Careers

After completing a three year degree in Law, it is fair to say that it has been too long since I have written any meaningful text reflecting my opinions. So following multiple conversations with various people, I have decided to put the metaphorical pen to paper and voice my thoughts to the world.

The hot topic of the month: careers.

A lot of factors are considered when selecting a career path, but is there really that much that needs to be considered? Aside the obvious considerations such as location and eligibility, I think it really boils down to a face off between two desires; money and enjoyment. If you can find a job which pays well and you love, that's great, but the sad truth for the rest of us is that work and fun often don't mix. Of course, you can mix them together, like swirling a spoon in a glass of water and oil, but inevitably, they separate into two distinct liquids.

"But money can't buy happiness!" I hear you squeal. Whilst you may be correct, you impress me only as far as pointing out that you cannot touch the intangible would. No doubt, happiness cannot be bought, but those that choose money over enjoyment can buy things which satisfy them. Money often correlates to success, authority and envy among a number of other things that cannot be bought. Enjoyment correlates only to enjoyment.

How do you define enjoyment of a job? Surely if one were to truly enjoy a job, weekends would be met with distaste and holidays to be greeted with a groan. In my view, a job is a means to an end, and not an end in itself.

More often than not, it is not merely money itself that is desired, but it is a device used to measure and compare one worker to another. Who honestly cares whether a man is immensely successful in his blue collar work or that he is the employee of the month for 12 months in a row? What matters is what he has to show for his work, and the universal units for success is monetary reward. I don't know if it is me that is crudely judgmental, but the mindsets of some boggle me. Having heard police constables tell me that they would never even want to consider the prospect of promotion as they enjoy the hands on work as opposed to that of a supervising officer astounds me. Are they so content in being the lowest, with no progression to show for their service or is it purely an act to justify their static career?

It annoys me when those who are obviously enjoying a privileged lifestyle claim that they would be content working in a low paid job as long as they can do the things they enjoy. Teenage boys who receive gifts of guitars attached to a four-figure price tag and casually talk of the new top of the range computer they are about to purchase strike me as immensely ignorant of what it is they actually enjoy.

Those who want a family, are they really content to earn a meager wage from a job they enjoy and provide the bare minimum for their children?

By no means am I expressing negativity to those who work in lowly paid jobs or underprivileged families, but it is those people who claim that they are "only in this position because we choose to be", that irritate me.