dumb question from old lady

[runamuk]

I am serious.....a job is a job is a job...you work to make money to pay bills ....... to this day I do not know how anyone could aspire to working because it is enjoyable......I mean owning your own business is totally different...but to aspire to a career that leaves you working for someone else is beyond my scope of understanding

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: it is still just a job just to pay bills and buy stuff (if your lucky)

So am I the only person that thinks this way?......I am really curious because a guy I work with cannot believe I would want to own my own business ....which blew my mind who wouldn't want to run their own life..... my first business I owned was when I was 14......I don't do well working for others.......I am far better doing my own thing but right now it doesn't pay the mortgage ...1 more year then i can find a part time close to home job if all goes well..............and by 2008 I am planning not to be working for anyone else...hally..looo...ya :bgrin :bgrin

 

[tuffsmom]

I have never understood the word "career". I MISS having a job! Running your own business is tough, as I'm sure you already know! I have not had a "day off" in over a year at least. However, I do enjoy what I do, or else I would have quit long ago.

I can't go to get groceries without forwarding phone calls to my cell phone, can't go outside to feed without taking the phone, nor can I go to the bathroom without the phone. I love the fact that I get to stay home, but to be able to leave work at work would be lovely!

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Now I have to figure out how to give birth in September, and answer phones and e-mails at the same time. Should be tons of fun. And when it's 8:00 a.m. and I'm still puking (and have been since about 6:00 a.m.), the phone is still ringing. I'd love to be able to call in sick.

 

[mininik]

Well, I guess we can always look it up at www.m-w.com:

Main Entry: 1ca·reer

Pronunciation: k&-'rir

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle French carrière, from Old Provençal carriera street, from Medieval Latin carraria road for vehicles, from Latin carrus car

1 a : speed in a course <ran at full career> b : COURSE, PASSAGE

2 : ENCOUNTER, CHARGE

3 : a field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement especially in public, professional, or business life <Washington's career as a soldier>

4 : a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling <a career diplomat>

My take is that a career might still be your job and visa versa but a career follows a certain path rather than just "any old job" someone might take. I also understand wanting to be self-employed (I thought I wanted to be about the same time I thought I wanted a house) but have since reconsidered as it's hard to be everything all by yourself. Not very many people can do it and succeed. The statistics are out there so it doesn't surprise me that you've run into people who can't imagine taking the plunge.

Good luck!

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[keeperofthehorses]

Well, in my feeble mind, career equals pension. I have a job with a government agency. I may not stick with this job forever, but my career will be with the state, because of the retirement. I'm vested as of last year, so I'm stuck with it unless I want to start over. I'm not counting on SS, so retirement is my highest professional priority.

I was self-employed for a long time and while I do miss it, there is much more long-term security in working for 'the man'.

 

[sedeh]

My career was in Nursing. I can't say it was my passion going into it.....didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I had wanted to be a vet(of course) but my mom talked me into nursing. She had felt stuck in her first marriage because she wasn't independent financially and didn't want the same for me. She was so afraid that I'd start Vet school, meet someone, get married, and then not have a profession to fall back on. A wise woman my mom! Being an RN has given me great mobility. Not only in the profession but also in geography! You can move anywhere and there are RN positions. They talk about "burn-out" but I don't see how because there are sooooooo many areas to go into. I've tried OB, Pediatrics, ICU and for the last 19 years I've been an ER nurse. I'm not sure where I'll go to when my body can't handle ER anymore....maybe home health or hospice. Wherever I end up I know it will be a continued learning process......and I do still love to learn!

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

runamuk, I agree with you. A career=job=money=pay bills! I have been fortunate to where I never had to work out, :aktion033: other then a few part-time jobs which were just helping friends out.(you know--the "any old job" type person! :bgrin

: ) I did at one time own my own ceramic studio, which was alot of fun, but after 12 yrs of ceramics I gave it up. I have also trained horses since I was 18 yrs old, but that ended 10 yrs ago, from a bad back. I guess my career would be my animals in general, which is a job,

: pay--next to nothing,

: but very rewarding,

: and no it dont pay the bills, :bgrin but I wouldnt trade it for any career in the world :bgrin ! My close friend is a equine vet..I have seen the days and nights she is putting into her practice, she has no life of her own. :no: I would never want that, and she is wearing herself out doing it. I keep telling her we need to clone her. In todays world the job security is not what it use to be either. The only benifit I can see is the pension if the business offers it. There are also alot of people who have chosen a certain career, have gone to years of schooling for it...only to find out, its not everything they thought, or cant get a job in that field, so they in turn have to "take any old job" just to make ends meet, and alot of times the "any old jobs" turn out to be the perfect job! Corinne

 

[Ashley]

To me it is a job your are happy with, and chose to do because you like it, not be casue you have to do it.

Like now, the job i do is a job. I hate it but it pays the bills. What I want to do is something I have always wanted and could see myself doing the rest of my life.

 

[Jill]

I think "career" can me a lot of different things depending on who you ask.

To me, it's more than just the occupation you are in to earn a living. To me, it's a "career" if you plan for it to be long term and if it is something you are continually learning and refining -- something you keep "working" on to improve.

I also cannot really imagine working for someone else.

 

[minih]

I guess I can see from both sides, I work for someone else, I get good benefits and pay I am happy with. Can always use more, right?

: I will have a good retirement, and I enjoy who I work with and what I do. Like all things we have to do everyday, it can get on my nerves at times, but I wait my discontent out usually and glad I did, I have been there for 14 years so yes this is my career. My husband and I own a jewelry store together in town, mine is mostly in name only, Jay does all the work with it. My mother works there and my duaghter. He loves it also, but at times owning your own place is hard. You are responsble for every little detail, no time off hardly and it is harder to find the insurance, retirement plans that are needed for a small business. He has had his own business now for 10 years (I think) and plans to keep doing it, so yes it is his career choice. You gripe about the part you don't like and go on. No job is perfect, you just have to measure the good against the gripes and keep on keeping on. :bgrin Make sure your nights and weekends are spent on something you really love, horses and dogs!

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[Happy Valley]

To me teaching is a sort of calling. I love to teach. It's a career because I've worked very hard to become a teacher. It's a specialty. There are a myriad of careers. I think it's simply a job you're preapred for in some way, and are an expert of sorts, to varying degrees.

Well said!!

My DH, Larry Paul has often told me that he'd quit working if we won the lottery. I don't think I would. I really enjoy my vocation/career/calling.

Stacye

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I agree the answer is different for everyone. My brother works for a company and makes BIG BUCKS he does very well and has no desire to work for himself. He works at home, travels and does very well.

To me a career is simple it is doing something you love be it big bucks or no bucks and everything inbetween.

Own business sure isnt all it is cracked up to be

when you complain about the boss well you are the boss

 

[runamuk]

Thanks all.....I still truly cannot wrap my mind around this concept

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I honestly don't know of any job/career that offers any type of security in this day and age......anyone can be fired/layed off/or downsized at any moment..........I have never recieved benefits although they are kinda offered at my work they are un reachable cost wise..........retirement isn't even an option I have invested in land so with a small bit of luck it will fund a sort of retirement down the road.........

How does a person decide on one career? I mean there are so many more things I would like to do/try/study/learn why settle for one thing for the rest of my life

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Honestly if money were no object and I could do whatever I wanted......I would continue to farm...the ecology and environment on a farm is a never ending source for new questions ..but I would also take every course I could find that interested me........genetics/pedigree analysis, soil chemistry, forage analysis, animal nutrition, more breeding and reproduction, I also would fund and be involved in numerous studies that I find interesting.........dwarfism in miniature horses is one, natural alternatives to chemical deworming agents in a planned diet and management system using nutrition and forages to control parasites ( I am tackling this study but with my resources it will be years before I have conclusive results), studying the ecology of microsystems within a larger ecosystem, yes research is my favorite thing in the world BUT I like to search out how a specific system relates to a larger whole....like how a simple bacteria becomes a disease or a benefit, or how a fungus plays a major role in forest decomposition and recycling and how eliminating that fungus affects the environment as a whole...............I like to follow an idea and if it leads to completely different territory then I want to learn as much about that as possible and continue on infinitly..........have you ever just sat and pondered infinity the whole concept of neverendingness the vastness of the universe and then what is beyond that and how we are merely tiny microbes in a greater cosmos........

Am I really alone in this?

 

[mininik]

"How does a person decide on one career? I mean there are so many more things I would like to do/try/study/learn why settle for one thing for the rest of my life"

I know some people "settle" on something and stick with it, but I won't. Sure, I'm going to go through a two year college degree program to become a vet tech but that's not all I'll ever be. Just within that job description I can continue learning and work for many different types of practices and eventually even manage them. I'm also planning to go back to college while working as a vet tech to get a second degree to open myself up to even more opportunities. Then of course there is all of the time you have when you're not at work...

Already I've held jobs at a preschool, a pet store, a Miniature Horse training center and a grooming palor. I've also taken time off just to be a "bum," living on boats while restoring them. I've lived in the SW, NW and SE United States, would love to see it all again and have a long list of other places I am going to try. (I'm only 22!) I know that my life will always center around animals in some way if at all possible so I guess you could say that's my "career path," but when I think about it the opportunities are so endless! Soon I hope to start volunteering my time to shelters and wildlife rehabilitation centers. I will also show horses again and maybe I'll try getting in the ring with dogs. You're right, why should anyone limit themself?

I'd much rather live richly than die rich...

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