I was talking with my good friend Josh Rice not that long ago about the concept of careerism. His basic claim was one that I can fundamentally agree with:
Getting a “real job” and advancing in a career is not the be all and end all of human existence.
Put another way, should the purpose and pursuits of our life be in making enough money to be move up a tax bracket? Most would allow for other greater and deeper purposes to life. But even if you answer that life is about the here-and-now of money, you should still be prepared to answer why that is the case. The decisions of how to spend your life should be based on a reason … not a vague cultural ideal.
Don’t mistake economic advancement for individual meaning. Rather, it should be the other way around. Instead of our economic selves being truncated from the rest of our life, there has to be holistic outlet. Your job should not become a replacement for your life. Live first. Consume second.
Rather than a focus on purpose, there is a focus on careerism in our society. Dreams are be forgone for the pragmatic self-fulfilling determinism of buying a car to go to work and working in order to pay for the car.
Now, I certainly understand that there is a degree of reality involved here. You have to be able to eat. It helps to have a place to sleep. But if I have to eat lesser quality food and sleep in a cramped place in order to chase a dream, how is that a lesser life?
Moving into a career or vocational field may very well be in your purpose and part of your goals for life. But, it should be taken as a viable path only on the basis of full consideration in context of your life. The societal expectation of making money should not be the sole determinate in your life’s pursuits.
Put another way, “do what you love, and the money will follow.” That is true simply because money and the self-titled “economic realities” are less important than what you love. The description of a “real job” is only deceptive at best.
For further thoughts on intentional examination of your life, watch this video. [A.C. Grayling via the Imaginary Foundation blog.]