Some people use these words interchangeably. For me, though, they are quite different. Work is..well..work. It is not necessarily enjoyable, although you might get satisfaction from completing the task. It is a means of making a livelihood for paying bills and enjoying vacations, but implied in the name, at least to me, is a lack of enjoyment, growth, or specialization. The dictionary suggests that a "job" is a piece of work. I couldn't agree more, my job has certainly been a piece of work lately!
A career is something completely different. The word implies growth and change. Learning new things and keeping interests fresh. What makes a career different than a job is the ability to learn new things, grow mentally, and develop yourself and your position over time. It keeps you from becoming stagnant and bored.
Lately, my career has become a job. I love the work that I do, working with people and helping to meet there communication goals, but I've been doing the same type of work for the past 8 years with the same company, without a chance of growth or promotion. I feel as stagnant as the perc ponds on hot summers day in San Jose. I have spoken to management about this, but I am at the highest level allowed. Need for productivity prevents me from carving out large chunks of time to grow new skills, and the lack of support from my management makes it difficult to spend money developing the speech therapy program further. Ultimately, though, the real limitation is that I have noone to learn from and the team does not seem interested in develop programs in the department.
So, what's a girl to do? I've been asking myself this for the last few months. I find myself dragging my feet getting into work in the morning and chomping at the bit to leave at the end of the day. I'm not old enough to retire (although retirement gets closer and closer), and I am not one to be idle. I am fortunate enough to be in a position to take a break and do something new, but what will that be?
I've toyed with the idea of going back to school and getting my phD. This would, of course, be for growth purposes, but would not improve my salary potential. As a matter of fact, if I decide to teach after obtaining the phD, I'll probably take a reduction in pay... I know, hard to believe! Still it may be worth doing as a change of direction..
Other thoughts include, volunteering for the ALS association or Parkinson's Institute, learning to play an instrument, or becoming a veterinary technician :-) As you can see, I'm all over the place on this.
One thing I know for sure, I cannot do the same thing, unchanged, for the next 10 years until retirement. And a retirement package/pension is not enough to keep me in a "job" for 10 more years if I am not learning and growing.
The future is out there... I feel I am at a turning point right now, and I need to explore in which direction I should turn.
Write-on,
Faith
