Finding Your Dream Job?

Of all the things I’ve done while bored at work, searching for my dream job has definitely taken up the most time. It sounds so simple: find what you’re passionate about, get someone to pay you for it, and live happily ever after.

But what if you don’t know what you’re passionate about? That’s the problem I’ve run into again and again. Sure, I like a lot of things, and I have hobbies, but I don’t feel like there is anything that I am so passionate about that I want to make it my career.

If you find out how to locate your dream job, please let me know! But in the meantime, here are some things I’ve tried with varying degrees of success. At the very least, these are pleasant distractions from the work day. And if you do end up with a dream job, even better!

Myers-Briggs Test

You probably took this test while you were in school, and there is now a free version online. Answer some Yes/No questions, and the test spits out a personality type, broken into four categories: Extraversion or Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling, Judging or Perception. I am an ISTJ, which means I am basically a quiet thinker and duty fulfiller.

Once you find your personality type, you can see a list of jobs that fit you. The Personality Page website has a complete job list.

I’ve taken this test, and I do agree with my personality type, but I just can’t get excited about any of the jobs that are recommended. A police officer or detective? No thanks. A computer programmer? Maybe. A business manager? Already doing that, and not too excited about it. So while I think the test is probably helpful for some people, it unfortunately hasn’t led me to my dream job just yet.

Self-Help Books

Ah, I love self-help books. I love them the most when I first buy them and am so excited about the revolutionary change my life is about to go through. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any self-help books that have really improved my life.

There is one book on finding your passion that I would highly recommend: I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It by Barbara Sher. This book describes the reasons that we all fail to see our passion and gives concrete steps to discover your true calling.

While I don’t know what my passion is yet, I do feel like this book is pushing me in the right direction. One of Barbara’s recommendations is that you go out and start trying things. If you think you might like gardening, plant some seeds. Want to program web pages? Take some courses online and see how it goes.

I’m a planner, so I like to lay out exactly how everything will go before I jump into it. It’s been hard for me to take Barbara’s advice, but I am trying new things, slowly but surely. I started this blog to see if online writing is something I really love, and I’m learning HTML and CSS slowly online to see if I perhaps like web programming. How would I make money doing these things? I have no idea just yet, but if I find my passion, I’ll do more research into how I can make it a full-time job.

Friends & Family

At first, I was very hesitant to speak to my friends and family about my search for a dream job. My father comes from the old-school train of thought that a job is there for money, not to make you happy. He spent his whole life in a career that he was lukewarm about, and although he did extraordinarily well financially, I know for a fact that he would have been happier in a different career.

Once I opened up to my family and friends, I found that this was the best outlet for discussing ideas and soliciting feedback. These are people who know and love me and have a sense of what I would and would not like to do. I remember speaking to a friend a couple of years ago and mentioning that I really thought I would like to be an actuary. Every year, actuaries are at the top of the “best jobs” poll, so I figured, why not?

My friend smartly pointed out that I would hate that job. Yes, my hours might be reasonable, and yes, I might like some of the analysis work. But I get bored easily and love to try new things, and that career does not exactly provide outlets for continued growth and varying tasks. I also want to be my own boss, and that’s never going to happen as an actuary. My friend helped steer me away from actuarial work and put me back on the path of looking for my true passion.

Career Counseling

If you find a great career counselor, please let me know! This was one of my initial ideas in searching for my dream job. I made an appointment with a counselor nearby, and was highly disappointed. The sessions were more like therapy, with the counselor asking me questions about everything from my childhood to my love life. There were few discussions, and after she had analyzed me enough, she really had no concrete suggestions.

I do believe there are some good career counselors out there, but I would be very picky when choosing one.

Please leave a comment if you have any other suggestions for dream job searching. I’m willing to try anything out!