Joseph Campbell, who famously said, "Follow your bliss", has something else to say for job seekers and those changing careers. He said, "There is perhaps nothing worse than reaching the top of the ladder and discovering that you're on the wrong wall" (Economy, 2018). References can be found on the About page with ways to reach all items on this site.
There are ways to decide what ladder you want to climb or even whether or not you want to climb a ladder. There are also ways to discover the right "wall" for you.
Here is one of my favorite stories about career change. As a relaxing hobby a highly trained surgeon carved gourds and decorated them, giving them to friends for home and office use. They became very popular. He was so successful in his gourd-carving business that he left surgery and focused full-time on his art. I don't know how the story ends, but I remember thinking of the massive debt he had incurred for his medical training. I also remember thinking that his being an artist might not have been what his wife had signed up for when they married.
It is important to know yourself, that is, your attitudes about work, and the workplace, your values that affect the work you want, the skills you have for specific occupations, the realities of your life in terms of finances and time, and whether or not you could return to school for training or retraining.
Posted today on the TIPS and TOOLS pages are ideas to help you get started learning about yourself as you relate to work, job re-entry, and career change. Also on our Events page, I posted a slide show that includes my story about having a variety of jobs in one agency.
