Are Dream Jobs Overrated? 5 Post-Grad Questions To Ask When Deciding Your Career Path
Are dream jobs overrated? If only you could find the clear-cut answer to this question inside graduation presents, right? Neatly wrapped, with a pretty bow on top. But that ain’t the case.
Whether you’re a new grad dealing with the fading afterglow, a freshie about to start college or a high school student picking out your major, which career to pursue is one of life’s biggest questions.
Facing big career questions could be daunting. I know, I may be an article from the internet but I’ve been there, too. I found breaking them down into more specific questions comforting and more practical.
Here are 5 questions you can start with.
How much do you know about your dream job?
Here’s a little exercise. Picture what a day of working your dream job looks like. Resist the temptation of glamourizing it. Get real. Go to the parts that wouldn’t excite you. Away from the real action, drill deep into the day-to-day.
If you painted a detailed account, you’re at a great starting point! If not, ask yourself again, how much do you actually know about your dream job?
When you have realistic expectations of what you’ll be getting yourself into, you can make a more informed decision about your career track. Here are some thought starters:
- What is the career path? What are the prerequisite skills and positions you should go for?
- What is the starting salary range?
- How competitive is the market for this job?
- What are the hours? Is there flexibility?
- What are the everyday challenges at work?
- What is the culture in this industry?
- How relevant is your major?
- Is the outlook for this career promising?
- Can you see yourself working in this industry for 5 years? 10 years?
- Can you see yourself enjoying the culture surrounding this industry?
- Can you tolerate the kind of people you will work with/for in the industry?
- Which of these questions is more important to you? Why?
The good news is, you don’t have to have all of these figured out right away. If you’re still in college, take as much information as you can! Apply to different opportunities on campus to explore and build a strong network. The relationships and connections you form on and off campus are great resources for nailing down the specifics of your dream job. You can find useful tips on how to network in this article.
The same is true if you’ve graduated already. Reach out to professors. Ask a family member. Pick the brains of your org mates. Network on LinkedIn. Get info from the internet. The more you know, the more confident you’ll be with your decision.
How is your financial situation?
Does your money jiggle-jiggle or does it fold? I’m sorry but I just had to. This song has been stuck in my head for God knows how long!
Kidding aside, you have to evaluate your current financial status in the most honest way possible.
- Do you have student loans? How much will you pay monthly?
- Can you live off your savings while job-hunting?
- How many months will it take before you reach a stable financial footing?
- How much is your monthly expense?
- What is your savings plan?
These are important questions to consider before braving the job market. Should you take the lower-paying opportunity that brings you closer to your dream career, or should you go after a better-paying position? Neither decision is wrong, you just have to really know what’s best for you in the moment and in the long run.
The earlier you think and plan about your financial foundation, the more control you will have in your life in the future. If you’re interested in tracking and projecting your finances, you can explore this super-easy-to-use budget planner from NerdWallet.
What are your strengths, weaknesses, and qualifications?
Skill matching is a top indicator of success in any industry. You gotta have the tools and know-how to perform a job. No use applying at NASA if you don’t have the right qualifications and expertise, right?
As you navigate your college life, you’ll discover what you’re good at. And as your priorities change, you may also learn that what you excelled at before doesn’t feel right anymore. Assessing your current strengths, weaknesses, and qualifications will steer you to the next logical step.
Time for another exercise!
- List 20 skills. Include hard and soft skills. Hard skills are those related to your major or part-time jobs, soft skills are your personal strengths: communication, problem-solving, analytical skills, etc. What are you most passionate about?
- List 10 instances you screwed up. What skills did you lack that led to the boo-boos?
- Have you done something in the past that makes you qualified for your dream job? Any certifications or citations?
- Now, take a look at your list. Let it help you reflect more about what you can do, want to do, need to improve, will enjoy doing, and what you can learn to do.
What motivates you?
They say choose a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. But it’s not as straightforward as that.
Our decisions are driven by our motivations. Are you after prestige? Are you out to revolutionize an industry? Or do you want a job that sufficiently pays the bills and builds a functional home life with your pets? It’s different for everybody but you have to know where you fall.
Here’s a list of workers’ archetypes from Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, that may help you narrow down your motivations in relation to your career.
- Do you feel like work shouldn’t be someone’s whole life? You might be an operator. You think work is a means to an end. You are not concerned about always standing out but are an excellent team player. Operators are dependable backbones of different organizations.
- Do you find meaning in directly improving the lives of others? You might be a giver. Your track may be in the teaching or medical profession. You like to plan, are selfless, and are cautious.
- Are you after mastering your craft? You might be an artisan. You look for jobs that inspire and feed your desire to perfect your skills. You value autonomy over forming work relationships.
- Are you looking for jobs that provide variety and excitement? You might be an explorer. You see life as an adventure. You are extremely adaptable and like taking risks. Explorers don’t rely on their careers for a sense of identity. Your mindset on professional development is to achieve only the level they need to succeed.
- Do you think you’re on a mission to change the world? You might be a pioneer. You are an innovator. You have strong opinions on how things should work and find a way to create that change.
- Are you motivated by compensation and status? You might be a striver. You are powered by the desire to make something for yourself. You tend to choose well-trodden paths to success.
Is this something you really have to do now?
If you’re lucky, the job prospect you’ll have after graduation could already be your dream job. But for many, it’s still a long road ahead. This is why you have to ask this very last question as well. Is this something you really have to do now? Or are you better off trying a different route to expand your horizon?
The path to most dream jobs isn’t always linear. And more often than not, life has a way of surprising us. What to do if you don’t have a dream job at the moment? Explore! Wandering is normal. You don’t have to have it all figured out right away.
So, are dream jobs overrated? We'll let you decide if yours is. But it is best to think of it as going after your dream life instead. A state where you feel most in control–of your finances, time, social life, mental health, creativity, of your life! If there’s something we learned from the pandemic, it's that things change all the time. When deciding your career path, use the questions listed above and go for what makes sense now. Follow a path until you like it no more, then change paths when it makes sense. That’s okay. Life is about the journey anyway.