by Ashley Coffey, Analyst
When kids dream about what they want to be when they grow up it is generally the superhero, or ninja, or they want to be a princess for the rest of their life. No matter how extravagant the jobs are that kids dream about, they have already picked up on something that many adults miss. Kids pick these unrealistic jobs mainly because of one reason—they sound fun. It seems that often when we grow out of our childish ambitions we seem to focus solely on money and lose sight of having fun. I can honestly say that I fell into that trap.
As I graduated high school I had my career mapped out. I would attend BYU in the fall and major in communications and after that continue to law school.
Somewhere between graduating high school and attending BYU it all changed for me. One summer in my internship at the Utah Department of Workforce Services I was tasked with creating a lot of occupational skill packets. The very first one I put together was for a lawyer. I stared at the material and was very confused about why I had ever thought I was compatible with this occupation. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a lawyer, but the reason I had chosen it was money. I never even took a second to wonder if my interests would be entertained in that occupation.
I really love to be creative, artistic, and I also feel the need for independence. After doing some searches on O*NET Online http://online.onetcenter.org/ I found occupations like artist and author, but something that hadn’t really been in my mind before was marketing. That is an occupation that will allow all my interests to be satisfied. I have thus decided to veer off my course of being a lawyer and to enter the field of management in marketing and advertising. I feel like this is an occupation where I will be not just content, but happy.
As you are thinking about possible careers, be sure to account for your personal happiness, and remember to think like a kid—find a job that’s fun for you.
