Job vs Career- Guest Post

A couple of months ago, Raewyn, sent me a random email, which resulted in us exchanging several emails and having the opportunity to get to know each other. A portion of our emails revolved around work...it was fun to talk to her about working for a non-profit and hearing her views on the subject. I'm so excited that Raewyn is guest posting today, and I love the topic she picked- job vs career!


Hi there! My name is Raewyn and I blog over at Be a Warrior Queen. I admire Melissa for working in a field that she loves and I wanted to share with you my favorite way of finding a career that I love.

I've had a lot of jobs and worked a lot of places. Some of those jobs could have been careers, but they didn't end up that way for me. In the past month I've accepted a position as a computer teacher and I can seriously see this being a career.

So how do you know which is a job and which is a possible career?

I weighed the pros and cons of my jobs. Some I would have been happy with sticking out for several years but things got in the way, and others I just knew were temporary.

I do love notes for customers! 

For example, some people could be a server for their whole lives. They make great money and aren't the primary bread winner so they serve for some extra cash and love the experience. For me, I knew I couldn't server forever. It is so unstable and, while I've always met great people, sometimes the stress just is not worth it. I also felt this way working in retail!

I've also worked at a couple of automotive places - a dealership and an autobody shop doing office work. Many people choose this as a career choice and I almost did. For me, something just didn't feel right. I liked the people I worked with and I enjoyed learning new things, but something was missing.

It's that something that we all need to focus on. Even if you feel happy in your job, if you still feel it is a job and not a career, then I suggest taking a look deeper inside yourself for that something.

1. Make a list of the things you love to do as hobbies. 
2. Then make a list of the parts of your job that you love and the parts that really make you want to stay home from work. 
3. Then take a career test, just for fun. It will relax your mind a little bit. 
4. Now, take a look at all three of your lists. Are there some things on your hobbies list that tie into parts of your job / a job that you love? 

A.k.a. Do you love to knit scarves and you love the part of your job that allows you to be creative? Maybe you have a knack for creative design and could look into finding work in that career path. Note: In this day and age it is incredibly simple to build an online portfolio and find work!

Do you love to spend your time on social media and interacting with people and love the times when you can tell people what it is your work does? Maybe you're more into marketing!

I'll let you in on a little secret - while you're doing all of this soul searching, the universe is aligning things so that your deepest desires come true. If you're thinking about doing something in marketing, an opportunity is going to present itself.

I would love to hear about your career exploration process or if you ever need any advice, shoot me an email!




Thanks Raewyn for guest posting!