how were you sure of your career choice?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

lalaurie	11 Aug 2002
Kind greetings, I was just spending more time than I thought I should reading through the forum, thinking I need to log off and figure out my career dilemma and then I thought - Hey, why not combine the two? So I'm wondering if anyone would care to share advice or stories about career decisions. I'm at this very uncomfortable position of being uncertain about returning to grad school in a few weeks. I decided very strongly a couple of years ago that I want to work with children in a school setting and so I started the long path of becoming a certified elementary school teacher. A year, three classes, missed job opportunities and difficult teaching experiences later, I'm now scared that I've made a mistake. There are parts of teaching that I am very good at. But there are parts that I'm not good at and I know I can't handle being a bad teacher. I got into this largely to grow as much as I possibly can as a human - to do good, to mature and handle life fairly and wisely. But I don't want a stressful life, largely because I'm not very graceful under stress, particularly when faced with kids with bad attitudes. Then again, maybe that's the most important thing for me to learn. I've suffered a lot from my hyper-stressing and overcoming that would probably be the single most healthy thing I can do. I also have a lazy streak, and I don't see that mixing with being a good teacher - as far as I know I'll have to spend a majority of my free-time planning, doing paperwork, etc. ... So I'm wondering if anyone has advice along these lines? Specifically, how does one feel sure enough of one career path among the hundreds? And how can you tell the difference between normal reactions to the difficulties of being new at something demanding and plain-old bad decision making? Please feel free to share your own stories - that can be the very best way to learn, and plus I won't feel so selfish in spending this much space writing about myself and my problems! ;) Thanks and blessings, lalaurie.

suzyspellbound	11 Aug 2002
i think most people would love a stress free job/ life! Here in the UK alot of people are being put off teaching because of all the extra hours of lesson planning and marking etc they have to do! I think that has always been the case with teaching but staffing is getting shorter and classes (supposed to be smaller) are getting bigger and more frequent! Its such a responsability too, I think you are inspirational already to just want to teach. I think im too young to answer you question as I have really set foot on my career path yet! I am doing a design degree and the pressure of the competion is emmence, I have little self confidance and Im not sure I will cut it out there in THE REAL WORLD! and I know that I won't be among the richest, i just don't think I am ambitious enough to cut the mustard! I wish I could help you more but im probably as doubtful as you about my choice! Sorry

DarkElectric	11 Aug 2002
In a way I'm really lucky. My choice of career was dictated by the fact that I had a real talent for that which I'm doing now, and have been at it since I was a kid. (Professional Musician.) I love music, and am glad it's working out for me. I'm also glad I'm single, own a home I can afford, and have no dependants. There isn't a LOT of $$$in the music biz for me yet, but It's getting there.

Supletion	11 Aug 2002
you are scaring my 16 y/o mentality =/

Minderwiz	11 Aug 2002
I always wanted to teach. I never had any doubts and after nearly 32 years in teaching I have no regrets. However don't do it if you want to earn a lot of money, or you want to have a stress free time or you think the holidays are really fab - do it only if you feel that you have something to give and that this is the right way to do it. Minderwiz

Strega	12 Aug 2002
It's interesting that you brought this up... for I thought I was sure of what I wanted to do. :) I've chosen Chemical Engineering (still a college student) because I want to earn a lot of money after graduation. But I would love a stress free job (and life). At the moment, I am in the Is-this-what-I-really-wanna-do :confused: stage.

fairyhedgehog	12 Aug 2002
Some people seem to know what they want to do from day one, and the rest of us just muddle through. When I got my degree, I spent 6 months out of work, then a year working as a care assistant in an old people's home, trying to work out what to do. I ended up getting a job in the Civil Service in London, as that got me nearer to my boyfriend/fiance (now my husband). At first, I didn't like the work much, lots of filing and crunching numbers and I didn't understand what I was meant to be doing. But I came to love it, and spent 5 happy years there. I ended up getting promoted, getting pregnant and moving house all in the same month, but that is another story :) I left to look after my first son at home, and didn't go out to work till he was about 10 when I decided to go for teacher training. The timing was too soon for me, but my husband's job was at risk, and we needed me to be able to earn money too. A job in the City really wasn't on with two young lads to look after. I taught for a year - loved and hated it - then left to do supply teaching. I was finding full time work a real struggle with my lads still relatively young. Supply teaching didn't work out - I was never free at short enough notice. I was doing a counselling course to fill in some time, and that gradually took over. So, after four years of counselling training (part time) and a year of not doing much, I've got a part time job working to manage the counselling in a primary school. I absolutely love it :) So, I would say that I've muddled through. One thing led to another, my French degree was surprisingly useful in getting a teaching job, my Civil Service work was excellent training in writing factually, reports etc (You wouldn't guess it from this post, but I can write coherently when I need to :) ) It's been easier for me, because for the last 18 years we've really been depending on my husband's money. But I feel that it does show that you don't need to know what you want to do when you start out. Sometimes your path only becomes clear as you travel along it. Love and light, FH

WolfSpirit	12 Aug 2002
Well I don't know about teaching but since you want personal stories as well... I studied languages and wanted to be a translator. Many in my class did not, they want to study languages as a stepping stone for an international career and also studied economics and such. Then when I finished school there were not so many full time jobs for translators. I wanted to work independent then but everyone said: o, you need a lot of money for that... so I was afraid to start on my own and got an office job...and another one... Now I just quit my job (three more weeks to go), then I'll have a holiday first (wander through Scotland and visit my friends there) and then start afresh with trying to find free-lance translating jobs. I saved so I can survive a few months without getting work, after that I can always go back to an office job, I have enough experience by now. I think it's easier now: much more work can be transferred by pc, you can contact agencies by pc (if I don't spend my time wandering around Aeclectic) so I think I really need to give myself this time to do what I really want. I'm also thinking of splitting it after that: not rely on translations completely but get a part-time job outside the house as well. But I also have to battle with myself. I often feel insecure, hesitant to get things started, and have a bit of a lazy streak as well... I think we all have. If you go out to work you get out of your familiar surroundings and you just start working, not always enthusiastically but you're just forced. When you work at home there's so much that can distract you, it would be tempting to just wander a bit and then say: see I did not make it I'll go back to an office job. As far as stress goes: I guess there are not many stress-free jobs. If you can choose it may be a good idea not to work too many hours. The more you work the more you earn but people who earn a lot often spend a lot on things they don't really need, I would rather work less then and have more time. You have to find a balance in that what's best for you. As I told you nothing to do with teaching but I hope you liked it anyway and maybe there's something useful for you in it still. Good luck with your career choice !!

wavebreaker	12 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by fairyhedgehog But I feel that it does show that you don't need to know what you want to do when you start out. Sometimes your path only becomes clear as you travel along it. I can only agree with this! Because I've been a bit of a wanderer myself, and I am still wandering... ;) When in high school, I knew I wanted to study languages, so I ended up at a college for translators, studying English and Arabic and specializing in medical translations. I knew then that that was what I wanted to do... After I graduated, I discovered there were hardly any jobs in medical translation, and I ended up in the IT business, translating user manuals and online help. Which wasn't exactly exciting: I did a lot of work for Microsoft, and they have so many rules and regulations you have to follow, you feel like you're a translating computer... I used to love translating, but this work completely took the joy out of it for me. So time for something new: I applied for a job at my current employer as a technical writer/editor. I spent the next few years developing and writing user documentation. Which was exciting at first, but it got a bit boring after a few years (you might have noticed by now that I get bored pretty easily... ;) ). So I switched to the more technical side of it (which fortunately was possible within the same company). I did a bit of programming, some web development and some system administration. And now I'm starting another career, still with the same company: I'll be concentrating on information design/architecture from now on. Will I be doing that for the rest of my life? Probably not, I'll give it 3 or 4 years... :D Also, I'm thinking about taking up translating again. I'm thinking of reducing my work hours at my current job next year, and try and get a job as a freelance translator to do subtitles for National Geographic Channel and/or Discovery Channel. And maybe other translation work as well. I'll see how it goes... So, bottom line: my career choices change all the time, and I quite like it! ;)

mara	12 Aug 2002
My career choice is the developement of my conciousness;) Mara

jmd	12 Aug 2002
I certainly wasn't sure of my career choice. After completing an Honours degree, I decided to 'take a year off' before taking a Masters'. During my year off, I completed a Dip Ed (a graduate diploma in Education, required for teacher registration). At the time, I did not even intend teaching in a school (though possibly at University, for which the Dip Ed was, in any case, irrelevent). For a number of reasons (all financial), I then started teaching part-time in a high school, as well as university. After a number of years, a change of government enabled the possibility of applying for a (lucrative) redundancy package - which I applied and obtained on my second try (this was around ten years ago). It was a few years hence that I decided that teaching was really what I wanted to do, and specifically Steiner/Waldorf. An opportunity only then presented itself, and have been teaching at both a school and in adult education happily since. By all means complete your graduate course. I personally found the course I did, compared to my degrees, quite poor, uninspiring, and even downright insulting at times... but without it, I wouldn't be happily teaching where I am now.

Poetlove	12 Aug 2002
I think that if teaching is the passion in your heart, and it makes you happy, that you just have to go for it. You can learn things to help you relax and keep yourself under control. Meditaion, massage, anything that you like to do, can relax you. Papers can be graded watching your favorite t.v. show, or listening to your favorite music. You can find ways to calm you down, or to "destress" you. You are always going to get a few bad apples, and it is only because they think they know everything. Later on, they just might come back and thank you for hand you gave them. Keep your chin up!

jade	12 Aug 2002
i haven't read everyone else's thoughts yet cause i wanted to get mine down first. this is what i tell my kids and their friends. life is not short. life is full of many opportunities and forks in the road. for someone who is in their teens or early twenties to be expected to 'pick' a career from the millions of choices available to them is, in my opinion, a waste of energy. instead, i feel that children, teens, and adults need to experience as many varied experiences as they can, living their lives in perhaps unconventional ways rather than doing the 9-5 thing day in and day out. money is energy, it will be there if you allow it to come in so don't let money be the reason that you don't truly live. i believe that your path is easy. it's your passion. what you came here to do. it doesn't have to be hard or overly-challenging. it can just f-l-o-w. :D it may take you, like it did me, about 30-35 years to truly discover your passion and path. there is no time limit on living you life, except the limitations that you place there yourself (or allow others to place on you). personally i don't feel that anyone under the age of 30 should go to university or college.....instead i feel they should travel, try different fields of work, volunteer ALOT and have as much fun playing and enjoying their life as they possibly can. live your life as you desire, on your terms, without restrictions. smile everyday. walk on the beach. play in the forest. look at art. volunteer at an animal shelter. have fun. let your life unfold around you rather than attempting to unravel it on your own 'time schedule'. don't push the river up the hill.......it flows so much more beautifully if you just allow it to do what comes naturally. :) love jade ps as to your question...........if it's the right career choice for you........you will know it inside your heart. if it isn't........you will know that too. only you can answer that question for yourself. sit in meditation, staring at a candle flame and ask yourself if it's what you truly desire.

Diana	12 Aug 2002
Wow jade! Those are words worthy to be given to every single mother and father when their children get born. It's never too late to listen to these words of wisdom that you've just given us. Thank you. :)

jade	12 Aug 2002
mara, you and i have the same 'career' path :) enlightenment. my path also includes teaching which i love. i teach via my reiki students (a huge passion for me) and also i am able to touch others lives thru my writing as well. love and light, jade ps diana.......what beautifully kind words :D

amyel	12 Aug 2002
Well, lalaurie, I was one of those, similar to tarotlady, who had waaaaayyyyyyy too many interests to decide what I want to do in college/university. In high school, I did a full academic and vocational load (my vocation was printing, as in printing publications, etc). I started college in early childhood ed (got my diploma in it, actually), then moved to Canada, took some courses, dropped out, went back and got my B.A in Art History while working full time as a switchboard operator for hotel chain; travelled alot, worked as an on-air "personality" in the arts for the local university cable TV station, worked as the arts editor for the university radio station newspaper, then graduated and had to get a "real" job just as the recession in the early '90's saw the Canadian gov't cut back anything that had a-r-t in it, so had to make due by becoming a Kelly temp worker. This wasn't bad, actually, it satisfied my need to keep changing things and allowed me to try out all sorts of jobs. I landed a job at a major oil & gas company in Calgary, where I eventually ended up as a credit rep, of all things. Not the most exciting work, *but* the company ended up implementing a new computer system (SAP) to integrate its various divisions, and I - through a long & windy road - ended up becoming the western region trainer on this system. I found I really liked this! I liked training people, and I liked designing courses, etc. It was an odd circle, because from the time I was graduated from high school and feeling lost about my future, *everyone* who knew me told me to become a teacher. But teaching in a school was the last thing on earth I wanted to do - I am not an academic and did not enjoy my time in school. No one told me about the wonderful world of corporate training! Anyway, from the oil & gas co, I was recruited to join a very large international computer company (not Microsoft) as an SAP consultant. I've had a number of assignments, and for the last two years, I have been at a client site as the training manager. It is a continous challenge, and I really enjoy it, because it is a good balance of "sameness" vs "different-ness" + I find I enjoy managing things. As someone who also loves teaching, I'd say: Expand your horizons! "Teaching" takes many more forms then just being a teacher in public education! Look for those opportunities to apply a degree in education to other areas, like corporations. Some good friends of mine teach at a language school. Neither speaks another language. They teach young adults who come to the private school to learn English. One has a BA in Philosophy and the other doesn't have a degree at all, if I recall correctly. My point is, there are lots of things you can do which can benefit from a degree in education!

debins	12 Aug 2002
with a reading about my career and financial matters. I'm a teacher at a very posh private school. Before that, I was a college teacher for 9 years. I got my first teaching position BEFORE I actually defended my M.A. thesis and I've always had work (although not enough money). Teaching comes naturally to me; it's easy. And people all around me tell me that I'm very good at it. I often wonder how they can know, especially when they are not necessarily in my classroom. Students pass my name along and hope to get into my class. And still I doubt. I feel like a real dummy about career things sometimes. So I sympathize and empathize with you. But I think I, too, can learn a lot from Jade's reply above. Also, if you're interested, see what mooncat2 read in the cards for me at: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6025 I'm still learning; I'm very much a pupil. But from what I am being told from all perspectives is that we are, as the cliche goes, to do what we love and the money will follow. This is my prayer and I share it with each and every one of you. Namaste, Debins.

starr	12 Aug 2002
Here I am 30 years after beginning my "career" path. I chose radiology after 1 year at a University just to get into the program. Every new opportunity that came my way I opted for. I have had a career, been in management , and have experienced varying degrees of burn out in some of the high stress areas I have worked in. Still I have not found something to replace not only the income but the satisfaction of making a patient feel good about their experience and getting a laugh from them (something I do many times a day.) This profession has been good and bad for me as any will be. Now enlightenment and perhaps a change in vocation are on the horizon. Do what feels good and pays the rent. Starr

Alex	12 Aug 2002
very sure. I... uhm... I started out thinking I wanted to be a "biologist" just to find out after I graduated that I would not be able to find a good job if I did not go to Graduate School... So I did a M.Sc. in Zoology ... but then it wasn't enought, how can someone fancy a job in biology without having a Ph.D. ... So I went for a Ph.D., this time in Entomology.... What I have found out is that I ended up as some kind of professional student. If I could start all over again I would try a profession that allowed me to work as a contractor, or to sell my services somehow, and that had some public appeal. It's sad to be always dependent on academic institutions (which offer less jobs every year, with lower salaries) and having to fight for scarce funds that only come through governmental grants... Oh well.

divinerguy	12 Aug 2002
I probably have one of the least thankful jobs on the planet. I'm a lawyer. I get people making jokes about it everyday, and I fight with judges attorneys, court reporters. I hate it. I'm self-employed and must pay for every benefit I have. Living in Southern California, it seems as though every Ivy League attorney on the east coast has come here, with the competition for attorney jobs fierce. When you can find one, you work 60 hours per week. In the end, I decided to make law a part-time job. I started working on my teaching credential for high school civics. However, after representing a teacher who was falsely accused of touching a student, I realized its not the soul medicine I thought it would be. I have now evaluated my jobs needs based upon my lifestyle. I look at the recreational things I want to do in my life, and the financial needs to support it. I'm letting the soul food in my life drive the career - rather than career driving my weekends. I think I'm happier for it. I've taken a civil service job, making less money, and I'm doing some small legal things on the side. Hopefully, things will work out.

wavebreaker	13 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy I have now evaluated my jobs needs based upon my lifestyle. I look at the recreational things I want to do in my life, and the financial needs to support it. I'm letting the soul food in my life drive the career - rather than career driving my weekends. Actually, that's basically what I'm doing now too, and yes, I'm happier for it too. ;) I forgot to mention my "teaching career" in my earlier post though... One of my hobbies is scuba diving and after I had gotten my first certification I continued doing courses to become a better and safer diver. I had no intention at all to become an instructor, because I didn't think I would like teaching or would be able to do it. Until at one point during my "career" I had to assist with courses, and I realised that I loved it. So I completed the instructor training as well and taught courses for a few years. I really liked it and people told me I was good at it. Unfortunately, it's difficult to do as a parttime job: apart from the fact that it takes a lot of time and effort, it's nearly impossible to get all the logistics arranged and still offer a reasonable price for a course if you work on your own. The other option is to work for a dive centre, but the business is very competitive, so they are all about money, not about offering quality courses, which takes all the pleasure out of it (I've tried it...).

HOLMES	13 Aug 2002
you guys all amaze me. i have no career and never made no career choices, except i tried once to get trained in huna kane, and the teacher tried to take over my life for my own highest good. i am sure she had the best intentions . then i tried to college but i was just doing it to get off the reserve and not because i wanted so i failed. switch careers into one i love social servic worker hated it due to the red tape they were teaching. so what am i amazed at? 1. you energy !!!! 2. your drive it takes a lot of energy and dedication to become a eacher, lawyer my hat of to you :O) i am confusd though. i never heard of life purpose or life work, and divine guidance. mentioned in any posts, was there a sense of it i was going to make a post about such that would of gone into great detail and been meanig to do this all day but i got into finishing my shadow self post it drained m rigt out i can barely see the computer and think straight plus the old hand hurts , yet perhas you can post on this , i am curous then i will come back tomorrow andred it

fairyhedgehog	13 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by HOLMES i never heard of life purpose or life work, and divine guidance. mentioned in any posts, was there a sense of it Not at the time, but yes looking back. That's what I mean by the path becoming clear as you travel it. When I worked for the Civil Service I felt I was wasting my time (although happily) because I ought to be working with people - teaching or something. Now, looking back, those 5 years were essential in teaching me writing skills and even more importantly in teaching me how to work as part of a team. In a similar way, I did a French degree 'by accident'. I was all set to do English, then got the chance of a year in France and took it. So French went from being my minor to my major subject. I didn't use it for many years, but then later it was useful in getting me a teaching job, as not many primary teachers have French and it is the up and coming thing. I currently have more of a sense of 'I'm in the right place at the right time' than I've ever had, but there are still niggles, like not being able to get my accreditation as a counsellor very easily as I'm not doing enough 1:1 work. I have a sense of 'life purpose' though, and it always makes more sense looking back than looking forwards. So I would say, just go for whatever looks like the next thing to do. It'll become clearer later, and even 'mistakes' have valuable learning experience. Love and light to all, FH

wavebreaker	13 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by fairyhedgehog I have a sense of 'life purpose' though, and it always makes more sense looking back than looking forwards. So I would say, just go for whatever looks like the next thing to do. It'll become clearer later, and even 'mistakes' have valuable learning experience. Very well put, fairyhedgehog, that's how I feel too. I think my life purpose is to find a way to do the things that I enjoy doing and that I'm good at, and do something useful for others. It's not always easy, there are always practical considerations (bills to pay etc.), but I know that I will get there in the end. And sometimes it may seem you're only getting further away from your goal, but it's my opinion that there's a reason for that, a lesson you need to learn before you can continue.

WolfSpirit	13 Aug 2002
Holmes, i don't really consider myself a careerist at the moment, more of a drop-out maybe. I quit my job to go on holiday first, then try to do what I really want to. So I don't really have more energy than you, I just allow myself a little time to get into the translation business again. I once before quit a job to go travelling, travelled all over New Zealand for four months which was great, but didn't really think of the future. So when I got back home I needed money badly and took the first job I could find and felt so miserable, holiday over and no joy in my job. I could really kick myself then (looking back now I most remember the wonderful holiday though, and not the difficult time afterwards). And I learnt from that, I told myself to plan a little now so I don't have to take the first job available when I get back. Well I know my life fulfillment is certainly not in a job. I know I have to work so I try to find something as pleasurable as possible, but I find my life outside my job more important, that's who I really am. I never wanted a big car or a big house. I'm always juggling to find something that gives me enough free time to do what I want to do and enough money also to get the material things I want. I'm more modest in that respect than many but I would not like to be poor either. Hope you had a good rest :)

floracove	13 Aug 2002
Well I've done alot of different jobs, most all having to deal with people and money, which I'm good with both. All I ever really wanted to do and be was a wife and mother. *** If you feel in your heart you want to teach, go for it! There are plenty of teachers out there with a low- threshold of tolerance for smart mouth/acting children. That's why they have a line of command, you can always fall back on your principal. And then by the time you get use to the kids, you'll have the background to be principal! If you feel it do it... There are plenty of good sponge minds out there waiting for a good teacher. Follow your heart and don't let your nerves get the best of you. If thats what you want to do... Best of luck!

Diana	13 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by HOLMES i am confusd though. i never heard of life purpose or life work, and divine guidance. mentioned in any posts, was there a sense of it Gosh Holmes! You've just thrown a bucket of cold water over my face. Wakey, wakey! sleepy-head. Thanks. I'll just go and get a towel to dry myself, and then I'll print out your post. :)

jade	13 Aug 2002
people don't fail. they try. just because you try something and you don't like it doesn't mean you failed..........it actually means that you have succeeded in removing another option out of your "passion" list! your path isn't always clear to you. sometimes you need to put your finger in every desert before you realize that this one truly is your favorite! finding your path, is allowing your inner passion to emerge and then following where it takes you. (self promotion here) the pathways series that i sell.......pathway to passion. that's what it's designed for. to assist someone to find their inner passion......their path. the pathway sometimes 'reveals' this path and other times it begins the journey to finding it (so what i'm saying is you don't get all the answers in 28 nights sometimes) but it does get the ball rolling. (done shameless self promotion) in light, jade

HOLMES	13 Aug 2002
i am confusd though. i never heard of life purpose or life work, and divine guidance. mentioned in any posts, was there a sense of it it works like this 1.the purpose such as teach, heal, love, strive 2. the life work which defines the purpose the example would be a healer who life work is to teach, they teach bette they heal yet all those they teach become awesome heales (healers being a non generic term to refer soul healers , mind healer,body healers, emotiona healers and that little guy who teach you somethng like martial arts or paining therefor giving balace) 3. life task which is the one big thin we come to earth to do it is no a small thing this can sometimes define the lifework example a person life purpose was to nurture by have the life work of a mother. their life task would be to have children which sets in motion their life work . yet other times it could be to direct that one great movie , to write that one good book, to save that one lost soul which everyone gives up on. it just occured to beetoven wrote nine symphonies and that was his life task some might argue that the ninth was the task while others the fifth or the third (those who listend to fur elise know what i mean :O0) but the works were so great we can consider them in total. yet another person lets say an author can write the one great book and all the rest are very good and then the one great book near the end of their lifes, the two books are the life task and the rest are life work. what define a life task it is a cut above the rest it is the one thing you do or did that affects the great amount of masses perhaps for years to come for a life task of a master. which is not to say one life task is greter then an other life task for that one person it defines them and furfill them yet where does divne guidance come to play , does it interfere with our lives, ? by changing our life purpose ? our tasks ? nay for before we get born we agree with the divine will that i will do this and that for this long and that long. thus that becomes divine plan for our lives we all got free will it is not necessary to do the life work for we can become happy doing other stuff but there may come a time when we are unhappy with it, we leant all that we can , did it all , and come to a crossroad. the logica will says that we should do this and that so we can get the new house and the new car, but **** that means more of the grind at the mill . then a whisper from nowhere, or a dream or tv program, or book which speaks to our heart, our soul that makes us think (remember when you were young and you wanted to go into politics, it is not to late, or it might show a memory of when you were young and you were saying to mom i am going to be a great painter just like michanelgo, or a teacher or healer like jesus or a doctor like the old kind doctor who took care of us when we were sick) or it might say (remember that time you saw that wrong in the world maybe this book is a key to rightin it ?) and the choice is made within us each accodng to our beliefs in us , our trust in the universe, our own logic an we make our choice. it is ok if we took the logical way guys , for it is enough to know the life work empowers us and leaves us feeing engerzed at the end of the day,and not drained and depressed (to becontinue in nextpost)

HOLMES	13 Aug 2002
it is truly rare that the soul finds life work at a early age and those that do like chuck berry, johny cash, beetoven,mozart, drew barrymor, john nash, are usally perceived as great. yet for most souls, some life works takes skills we have to develop first thus we might toil in the excutive world of business, for example, and it is a necessary step in life work so we see it as life work and excell at it til it changes inside us and then it is time to move on. i guess the final thing to share is not every one life work is spiritual i just come from the wand element, cup element some life work might be in the swords area protecting us cups people :O) or in the pentaces area like carpentry :) ever meet a farmer who was deeply spiritual and very calming or a person you never suspected in that line of work like a bartender, they are on their path. then we see the mean teacher (coming from my own point of view with a teacher i had) and i alway ask myself why are you a teacher, should of been a drill sargeant with her breakthem methods. *sigh* despite all my knowledge here i sit at age of soon to be 27 with no real skills but reflexology,tarot reading, and some spiritual knowledge. i am not sure of my life purpose , to heal or counsel or teach or entertain ?(i suck at singing and not a bad harmonica player though) eehe lifework , no idea , life task scary idea

Jenny-Li	13 Aug 2002
How I knew/know? Cuz I can't stay away from it...! :D I went though university studying Public Relations and Communications (at first because I wasn't admitted at the Journalist College, later because I realized this was what I wanted to do, less limited than journalism, still focused on getting some sort of information out to readers etc.), and left there with a bunch of grades, no experience and no confidence. (Jade you're absolutely right about NO person under 30 should ever go to Uni. Where were you 10 years ago when I needed to hear that...?? }):D) I got no jobs, ended up working with this and that (it was during this period I even sold ice cream from a truck that I drove around to people's homes...!), and then finally, after a couple of years, landed a job as the communications-person of a small church congregation in the south of Stockholm. The job was OK, the place I worked was horrible. I was treated badly, taken for granted, got no rewards whatsoever for hard work well done, and on top of all that there were HUGE staff relations problems there that I ended up in the middle of, as always not being able to keep my mouth shut. In the end I was desperate to get out of there, and thought I even wanted out of the profession, wanted nothing to do with it. So I ended up at a translations agency, where I have worked ever since. But I long back. I know the profession I have chosen is the right one for me, because I chose it for my love of writing, creating with words. And there is nothing that can keep me away from that, even though I've spent 2˝ years trying to convince myself that I don't need that stuff. I do. "That stuff" is my passion, the thing that really makes me tick. Holmes - here's the bit you asked for: my life purpose is to teach. I'm pretty sure that I will, one way or another teach by writing. It's important for me to write about stuff that matters, not just spend my time selling stuff that makes no difference to the world, that just ain't enough for me. I'm not sure about the life work or life task, but I'm sure they will show up, as long as I keep doing what I'm good at and passionate about! Lalaurel: I agree with what several others have said, follow your heart and don't worry so much. It's OK if it takes a while to pick "just" the right path. Whichever way you go will be a part of you, so how can it be wrong if you go where your heart tells you to? Just make sure you follow your heart, not other people's expectations, or something else outside yourself! Light and love, Jenny :)

truthsayer	13 Aug 2002
i have worn so many hats thru out my life. i'm one of those wanderers who never seems to find what she's going to be when she grows up. i am a well educated person but in the big scheme of things, the educational process is what mattered most--not what i trained to do. i've done seasonal labor, babysitting, nurse's aid, vocational rehabilitation counselor, english teacher substitute, office worker/secretarial, crisis counselor, waitress,librarian, tutor, and part time community college teacher. i thought about going into nursing when i first started college at 18 but after what i saw nursing students go thru i decided to go into English teaching instead. after student teaching and substituting a few times, i realize i was simply too shy to teacher. i got my English BS and then went to Graduate school to be a VR counselor. i was able to handle one on one work quite well before i completely burned out after 12 years of working my brains and body to pieces. i've been a housewife/student for the last 3 years trying to get my bearings again for another career. i tried nursing school but even tho i loved it, i don't have the physical stamina. i had to quit nursing school in april after almost 2 years b/c i got sick. i've spent the summer recovering and trying to think of work i can do. the answer almost seems too simple. i love art, computers, and creative writing. (secondary to my love for tarot) why not take the course in advertizing and graphic design? it fits in quite well w/ my hobbies in painting, drawing, writing, photography and computers--mostly net surfing. my interests and prior education fit nicely w/ this plus i could do freelance work out of my home. that way i wouldn't have to worry about being fired if i'm not well enough to show up at the office every day. i have a plethora of subjects i can write about or draw or do wahtever w/ due to my multitude of life experiences. i haven't even talked about all the different kinds of volunteer work i've done that commerical artist and freelance writer would mold nicely w/. if i take 12 more hours of computer classes i'll be qualified to teach computer science at the entry level. so i'm all signed up to start classes on thursday. i hope it works out. i'm trying to believe in myself and not be nervous but it's hard. i'm trying to convince myself this time i'll be successful. after 3 years of trying to go back to work, i'm really struggling w/ self-esteem and self-confidence levels. it's hard to accept things as they are now b/c i was a very successful counselor for 12 years. there's no way i can hope to measure up to who i used to be. fortunately, i have friends, family and a husband to support me in my endeavors. they want me to succeed but love me anyhow if i stumble a few times before i get to where i am going. it's up to me to learn to accept where i'm going and accept that path gracefully. edited to clarify that it was nursing school up to april. i had to quit due to my health. i had another year before i could become an RN.

purplelady	13 Aug 2002
I'm 39 and just about to embark on my career path. I've worked various low-wage jobs but never really had a "real" career. I would be so totally happy to stay home and be a SAHM for the rest of my life (IF it weren't such a financial struggle) BUT financial needs simply do not allow for that anymore. Ironically I am going into nursing, starting with CNA training. There is an extreme shortage of nurses , I hear. And so my great need for a decent paying career combined with job training offers has led me here. Truthsayer, I wish you Tons of Luck and happiness in your new career! I wish I had gone to college right out of high school and gotten a degree in teaching, or computers, or even journalism. But oh well , I can't go back. And even if I could I wouldn't want to change some of the things about my life that would be different if I went to school. And perhaps some day when finances allow I would go to school for one of those things. Right now- if I could do AnyThing, it probubly Would be computers! (After all, I chose to spend the vast majority of my time on one!)

Moongold	13 Aug 2002
Intereresting questions. I chose teaching at 18 but left after 6 months because I was too inward, reserved and kids need someone who engages with them when they need it (all the time, I reckon). I went on to become a librarian, and then a community educator (back to a different kind of teaching) and then a researcher, HR person, social planner. The reality these days is that most of us will have more than one career and that education will be life long, formal and informal. You have great motivation. Teachers are usually talented, funny people and can use their skills to do almost anything. You sound quite young too, so don't feel that you are locked into anything. I don't, and I'm a little older than you! Obviously work is important. Have faith, and you'll find what you're meant to be doing. Dare I say it? Why not ask the Tarot what it can tell you? Lots of love, and good luck. Moongold

divinerguy	13 Aug 2002
I have always felt that education should not teach people a specific skill, but rather, should teach people how to overcome challenges and problems. Changing careers in mid-life is a perfect example of why this is important.

lalaurie	13 Aug 2002
:) :) :) Thank you all for these replies and wonderful insights into other worlds (it's too easy for me to get stuck in my own). Maybe I have one more specific question. Many people have mentioned following one's heart ... I have a little too much of a tendency to see both (or multiple) sides to an issue - this is sometimes a virtue but can also end up with contrary ideas bouncing around my head without solution in sight. I find this same problem with reading tarot sometimes - my head says "it could be this, or then again it could be that. but maybe it's this. and also that." ... I'm a somewhat student of the tao and so have some appreciation for opposites coinciding, but at some times decisions have to be made! A therapist recently told me that this is an example of an imbalance of mind over intuition (or "gut) and that I wasn't trusting my gut instincts. Of course, I haven't practiced his advice, which was frequest sitting meditation. (oh, another one of my flaws is that I don't practice or stick to things!) I realize now that this is a recurring theme for me (inability to make a decision... and then to stick with one) and perhaps this is at the heart of my recent beseech. So... now is there any advice about exactly *how* to follow one's heart, or gut, or to just *know* ? And/or certainly keep the career stories coming, what a wonderful way to learn about and from each other! I am so grateful to all of the replies here and to this community in general. And I sincerely wish you all the blessing of feeling good in what you do, hard times and all. with warmth, lalaurie.

Moongold	13 Aug 2002
Oh Laurie, you made me smile..... You'll learn to that when you want to. I went through something similar and almost became paralysed because I couldn't make up my mind. Later. for myself I realised that I sort of had to sieze the day. I had been both shy and afraid of making mistakes. That was me, it may not be you. God bless, Moongold

wavebreaker	14 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lalaurie So... now is there any advice about exactly *how* to follow one's heart, or gut, or to just *know* ? I think this is something you learn through experience, at least that's what I did... I used to listen mostly to my mind, making decisions based on what I thought at the moment was best for me. But then sometimes these decisions turned out not to be the best for me after all. Now when I have to make an important decision, I trust my feelings about it. It's difficult to explain ;), but sometimes a decision just "doesn't feel right", even though logically it is the best decision. In that case, I follow that feeling, not my logical mind. Sounds a big vague doesn't it, but I really don't know how else to explain it... Another thing that often helps me when having to take an important decision is to talk about it with others. Not only can they help you look at it in another way, but I often find that through talking about it, even without the other person adding new ideas or view points, I start seeing things more clearly and it's often during those talks that suddenly everything seems to fall into place, I can see the whole situation clearly and I know exactly what to do...

fairyhedgehog	14 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer after 3 years of trying to go back to work, i'm really struggling w/ self-esteem and self-confidence levels. Hi truthsayer, You are a very special person and I'm sorry to hear the struggles you have been having after getting burned out. You have so much to offer in so many ways. I really hope your new course goes well for you. Love and light, FH

fairyhedgehog	14 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lalaurie So... now is there any advice about exactly *how* to follow one's heart, or gut, or to just *know* Tarotlady I agree with everything you've written :) This is how I used my 'gut' about 18months ago: In May 2001 I had a major decision to make about part-time work. I had the offer of teaching on a course a long way away, for one weekend a month. It looked like a golden opportunity, although of course I was apprehensive. I was staying at the residential place where I would be working, and as I settled down to sleep I said (mentally, so my husband wouldn't think I was mental) 'Show me what will happen if I take this job'. That night I had a nightmare about someone I love drowning in the bathtub. I was freaked out. When I got home, I went to see a counsellor that I had worked with before, and we talked about it. She asked 'what aspect of you does that person represent?' and I realised that underneath I felt totally overwhelmed by the job. I turned it down. A few weeks or months later, a colleague from one of the courses I'd been on rang to ask if I would be teaching on that course. 'Because I was thinking of going on it, but not if you're teaching it' she said. (It may sound rude, but I'd have felt the same about her as we are at the same level.) I realised how relieved I was not to be teaching on that course. I don't usually get anything that dramatic! Love and light, FH

Marion	14 Aug 2002
lalaurie, I would agree with you, that following your heart is not all that simple. Generally your heart side doesn't just up and say what it wants. (hehe, that's why it is the heart side rather than the brain side.) And, at least for me, there isn't some big moment of revelation. It sneaks up on you, curls around your ankles, tugs gently for your attention. And sometimes you have been doing the right thing all along but were looking at it wrong. I let pride drive my decisions more than once in my life, but I have an odd kind of pride. When I went to university I decided that I wanted to be 'a scientist'. No idea what kind, just 'a scientist'. And, because of pride, I decided that a degree in Physics would be the most difficult so I had to take that degree. :D What can I say? I was 17. By the time I finished that degree I had been driven so far inward that I actually applied for a job in the Arctic would would have meant taking care of a northern monitoring site *all by myself* for a year!! Thank god/dess I didn't get the job. Luck then stepped in. I was hired by the Canadian Met service. Didn't think much of it at first, sure it was science, but what is generally called applied science. But the profession sort of worked its way into me, and I adopted the credo of virtually everyone who works in weather, which is that it is a public service. Lots of folks (non-weather people) don't think that but if you knew what we did during major storms, working with Emergency Responders, helping the snow clearing crews, you would see why we all feel that way. The other thing that happened was that it turned me back into a people person. Instead of being paralyzed with fear I go on TV and discuss not only the daily weather but all aspects of weather science, I can talk in front of hundreds of people and enjoy it because I know I am telling them what they want to know. I enjoy communicating the science. So, a job that I did not think much of initially wrapped itself around me and became my life's work. It takes a while, really.

truthsayer	14 Aug 2002
[quote]Originally posted by fairyhedgehog Hi truthsayer, You are a very special person and I'm sorry to hear the struggles you have been having after getting burned out. You have so much to offer in so many ways. I really hope your new course goes well for you. Love and light, FH [/QUOTE thanks fairyhedgehog! a vote of confidence is always appreciated. i'm tad nervous about starting this curriculum but this time i have no preconceived notions about success or failure. i'm not out to set the world on fire in a new career like i did in my twenties and early thirties. i'm just increasing and improving my computer and art skills for the sake of my art and possible work. if i find work, great! if i don't, i can commit myself to doing volunteer work, writing, and doing art. no pay but i can choose when and if i show up. ;) creating beauty or helping those in need is often the only reward i need. i am fortunate enough that i don't have to work for the sake of income. classes start tomorrow! wish me luck!

debins	14 Aug 2002
for explaining the meanings of life's purpose, life's work and life's task. I had previously come these terms and really didn't know what to do with them. You certainly are a wealth of wisdom. Namaste, Debins.

fairyhedgehog	14 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer classes start tomorrow! wish me luck! Good luck truthsayer! Let us all know how you get on. Love and light, FH

The how were you sure of your career choice? thread was originally posted on 11 Aug 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.