who the $% am i?

i often read articles on personal and professional development.  in my reading, i have found that it is not uncommon for similar themes to carry through both realms - the personal and professional - and that they often overlap.  the separation between work and home has become nearly obsolete in our generation, many thanks to smart phones and wireless devices.  blah, blah, blah...you've heard this before.

some recent articles brought testy questions to my mind.  first off, should we be defined by our chosen careers?  if so, what does our job say about us as individuals?  the second, are we in the "right" professional role?  if not...what would the "right" job look like?

first things first.  being defined by your job choice.  it happens.  it happens almost every day, whenever you meet someone new and they ask, "so, what do you do?"  they're trying to figure you out.  trying to decide how to categorize you.  it's merely a human means of making sense of the world as they encounter it.

are you the techie-type or are you a schmoozer?  are you a numbers guy/gal or do you work in a creative department?  are you a physical laborer or do you sit behind a desk?  are you salaried or working on an hourly wage?

people take in this information and form an opinion about you.  it happens.  i do it.  it's happened to me.  the question: should it?

in an ideal job market where folks can find what they're passionate about and earn money doing it, i'd say yes.  absolutely.  but this is not an ideal job market.  i don't know that the ideal job market has or will ever exist.

so let's go with "maybe".  certainly not always.

do you think it's smart to assume your neighborhood barrista works behind the counter because she's passionate about coffee?  that she wakes up every day yearning to make change for your extra-foam latte?

do you think every law student graduates and decides to go into litigation because there's nothing else they'd rather do?

i don't think so.  but i also think that there are certain qualities that can be assumed based on what someone "does"...qualities such as ambition, appreciation of regularity versus flexible schedules, desire for creative expression and desire for wealth.

you can disagree with me.  this is just my take.

so let's take me as an example.  i work in business development for an engineering firm.  i have an office, and travel several times a month.

as a biology student in undergrad, did i dream of one day representing an engineering firm?  no.
do i revel in the process of putting together my monthly expense reports?  no.
do i love working with intelligent people, the folks that make up my company?  absolutely.
is the opportunity to be both creative (marketing) and strategically aggressive (sales) attractive to me?  yes!

so what does this say about me?  you decide.

my major points: (1) people judge you based on your career choices, and (2) you can't entirely figure a person out based on what you see on their resume.

often, folks are just looking for a paycheck.  and they take what's available.

the second question i posed comes down to this: how do you figure out what you really want to be doing with your professional life?  maybe that's what you're doing now.  but maybe it's not.

or maybe this: your professional life should be completely separate from things you like to do.  grind through the work day so that you have the money to do what you enjoy after 5pm.

i don't know the answer.  i don't know what works for you.  but - while i concede that a major perk of my job is earning the money to enjoy life outside of work - i like to think that your chosen career should, if possible, include areas that you are passionate about.  it shouldn't be time thrown in the trash in exchange for a paycheck.

the second article i referenced at the onset of this post covers a suggested method for figuring out what you're good at and what you're passionate about, intending to result in your ideal professional future.

(note: it requires the help of a friend)

maybe you want to be a pro athlete.  but are you good enough?  perhaps you should stay off the field or court.  could you be happy enough making a living by commentating on or working in the athletic industry?

personally, my interests are so varied i have a hard time figuring out what my "ideal" professional future would look like.  perhaps something like a healthy cafe serving coffee, wine, and light bites, with a library and fitness studio attached.  oh, and i'd like to be a licensed dietitian so that i can offer nutritional advice.  oh, i'd also like to have my mba so that i could run the business effectively.  oh yeah - i'd also like to have advanced culinary skills so that i can contribute effectively to the menu.

...it would also be nice if this venture would make enough money so that i could pay my bills...

no problem, right?  ehh...i think i'm going to have to scale back on this "vision" before i can really make a go at it.  and pray that i don't change my mind in two weeks.

what would your ideal professional future look like?  is it attainable?  do you think that only your ideal professional future would allow for others to "define" you?

i'm interested in your thoughts.  i'm also interested in anyone submitting a business plan so that i can carry out my eventual professional ideal :)