Comments on: Do you need a job or a calling?

By: Thinking some more about jobs and the workplace « Alchemical Thoughts

Thinking some more about jobs and the workplace « Alchemical Thoughts — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 22:02:15 +0000

[...] the Ivory Tower has a piece on “Do You Need a Job or a Calling?” Yes, there is a difference, and if you are going to be happy and do well, you need to learn [...]

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:37:16 +0000

@Caroline, exactly — no one path. Lots of possible paths! I’m glad you’ve found something that works for you.

@Mike, and that’s what school is fantastic for — letting you explore and figure things out. Thank goodness for that!

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:17:17 +0000

Yes, ok, I needed this post Over the past 20 years, I’ve often read, heard, and professed to believe that one should never look to a job for fulfillment. That’s too much to ask of a job. A job can provide you with a means (money, time) to find what fulfills you, but it cannot always be the vehicle for it.

Now, I have dropped to part-time work so I can do school full-time exactly because I have a vague need to “grow,” because my series of jobs over the last 20 years have not, to my mind, added up to much. School is offering me a place to explore that vague need, at least for a little while.

By: Caroline Roberts

Caroline Roberts — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:27:06 +0000

Thank you for making this distinction! I left academia because, well, I wanted to choose where I lived and have more control over the hours of my day. At first, I thought I had betrayed some essential part of myself since I first thought of academia as a calling. Then I realized that I could get a lot out of writing and editing, even with a 9-to-5 or freelance work.

What’s important to realize is that there isn’t one and only one path to fulfillment.

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Post Academic–on getting a job after life in the academy