I recently read an article that evoked a feeling I imagine is similar to a bucket of ice cold water being thrown over your head. And it continued to send shivers down my spine for the rest of the day.
The article, titled, 'Why do we think it's our human right to have a job we love?', says that there aren't enough 'dream jobs' to go round and that hard work and a good education won't get you where want to go, despite the majority of this generation having been brought up to think this way. The author says that we can't all make jobs out of what we love, but that we must grow up and lower our expectations. It gave the example of a particular junior writer job advertisement at The Times, for which 1,200 people applied.There's my belief that I'll get anything if I want it bad enough shot to shit.
By the time we reach the age where we start to feel defined by our careers, the part of life where we're expected to stop gallivanting around the world, working for free and wasting away in jobs we don't care about, not all of us end up with a job that we absolutely adore. But isn't the disparity between those who do get their dream jobs unfaltering determination?
Surely, the fact that some of us aren't put off by such articles and depressing statistics is nature's way of making sure we're all not fighting over the best jobs. - everyone who had commented on the article was in agreement with it. The one detail that the article failed to address is that the majority of us have 'dream jobs' that we'd like to one day reach. Very few of us, however, spend their days thinking about it and nights dreaming about it. With many people that work in the typical much-coveted jobs, it's who they know. For the rest of us, however, never giving in is one of the rare qualities that will get us where we want to be.
I have a very vivid memory from when I was around ten years old. I was sat in a cafe with my grandmother and had already gotten into the habit of looking at strangers and wondering about their lives. I noticed a woman with blonde hair and dark brown roots. I asked my grandmother, "what do you think the most common hair colour is?"
She replied without hesitation, "brown".
As a brunette myself, I smugly explained to her that the most common colour of hair was blonde, and that it was fashionable to dye roots brown. No matter how wrong your belief may be - all you need is to believe it to be true and you're content. It's simple economical sense to accept that we can't all have the perfect job. But I'd rather be disappointed in the end rather than give up prematurely.
I think there as many dream jobs as there are people. There are popular jobs - I'm sure there are several that would want to be an editor at the Times, or Prime Minister even - but then there are those who would actually prefer to be a bed tester or chocolate taster for a living.
ReplyDeleteAnd how do we define our dreams? Dreams can mean the fantastical - our nightly excursions into the realms of our own subconscious, or daydreams where go off on flights of fancy. Rarely are these anything to do with the 9-5 - the means to the end of paying bills and existing in this expensive world. If you are dreaming about work then I'd go so far as to say you have a problem ;)
But in terms of ideal, most painless jobs - it depends on the person. To me being a writer isn't something I can do on demand, so such a job would give me the heebie jeebies! Well, as a reporter/journalist it would. Being a novelist in my 'spare' time is something I can just about cope with! But I don't see that as a job as it doesn't pay the bills.
In terms of bill paying activities, despite my university education I would much prefer a simple mundane job to the sort of usual graduate job you usually end up in having a piece of paper to say you are capable of not just writing essays, but writing them on a regular basis over 3 years. I don't like the stress of working for businesses which think themselves incredibly important when all they do is sell socks...
Anyhoo, thats just my little ramble for the day - a thought provoking blog! Thank you! And never give up your dreams, whatever they may be - for dreams will die when the dreamer stops dreaming. x
Aw :) thank you for reading and for the comment! I sincerely hope that 'bed tester' is a real job - I may have some re-thinking to do!x
ReplyDeleteIts like anything in life - everything is in the lap of chance. I would suggest that you never give in though. If you do, you'll wake up one morning having spent 25 years settling for a mundane job. Maybe that's OK, especially if your priority is to raise a family. I guess thats the same thing as never look to anyone else, or an outside standard to make you happy or measure up to. Just do what you feel you need to do, make your own priorities, and there maybe peaks and troughs, but at least you can say you tried.
ReplyDeleteExactly! :)
ReplyDelete