My job doesn’t suit me after all – the quarter-life crisis
The quarter life crisis. Young, gifted, able workers who have done all the right things and got a job in a corporate field – only to find by their late 20s that they are unhappy with their work. And it’s hardly surprising – being good at a subject or having mastered a skill is not necessarily a guide to whether you’ll like a job which uses those subjects or skills.
- Being good at English doesn’t mean you will love being a lawyer – you might hate the pressure.
- Being good at maths doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy accounting – you might not agree with a large accounting firm’s values.
- Being good at cooking doesn’t mean you will enjoy being a chef – you might hate the night work or the stress.
- Being a great designer doesn’t mean architecture is for you – you might hate the client contact, sales aspects and conflicts with tradespeople.
- Being good at photography doesn’t mean you’ll be a successful photographer – did you realise 90% of your time will be spent at a computer, and a sizeable part of it on marketing, invoicing and other business activities?
Photography may look like a glamorous career but basically it’s about running a business
There are more things to a work environment than the actual tasks. Your own values and your own personality are also huge influencers in job satisfaction and easy to overlook in the hunt for a career.
The New Zealand Herald also recently reported a survey showing that the key values for many people in their 20s are personal fulfillment and personal growth.
Coming soon – ways how to find out if a job might be for you.
I know that feeling. I trained to become a Civil Engineer but after 6 years I decided I didn’t want to carry on so I have looked to move into nursing. Completely different ends of the spectrum but I am really looking forward to the change!
Hi Emily. You are certainly not alone! I hope your shift to nursing works out well for you.
Patricia
Interesting Worldlywisdoms, but every Adult knows that there are no Guarantee and equal Chances in Life , Carrer, Partnership etc. The Life ist Challenge in evrey Views, Some succeeds and find his way, some others sorrily not. Iam planing to visit soonly NZ. And Besides I want to Check the Opportunities for my Profession in NZ.
In my Profile ( Infos) of facebook are Some Links about me and my Career Vita, like xing.com, linkedin etc
Yes – you are right, peple have to find their own way and sometimes lives are hard. As Lauren said in the next blog – it is a ‘first world problem’ to have a job you do not like.
There is information about job opportunities in New Zealand on our website http://www.careers.govt.nz. Put your profession in the search box and you will get a list of results. On the Job Summary page there are also links to job advertisments.
Immigration New Zealand also has a website that might be useful http://www.immigration.govt.nz.
Best wishes
Patricia