What is your dream job?
A simple question, yet it scares the pants off young professionals. We duck it, dance around it, and drown it in disclaimers. We don’t want to answer this question honestly because once we verbalize our uncensored professional dreams, those dreams could become (gasp) expectations
God forbid we set expectations that we might not meet. Such recklessness could jeopardize our “gifted” status.
Our generation was raised to believe that we can and should achieve all of our dreams. Therefore, rather than admit to a dream and fail to achieve it right away, we’d rather take out “pride protection” insurance.
In other words, we lie.
We play it safe. We set up scenarios where we can under-promise and over-perform. When people ask the dream job question, we respond by saying by saying that we dream of “becoming entrepreneurs” or “getting jobs where we can help people” or “having a careers that “give us more control of our time.”
Bla bla LAME bla bla.
Vaguely-ambitious goals are not dreams. Dreams are vivid and exciting, they are specific, and they aren’t immediately attainable. Furthermore, the dream job question is not a question of lifestyle it is a question of occupation.
What do you want to do? Not ‘what can you do?’ or ‘what do you want to do tomorrow?’ but ‘what would you do if you could do anything in the entire world?’ If you had a magic lamp with a genie inside, what would you ask for? A career that gives you more control over your time?
Didn’t think so.
Just because they economy sucks and we’ve been forced to modify our short-term goals, doesn’t mean we should censor our long-term dreams. Be honest with yourself now and avoid getting caught in a cycle of uninspired security later.
What happens when you really just don't know? I don't know what my dream job is. I wish I did, then I could go out and find it or make it!
Posted by: Vanessa | March 02, 2009 at 08:12 AM
Vanessa -
Think first about what you would do for a living if you could do anything. That's your dream job.
Keep in mind, your dream job may change as you progress through your career.
Posted by: Jacob Greene | March 02, 2009 at 09:11 AM
"Dreams are vivid and exciting, they are specific, and they aren’t immediately attainable."
I love this - it exactly describes my dream :) I'm working through my quarterlife crisis by keeping this dream in mind - everything I do will build towards this goal, which is specific & not immediately attainable (I'm thinking about 1 1/2 yrs).
Good post! Thanks!
Posted by: Austin Chic | March 10, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Interesting post and very good points. I think you're totally right. I seem to think up a new dream job once or twice a week and each one tends to last for about 3 days before I realize I'm not going to attain it in the next month, so I get frustrated and find something else to do.
Gotta work on that...
Posted by: Will | March 15, 2009 at 07:10 PM