Adults make career defining decisions often think about benefits, and salary, but rarely happiness. Everyone does things that they don’t want to do in their career. Would you do something that was considered horrible?
My son, “Boy Wonder” is 17 years old, is pretty level-headed for his age. We have lots of conversations about college, his future, and women (although mostly theory at this point). He works at the world’s most famous food chain, and has sustained employment for a year.
To digress momentarily, working teens stimulate the economy, and the household. He has to work because it builds character and responsibility. Most of all, working for “Boy Wonder” provides training opportunities for him that my wife and I offer.
The one lesson that we did not teach him is to make assessments in understanding the breadth of his current job.
He is 17 years old. He still plays jokes on friends and coworkers, wants to spend his money frivolously, and would rather eat candy and oatmeal raisin cookies. The eyes are on the prize, and he understands that the 2016 Escalade will not be paid by his parents.
However, he thinks the way beyond his dream car. He wants to be a nurse.
He understands the sacrifice, and the intensity of the work that is ahead to get into nursing school. However, he is trying to understand how this experience will compare to his experience as a nurse.
Last week, a homeless man vomited in the bathroom, and left a rainbow (use your imagination here). He had to clean it all up. It was awful for him. It was good for him, as it is hard for him to put trash in the garbage can at home.
Character. Responsibility. The irony.
- He has to remain temperate no matter how unstable the social culture changes. Customers his age want to challenge authority and be served appropriately.
- His bosses rarely gave him the schedule he desired. He had to learn to approach one time to see if it could be change with respect and tact. After that, successful or not, let it go.
- Although he has impressed the owner repeatedly, he is still just an employee. No benefits, vacation time, or sick days to reward him for missing one day of work out of a year.
- A nurse will make much more money, will always have a job, and retain benefits. However, the transferable issues remain the same. Undesired responsibility is painful no matter how old, or professional you have become.
- Jobseekers wait too long to as the question, “What is the worse that could happen to me?” In some way, “Boy Wonder” understands that he will do nasty and dirty tasks, be hot and sweaty, maintain self-control, be patient, and be content with undesirable circumstances. All in the name of saving people’s lives.
As adults, we can ask those questions in interviews, networking situations, or find online information. The average job seeker can research jobs before pressing the apply button.
You can find out, without prior notice, that you are cleaning a rainbow in the bathroom.
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About Mark Anthony Dyson
I am the "The Voice of Job Seekers," career consultant, job seeker advocate, career writer, and founder of this award-winning blog. I help the employed, unemployed, underemployed, and under-appreciated find jobs using job search strategies to navigate the new job market. I aim to give a safe place online to those with different needs, cultures, and ethnicities to find their voice in the job market. Thousands have read my career advice throughout the web as I write about everything from job search strategies to the mobile job search. I have published more than 400 articles on this blog and some of the largest career sites such as Recruiter.com, YouTern, and Come Recommended. I've been quoted in major online publications such as Monster, TIME/Money, Fortune, Business Insider and MSN. FlexJobs, JobMonkey, Aerotek, Career Pivot, and CareerSherpa listed my podcast as one of the top podcasts to help your job search. Love for you to sign up for the weekly newsletter. I share the latest articles I've written, new podcast episodes, and answer any questions you may have. The new job search is scary and if you need help, I am here for it!