Recently I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do for a career, or, as I joke, what I want to do when I “grow up”. For me, part of coming to Ireland and living abroad, was to give me a chance to breathe, to dream and to realize what is really important in life.
When I was little, I always wanted to be a teacher. Then, when I was 16, I changed my mind and wanted to be a Wedding Planner. Since then I have wanted to be a million different things, with a Wedding Planner being the only steadfast career.
As I have been working on my lists (that I blogged about a few weeks ago), I have come up with a list of things that are important for me in a career and things or traits that I am either looking to avoid or that make me nervous (though…not everything that makes me nervous is bad!).
The list makes me smile because it is truly helping me figure out what I want to do! It may seem vague or a bit repetitive but there are certain things that seem to stand out. I want to work with people, making a difference (big or small). I want to have flexibility within my job (be it work hours, vacation time, I am not exactly sure what I mean by flexibility but I just mean it!). I want opportunities for growth and for life long learning. I want job security (who doesn’t?) and I want to be able to work with a group of people, either co-workers or a community, that are like-minded. Oh…and I want to be able to travel (either with the job or have enough time to travel during my vacation).
On the flip side, I want to avoid careers that have a lack of growth and are risky. I also want to (this is a big one!) be able to separate my home and work life (i.e. I want to be able to turn the blackberry off some nights) and I also want to be able to be invested in my career but not overly invested (i.e. be thinking about other people’s problems or be worried about work all the time). I also don’t want to be chained to a desk for eight hours a day (not that I don’t want to work in an office…it’s just not a top choice).
Do I seem a bit demanding? A bit unrealistic about my goals? MAYBE. But, the list is mine and it is helping me understand, I think for the first time ever, what I am hoping to get out of a career. I am edging closer and closer to what I want to do. I am sending emails, looking into qualifications, it’s all good 🙂 I am getting excited about actually KNOWING what I want to do!
More on this coming soon…
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