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"We must be willing to get
rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
Joseph Campbell
Joseph John Campbell (1904 -1987) was an American mythology professor, writer, and orator, best known for his work in the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion.
rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
Joseph Campbell
Joseph John Campbell (1904 -1987) was an American mythology professor, writer, and orator, best known for his work in the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion.
Just Choose Another Career!
by Nina Baruch
A century ago people didn't have to make more than one
career plan a lifetime. Nowadays people need to start new careers over and over again
My grandparents never had careers. In fact, I don't think they ever heard of the word 'career', and if someone tried to explain, I am
sure they would have a hard time understanding the concept.
My grandparents didn't need knowledge of careers. Very few people back then could or did choose an occupation. At the beginning of the 20th century there were very few professional choices open to people. If you were a man you usually learned your father's trade, and kept it until your dying day. If your father lost his trade or didn't have one in the first place, you considered yourself lucky if you became a steady laborer in a factory or a shop. As for women, most of them cleaned the house,
cooked for heir families, raised their children and felt lucky if they didn't have to work outside the home as well. If they did have to, it was usually in housekeeping for rich folks.
My parents grew up in a different world. Throughout their lives there were many more opportunities for education and occupation. It was important to have some idea about a career, or at least a plan for an occupational future. But it didn't necessarily require a lot of effort or thinking. All you had to do was graduate high school, choose a profession, and get trained for it. Once that was accomplished you had to find a job, and just stick to it for the rest of your life. Most jobs, especially those requiring specific training (but not only) guaranteed that you wouldn't get fired, you'd always have a steady and reasonable income, and a nice pension plan when you retired.
When I was growing up things started to change yet again. Everybody was talking about having a career, and telling me how important it is to plan my future. Even my parents realized it, and kept pushing me toward a better education, so that I could find a steady and reliable job.
But now there were many more educational and professional possibilities, so I found it a lot harder to choose the right one for me. Besides, during my adulthood some of the more desirable occupations were extinct, and others, very profitable in the past, became a sure ticket to poverty.
The task of choosing a profession providing a steady income and a good pension plan became more of a challenge. Now I had to predict which of the professions open to me would provide for twenty to thirty years ahead, and which ones would vanish along with my income and sense of security. With every passing year, the list of profitable occupations was changing and things were becoming near impossible.
Since the labor world kept changing, a few years after I graduated college, my whole idea about planning a career crumbled. Jobs providing stability became less and less profitable. Jobs that paid better were too competitive for my wellbeing. The older I got, the harder it was to keep a job, since most employers prefer hiring younger workers, who are often willing to do more for less.
<back ...1/2/next>
by Nina Baruch
A century ago people didn't have to make more than one
career plan a lifetime. Nowadays people need to start new careers over and over again
My grandparents never had careers. In fact, I don't think they ever heard of the word 'career', and if someone tried to explain, I am
sure they would have a hard time understanding the concept.
My grandparents didn't need knowledge of careers. Very few people back then could or did choose an occupation. At the beginning of the 20th century there were very few professional choices open to people. If you were a man you usually learned your father's trade, and kept it until your dying day. If your father lost his trade or didn't have one in the first place, you considered yourself lucky if you became a steady laborer in a factory or a shop. As for women, most of them cleaned the house,
cooked for heir families, raised their children and felt lucky if they didn't have to work outside the home as well. If they did have to, it was usually in housekeeping for rich folks.
My parents grew up in a different world. Throughout their lives there were many more opportunities for education and occupation. It was important to have some idea about a career, or at least a plan for an occupational future. But it didn't necessarily require a lot of effort or thinking. All you had to do was graduate high school, choose a profession, and get trained for it. Once that was accomplished you had to find a job, and just stick to it for the rest of your life. Most jobs, especially those requiring specific training (but not only) guaranteed that you wouldn't get fired, you'd always have a steady and reasonable income, and a nice pension plan when you retired.
When I was growing up things started to change yet again. Everybody was talking about having a career, and telling me how important it is to plan my future. Even my parents realized it, and kept pushing me toward a better education, so that I could find a steady and reliable job.
But now there were many more educational and professional possibilities, so I found it a lot harder to choose the right one for me. Besides, during my adulthood some of the more desirable occupations were extinct, and others, very profitable in the past, became a sure ticket to poverty.
The task of choosing a profession providing a steady income and a good pension plan became more of a challenge. Now I had to predict which of the professions open to me would provide for twenty to thirty years ahead, and which ones would vanish along with my income and sense of security. With every passing year, the list of profitable occupations was changing and things were becoming near impossible.
Since the labor world kept changing, a few years after I graduated college, my whole idea about planning a career crumbled. Jobs providing stability became less and less profitable. Jobs that paid better were too competitive for my wellbeing. The older I got, the harder it was to keep a job, since most employers prefer hiring younger workers, who are often willing to do more for less.
<back ...1/2/next>
"There are two ways to look at career changes: we can consider it bad luck and feel miserable. Or we can see this as a chance to do things we dreamed of"
