel the same way that I do. I am thankful for my job but at 27 I do not want to think that it could be my last job.
Perfect post! We’d love to collab with you some time! I am in the same situation as you right now. Only I have four other job applications open that I am working on haha. Anyways I hope you find something that truly makes you passionate about what you do every day!
Cheers
What if you’re passionate about your career but you’ve losing it? I’m a med student, this august I’ll pass to the clinical stage, more time in the hospital, less time in the school. I really love medicine, caring for people and all the knowledge and wisdom it brings you, and I don’t know when I started to feel like it was a load, maybe is the stress, maybe is the actitude some doctors have, maybe is the fact that many people use the wrong ways to simply pass, forgetting that whatever you don’t learn could kill your patient. It’s hard, and it’s nothing new.
I honestly can’t see myself in another career, but is not exciting anymore, what can I do?
Girl,
I just stumbled upon your blog (thank you Pinterest!) and I am so inspired. I am currently in the process of a blog overhaul to fit my new life and this is exactly the kind of inspiration I needed. I specificially chose to comment on this post because I am currently feeling the same way and it seems as though it’s never ending! I’m glad I’m not the only one who is stuck between feeling stuck in a job but then feeling guilty for feeling stuck in a job. I can’t wait to read more and I hope you’ll stop by my website once I start posting again.
Darrian
I am totally in this position right now. I recently started a blog, because I have loved writing since I was a little girl and being creative has always been important to me as well! Just like you I am super thankful for the job I have now, I have worked my butt off and put up with some not so ideal situations to get it. It’s nothing fancy and I thought it would be the perfect job for me, and maybe In a busier industry it would be more fulfilling.
But like you said, I feel trapped.
I want to put more time into my blog, and into my home, my husband and eventually soon start a family of our own. But I feel like my job has me trapped, and I hear from so many people that starting my own business is to risky, and if I fail I will put unnecessary struggle on my husband and family. That everyone just works a job and I should stick with the one I have.
But it’s not making me happy, most days I don’t even want to get up and get ready to go. It’s very unsatisfying work, and I feel like I’m missing something. That spark that used to drive me to get up with enthusiasm at 5 in the morning (When I worked at a equestrian facility I had to be there at 6am and LOVED every second of it) something I did well (I do my current job well but it’s not the same satisfied feelings) and something I had a great passion for and love to do.
I want to get there again, but it’s hard to try and find something closer to where we live, or with less hours so I can invest more into my blog.
I’m hoping for a breakthrough soon! I’ve been finding some options that could work wonderfully if only I would be given the chance to do them 🙂 So fingers crossed!
Just wanted to say I loved this post because I could relate to it so well!
Hi. This is my first time on your blog. I totally relate to this post…I am in the same boat. I graduate in May with a degree in Education. One problem- I do not want to teach. I never wanted to teach. I don’t understand why or how I ended up here. I started college when I was 17. Way too young to know who I was or where my passions lie. Now at 21 I am starting to get an idea, and it is not education or teaching. I love business and customer service. I would like to start my own business someday, but until then I want to work with a business that I am passionate about. But I do not have the right degree or resume to get a job in business. I do not know what to do. I feel so lost. Did you ever figure out what to do?
Well if I don’t think I ever ever related more to a blog in my life. I am 24, with a BS in Health Administration, engaged and planning a wedding, making decent money, but no house to pay for (yet.) I was lucky enough to land my first role as Sr. Administrative Assistant for a widely recognized health system in not only my area but probably nationally as well. Sounds great, rights?! Well, after a year in that position I learned that I liked some aspects of the job, but truly resented others and woke up every morning with such anxiety about going to work. I knew I had to make a change, and sought out HR related positions because I knew I enjoyed the HR functions of my Admin job. I landed a job working in HR Data Management for the same company, but this role as been anything except what it was described as during the interview process. I feel stuck, and clueless as where to jump next. Knowing I am way over my head in debt to my undergraduate degree, I dare at making the debt a little larger and dabbling into a Masters degree that is more universal that Health Administration, but still complementary, but honestly, stuck because I thought my passion was in HR until I accepted my current job. It is quite possible I am just not in the correct HR function, but hopefully soon something shows its true passion and can break the mold.
I’m speaking as a 65 year old woman who has had 5 careers, each more exciting than the last. Now I’m a fulltime farmer — never thought that would happen when I was looking at my life to come at 18 or 21 or 31 or 61 — my husband of 38 years and I just bought a bigger farm! I applaud all of you looking at your futures as an adventure. Those adventures will often take you way off the beaten path in amazing journeys of discovery. I wouldn’t have missed any of what I’ve lived for all the money in the world, my life has been too rich. So, my ‘words of wisdom’ are to look not only at what you want to ‘do’, but also ‘where’ you want to do it — big corp, small town, etc. , and ‘who’ you want to be during that journey. We all yearn for the perfect mate, the perfect house, the perfect job, the perfect kids. It’s really about who you want to “be” in the life you have today because that is what builds the life you love. Then go for it!
Wow, I seriously related to this. Like it’s almost freaky how many similarities we have. I’m 24, JUST got married, bought a house a last year, and am going through the same financial struggles and career crisis. I graduated college last year and have been working in a field that i thought id love forever. I’m really good at it but i don’t have a passion for it at all. I’ve been soul searching to figure out other careers i’d love. And it’s not easy. But reading this made me realize i’m not alone with this!