In the age of gig economy, anyone with a laptop and certain desired skills can work out of a coffee shop and start taking up jobs on the go and even get handsomely paid, from conventional graphic designing jobs to emerging data scientist roles, there’s always some ‘job’ available for everyone. But how is that different from a career? Read on to plan your life better.
Money Vs. Achievement :
A job pays bills, whether you are fresher out of college looking to clear your student loan or a home maker wanting to support your household. A job only gives you money. Even after continuously doing the same job 5 years, there may be no incremental growth in income or significant change in your life and lifestyle. Whereas a career is a planned journey, you start with analyzing an emerging trend, that will be big in next 5 to 10 years, and start in the small, suitable role today, make it a point to learn and grow every day, in the meanwhile, you treat money as a just a means to an end.
Struggle Vs. Working out:
A job is like driving in a bumper to bumper traffic – a tiring and futile waste of time day in and day out, whereas a career is like working out in a gym, you spend a planned amount of time to sweat it out, but the end results is sweet.
Take time to self-evaluate if you are stuck in a dead-end job or if you are learning and growing.
Making the move:
Let’s say you took a job but realized it has no growth potential but you are staying put just for the sake of money? The best way to get out of this situation is to make the right move at the earliest. It is never a bad time to make right decision even if it involves making a few short term compromises like taking a pay cut or travelling a little extra.
Billionaire businessmen like Ray Kroc rose from doing odd jobs of selling paper cups and milk shake mixers to creating the McDonalds empire though franchise, and he was in 52 when he got started with the now McDonalds and eventually become Time’s “Most Important People of the Century”.
Taking the right turn in your career is same as taking the right turn on the highway, earlier you realize you are in the wrong road, lesser the loss.
