My Hot Take on Careers and Career Choice: How to Choose the Right One and Be Happy

Dream it, Plan it, Build it.

Once upon a time, I thought my career had to guarantee a high-level of income and employment with benefits. I achieved that goal and was making a base salary of $50,000 with a $20,000 for three and a half years. It worked out well and I was able to sock away a solid chunk of change for retirement, but honestly? I was miserable. I didn't have a good work-life balance, pushed my mental-health past the brink of sanity and had no skills in managing my money. In short, I wasn't able to enjoy what I had while I had it. I did some things right, but the focus I had on acquiring money was over-powering my feeling of success. I felt like a failure and didn't have time for the things I loved.

Today I feel the theory of having a career is overrated. We work so hard to stay loyal to one employer in order to be the "provider" and have plenty of money to pay back the beaucoups of student loans we took, but do we have what we need? No, we don't.

We might have a solid job and somewhat stable income, but it takes a lot to keep it. If one boss comes in and decides they don't like us there goes our job. Or a year before we retire and get a full pension we get told they're laying us off and we only get a percentage. Here's the bottom line: We cannot rely on an employer or the government for our continued success and stability (Also businesses can go out of business at any time, sometimes you see it coming, sometimes it eats your lunch).

So what do we do?

Set the foundation for your success with some kind of education.

Remember how basket-weaving was made fun of and people thought you couldn't do anything with it? I was recently at a state fair where one woman was selling a basket she made for $600. Just 1! She had an entire stall. So about 10-15 baskets and she was making another. If each basket sold for $600 (varying prices but just for example's sake) and she had sixteen (including the one she was making)?

16*$600 = $9,600

Aside from the ideas I have to do with that money (student loans #1) can you imagine if she sold all those baskets in a week?

$9,600 * 52(weeks) = $499,200 per year

I don't think anyone's laughing at basket weaving now.

Personally, I majored in Retail Merchandising and Product Development with a minor in Business. I had dreams (albeit grandiose) of opening my own fashion house and being a couturier in France. Okay, a little out there, but not totally out of the question (Admission: I just now started sewing garments. I'm a little behind, but hey! I've got time). Even as I came down from the massive dream of owning my own company (because overhead costs are a thing) I never fully gave up on my dreams and thought what if I could do it small scale? Next, I went into MBA school. Naturally, I graduated with honors a third time and then lost all momentum and went back to restaurant work after complete and total burnout. Five years later I'm finally doing what I want to do: working for a restaurant part time and slowly starting my businesses.

When you go to college they'll tell you your degree will make a certain range on an annual basis. What got me was I focused hard on that figure and I based my whole future on it. Can you say tunnel vision? I can. It was all I could see. I didn't see the rest of it.

Education is important because it can set the foundation for your future, but does not have to define it. Had I kept to my degree I'd be working in retail management making $40-$50k per year. I found out very quickly I wanted nothing to do with that life. I would rather be broke for longer and create something for my family than work for an employer who could terminate me at any given moment for anything they didn't like (in case you haven't noticed I have a major independent and rebellious streak).

I promise, there's a point.

1. Go for either a college degree or trade skill.

   1. College is great for becoming a teacher, a medical professional (nurse, doctor, vet, etc), a manager, business owner or some other profession that requires a Masters

   2. Trades can go anywhere and if you're an essential trade (i.e. plumber, electrician) you'll never be out of work and people will pay you more to fix their problems or the problems someone else caused.

2. Take 2 business courses

   1. First, entrepreneurship

      1. The essential how to start a business/write a business plan/etc (best class I ever took in my undergrad and graduate school)

   2. Contract law

      1. The more you understand how to interpret and write contracts the more secure you can be in attaining work and protecting yourself from shenanigans. (Best use of my Minor)

3. Plan a career path for when you get out of school

   1. There is nothing wrong in wanting to work for one employer or another or starting your own company.

   2. Have a backup plan for job loss (this is where a solid savings account can come into play) and pivoting into another phase of your career. Any life-long career professional will tell you at some point they've had to pivot and it's crucial you constantly build up your skills to either move into another position or transition to a higher-pay.

      1. In the tech world computer scientists and programmers are always keeping up with the latest trends, newest products and languages to keep up. This is an excellent way to protect yourself and make yourself invaluable.

   
   

So if education is the foundation of your future then what makes up the rest of it? This is the best part: Creating what you want out of life.

1. Decide how much you want to work.

   1. Five days a week? Four days?

   2. Frankly, I prefer four days in the restaurant and three days to my own devices.

2. What kind of money you'd like to make

   1. Then decide how you're going to get there.

   2. For example: You want to be a corporate trainer that gets hired on contract. First, learn the skills. Second, maybe work full time for a bit. Third, start freelancing and building a portfolio.

3. What kind of house/boat/car you want

   1. Are we talking a tiny house with a garden or a farm house with land?

   2. Do you want a Toyota or a Tesla? Or are we going all-out for a Lambo?

4. Make decisions that will project your retirement for a lifestyle you want

   1. First, make sure you have enough to meet base expenses (groceries, internet, etc) then make sure you have enough to support the lifestyle.

   2. Do you need $1500/m or $5k/m

5. Decide whether or not you want to retire.

   1. I have other careers I'd like to pursue but certainly nothing as intensive as what I'm doing now.

I'm sure this is getting overwhelming. So let me keep it simple: Your life is yours to build and create. Education should be your foundation for success not its restriction.

When you've decided exactly what you want out of life and a career don't be afraid to make adjustments. You may have to make some concessions in order to get to where you want, but make sure where you're going and what you're doing is exactly where you want to be as you go along. If you're in transition, that's okay! You can always learn a new skill, pivot, and conquer your future with pride. When you live life on your terms you are happier, more free, and less stressed. This has been my experience and I hope you find your joy.

Ellie