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Staying True to Your Passion
Some people know what they want to do with their lives from an early age. Astronaut. Veterinarian. Police officer. Maybe they met someone, read a book, or saw a movie and fell in love with that profession.
Other people choose a career because it fits their skills. They're good at math so they become an accountant. They're good at taking care of little children so they become a preschool teacher.
Just because you're good at something doesn't mean a career in that field is the right match for you. Considering that you spend the majority of your waking hours either at work or preparing and commuting to work, it would be a shame if you hated what you did for work.
| Take Nathan Sawaya. He was a smart boy. He got good grades and eventually graduated from NYU Law School. He landed a job as an attorney earning a lot of money.
But, the thing that made Nathan smile - that passion that pushed him to do something different, something daring, something that made him stand apart from everyone else was . . . legos.
It takes a courageous man to walk away from a comfortable life so he can earn $13 an hour working at what he loves. That's what Nathan did. Despite the investment of time and money it took to earn his law degree, Nathan left it all behind for the chance to get paid doing what he loved... building legos.
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See more of Nathan's lego art at www.brickartist.com
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Deciding what you want to be when you grow up can be a tough process. There's the pressure to decide whether or not you should go to college.
If you go, then there's the pressure of figuring out how you're going to pay for it. Once you're there, then you've got to pick a major - start working real jobs to build a resume - and get an internship for the experience and professional references.
Once you're a senior in college, you get to start all over again.
- Do you go to graduate school?
- Do you get a job?
- Do you take a year off and hitch hike around Europe?
Or, can you avoid it all and just stay home and play video games?
The Career Interest and Skill Survey is an online test that helps you discover what skills you are good at and what careers interest you. The CISS takes about 30 minutes to complete. Once you're done, you'll receive an electronic report that talks about your skills and interests.
This report isn't going to make the decision for you about what you'll do when you grow up.
In fact, there's many other things you need to think about after you take the Career Interest and Skill Survey. Here are just a few questions you can begin to consider:
- Does having a lot of money motivate you to work hard?
- Do you like talking with strangers and being around large groups of people?
- How well do you handle pressure and deadlines?
- Do you like to be outdoors?
- Is it important that you only work a Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00 job?
- Are you okay with going to school for another 6 or more years to get the degrees you need so you can work in certain jobs?
Making decisions about your future should take some time. Picking a college major, a trade school, or a career should involve more time than just filling out an application at your local burger joint and hoping something comes along.
The good news is, even if you think you know what you want to do, you can always change your mind.
Remember Nathan? Sure, he took a major cut in pay so he could work at LegoLand. Some people may even say that he wasted a lot of money getting his law degree just so he could play with legos and call it work.
But, after 2 years as a Lego Master Builder, Nathan returned to New York City where he now works as a commissioned artist earning thousands of dollars to build just one sculpture.
It's never too late to follow your passion!
Sign-up to take the Career Inventory today. Or, contact Hand In Hand for more information.
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