Jul 23 2008
Question of the Week: The “Forever Job”
I’ve been keeping a handwritten journal as one of my 101 things, and I’ve discovered that sometimes I need a little prompt to get my writing juices flowing.
Image from http://www.infed.org/research/keeping_a_journal.htm
 It occurred to me that I might not be alone in that need, so from now on I’ll be posting a Question of the Week every Wednesday. You can use the question for personal journaling, as a blog post, or just to stimulate a little outside-the-box thinking.
Today’s question is Do you believe in the “forever job”? If so, do you know what yours is?
A little bit of background… A friend of mine who’s in the throes of her quarterlife crisis uses the term “forever job” to refer to the idea that there’s a career out there that’s aligned with her purpose, and that once she finds it, she’ll stick with it forever.
I don’t know that I believe in the “forever job” per se, but I do believe in a “forever purpose” and possibly a “forever career field”. For example, I’m 100% sure that writing is a key ingredient of my forever job. I might be writing novels, writing for magazines, writing personal development books, or writing on bathroom walls, but somehow, some way, writing is IT for me.
What do you think?
If you blog about this question, please let me know so I can check out your answer!
I think career field makes a lot of sense. In this day and age it is difficult to get a job for life anyway. You never know what is going to happen.
Personally I like to be progressing - either by learning something new or doing something new so don’t think I would want to be in the exact same role forever anyway.
I think you should write a personal development book myself - your blogs are always very motivational to read.
I really don’t believe in FOREVER anything because people and situations change all the time. I think you could have distinct career path or something that resonates within you so much that it makes sense to apply it to your field but something that is FOREVER, I don’t think so. It could happen but I wouldn’t count on it.
Ah, finding our purpose and this frickin’ quarter life crisis, I’m hoping for it to make sense to me one day!
Ooh..forever job sounds so permanent and LONG! Nope, I’ve never seen myself in a forever job (perhaps because I haven’t found it) but as far as a permanent career field, sure. At this point I have a hard time imagining being or doing something job related forever. I just have this image of a desk and a computer and being old and frail…I know that isn’t how it works, but still it seems so lasting. I need change, I like change (sometimes) - but perhaps when/if I ever find my niche my idea will change!
Interesting question!
~K
I hope I’m not jinxing myself, but I think I have a forever job. It’s a good company, and it’s big and diverse enough that I have a good deal of variety (sometimes too much!) in my duties. Accounting is a great love, and apparently a great talent of mine. I really enjoy the analysis- what do the numbers say, and I take great satisfaction in the impact I have on the business. I help the powers that be make sound decisions so we can all make more money. I’m not responsible for making the numbers, I’m just reporting and analyzing.
I’ve matured to the point that hating the ever living crud out of half the people I work with seems like an unavoidable evil that I will have to tolerate anywhere I work, and I finally love the other half of my coworkers enough that I no longer even entertain notions of leaving. This is the longest I’ve ever held a job (will be four years in November), and I can honestly envision retiring from this same company.
I’ve surely lost my mind!
I think it’s possible for some people to find their “forever job” (sometimes by choice, sometimes not), but I know I haven’t yet. Maybe one day. I know that I’ll always write, but as a sole career? It would certainly be nice!
I can see myself doing different jobs that are all centered around a main idea or interest, but probably not the same thing forever. I think even doing My Very Favorite Thing In The Whole Wide World might get a bit boring eventually.
[…] Last week’s Question of the Week addressed the idea of the “forever job”, by which I mean a job that is aligned with your purpose and is a perfect fit for you, now and always. When I answered the question, I noted that–while I’m not convinced that there’s a “forever job” out there for me–I do believe that I have a “forever purpose”, a single message that I’m here to express in this life. Put simply, my message is “You can do it!”–or more accurately, “WE can do it!” (After all, I want to help me too!) […]