Are You In The Wrong Career?
by Steve Bohler, Oxford Program Founder

Working at a job you hate because you have to pay the bills is just as much a form of bondage as is slavery. To avoid this bondage, change careers you care about!

Having an attraction to the subject matter of your work is one of the major building blocks of career satisfaction and can make the difference between jumping out of bed on Monday morning, and having to be coaxed, cajoled or dragged from that warm refuge. Your interest, involvement and, yes, passion, can make work far more satisfying and less, well, like "work".

I hear some people say that work is not supposed to be interesting. I can't accept that. That's like getting married for the tax breaks, or eating because you need the calories. A career should be about "hard fun".

For those that think that work shouldn't be fun, here are some other factors to take into consideration:

Success
More than having a bunch of letters after your name, having passion for your work leads to success in your career.

Health
Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. is the most common time of the week for heart-attacks (source: Center for Disease Control). Need I say more?

What if you don't know what you're interested in?

My experience in career counseling has shown me that not everyone has a clear idea of what they're interested in or passionate about. So how do you bring to light those things that "start your engine"?

There are no "tests" that I know of that can accurately predict a person's interests. Although they are often a reflection of a person's personality, interests are unique to every person.

But there are some "tests" which do a good job of summarizing your interests and motivations. An assessment, such as the Career Decisions Inventory (CDI)  measures not only what you indicate you are interested in, but how much skill you think you have in that area as well. It also goes a step further and compares your interests to the interests of professionals who are happy and successful in their careers and indicates which of those professions might suit you.

For many, however, all they need to do is take a good, long look inside of themselves.

Richard Bolles suggests in What Color Is Your Parachute that you pay attention to the language used at the workplace. "If you work as a legal secretary, the language is that of Legal procedures. Therefore, Law is the language you have to live with, all day long, at that workplace."

In other words, you want to speak the language you know and enjoy speaking. If you love to speak French, you'd probably be more fulfilled living in a French-speaking region. If you love to speak the language of "law", you'd probably be more satisfied working in the field of law. If you love to speak about history, well, surround yourself with the discussion of history.

Ask yourself these types of questions:

• If I were given all of the knowledge I needed, on what subject would I write a book?

• What subject could I discuss endlessly?

• If I were stranded on a desert island with access to magazines on just one subject, what would it be?

What to do once you know your passions?

First, you must decide how important it is to you to be fascinated about the "language" of your work? If having work that uses your talents and fits your personality is enough to give you the sense of "meaning" that you need, then being interested in the topic at hand is just wonderful icing on the cake. On the other hand, if you value being passionate about the subject matter of your work, then you should make it an absolute, no-compromise requirement of your career.

Don't be afraid to "sculpt" your career. Too many people settle for mediocre careers because they don't believe they can have it all.

For example, if your profession is company-oriented in nature (e.g. marketing), pick an organization whose product, service or "mission" is in line with your interests. If you're a programmer and love the stock market, try to get a job in the program trading division of an investment bank. If you love to mountain bike, how about helping to develop a website that displays real-time mountain biking race results.

If you want to be a ski coach and live in Florida year-round, you'll have to get creative. Start an indoor ski training facility and cater to people who want to maintain their technique during the off-season!

In other words, make it happen!

I believe there is something downright strange (but wonderful) about this world that causes passion and commitment to be rewarded.

As Goethe said, "That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred..."

Work takes up to 75% of our waking life -- wouldn't you prefer to spend it doing something that you enjoy. You have just one life to live. It's far better to actually live that life rather than merely exist in the "bondage" of an unsuitable career.

About the Author: Steve Bohler is the founder and head coach of the Oxford Program career programs.