Career Love Andrew was working in a local law firm in Manhattan that was started and owned by his father. He had followed in his father’s footsteps and rose through the ranks to become one of the most prominent defense lawyers in Manhattan (Fields 12). It only took him four years to be a senior partner in the firm. His client-network had spread throughout the country that he travelled a lot to defend suspects. Andrew’s career was experiencing an upward trajectory, and people looked up to him as a role model. He was one of the highest earning lawyers in the state.
However, despite all that, Andrew was becoming disillusioned with his career. When not busy, he usually sat in his nicely furnished office, which overlooks the city, and fell into a slumber of thoughts. Although he was earning so much, he was still not enjoying his job. He had become withdrawn to the point that his marriage of six years was deteriorating. There are many things that can make a person lose the motivation of working, and for Andrew, he was not motivated since he loved cooking and he lacked individual satisfaction due to lack of passion for his career. Andrew’s lack of motivation was because his heart was somewhere else.
Andrew has always loved cooking. When young, he used to envisage himself owning a large restaurant and showcasing his talent for cooking (Fields 23). He spent countless hours watching cooking shows on T. V. and made notes. He even borrowed cooking recipe books from the library to sharpen his cooking skills. Whenever he made food at home, everyone enjoyed and concurred that he had a talent. However, his father did not support those sentiments. He wanted Andrew to be like him and become a lawyer, so he enrolled him in the best law school where he performed well and joined his father’s law firm.
Andrew pushed aside his love for cooking to concentrate on his law career. After thinking for days about what to do, Andrew resigned from his work and started a small restaurant. Although the salary was nowhere near what he previously earned, he was happy. He became a changed and focused man because he was working for his passion. Although many people were baffled by his decision, he told them he was enjoying what he was doing. In 2005, Steve Jobs gave a speech titled How to Live before You Die. The speech was an eyeopener for those people who did not get satisfaction for the work they did.
A recent research that was conducted by Gallup showed that more than 70% of Americans dislike their careers (Fields 55). As a result, there is a sharp drop in the delivery of services because the love for the job has dissipated. In his speech, Steve Jobs talked about following one’s heart in choosing a career. Pursuing one’s passion brings satisfaction to an individual such that they may not wish to get anywhere else. Jobs used his experiences to make the audience understand his point. Jobs dropped out of college because he was not getting the satisfaction he was craving for.
He felt that he was wasting his parent’s money learning the things he did not like. Jobs followed his dream and years later, he became one of the most successful people in the world. Although there are valid contrasting views to Steve Jobs’ idea of choosing a career, such as Jeff Haden’s views in Do What You Love? Screw That, Jobs notions are the most compelling (Fields 81). The example of the success achieved by Jobs is just one of those moments that people follow their dream and go on to achieve greatness. Many benefits will be accrued by an individual who chooses to follow his/her passion in a career choice.
First, following one’s passion n career choice gives an individual the satisfaction that will keep him/her working in that career for a long time without feeling disillusioned. Routine in workplaces is rampant. After years in a particular field, people tend to lose the morale to continue doing the work, and they become bored (U. S. Department of Labor 4). As a result, the quality of service delivery dwindles. However, when one is working in a field he/she is passionate about, the level of boredom tends to be low. Since it is something one loves, he/she will always find something that will keep him/her going. The desire to continue to achieve more will not fade easily.
The satisfaction that will be obtained at the end of the working hours will often keep an individual going. But if one is working in a field he/she do not like the level of boredom is high. The love for the job will not be there which will affect the satisfaction one gets from the job. Being passionate about something drives people to have extensive knowledge about that thing. In this case, loving a particular career will stimulate an individual to conduct extensive research in that field. Possessing broad knowledge about a specific career is important in helping solve problems, and thus, enable the career to flourish (U.
S. Department of Labor 6). Andrew’s case is one such example of a person following his/her dream. The love for cooking made him watch a lot of cooking shows and took notes on recipes. He obtained a lot of knowledge about his choice of career. When the time came for him to start his restaurant, he already had the knowledge that was required to run the restaurant. Many problems that might arise when one works may be solved effectively by having the required knowledge. Moreover, the fulfilment one gets from following his/her own dream is the same whether one fails or not.
The two most likely results of choosing a career are success and failure. The career can either be success or failure (U. S. Department of Labor 7). At the end of the day, every career is supposed to make an individual to succeed in life. Money, efforts, and time are put in so that one can be successful. When one is following his/her dreams, he/she will be happy whether he/she succeeds or fails because they have followed their dreams. He/she will not regret that they spend a lot of time, effort and money doing something they love. He/she rejoice when successful and congratulate themselves for trying when they fail.
There are many reasons why the love of a career can make one enjoy the field of work Steve Jobs had a point when he said that doing what one loves is more fulfilling than forcing oneself to engage in certain activities. Some of those reasons include the knowledge one gains from having a career passion may help him/her in the future to elucidate problems that might arise in the field. It also gives an individual the satisfaction of following his/her dreams irrespective of the results of the career. Moreover, it makes one continue with a career despite the monotony that comes with working in the same field for long.
Misfer, This is a very good rough draft. You’ve done well. I hope my comments are encouraging and helpful as you revise the paper. In addition, l’d like you to incorporate a counterargument that addresses Haden’s point of view more explicitly. Maybe you can concede even that he could be right in certain situations. You don’t need a passion to be good or great at what you do and you can come to be passionate about something after years of working hard at something. Keep up the good work and I’m looking forward to reading your final draft. –Dr. Matt
