Career Satisfaction: Are you there yet?

We recently posted a poll on our homepage about job satisfaction. Do you love your job, hate it or are you currently working towards your career utopia? 25% of you said you hate your job or are totally indifferent about it (equally bad in our books), 20% said you are in your dream career and 55% said you are still working towards it. So essentially only 20% of us are truly happy where we are while the rest feel there is a long way to go. Obviously part of that has to do with age and what stage you are in life and with your career.

5 years ago, I would have been in the I-hate-my-job camp. I spent over 4 years as a professional insurance claims adjuster. Telling that to people generally makes their eyes glaze over or change the subject. Yes, I was the person telling you your car is worth $5000 less than you thought it was and that your broken arm from that slip and fall in the grocery store is not worth 1 MILLION! Dollars. (You'd be surprised how many people think a bruise is worth just that much in our litigious society.)

While many of my coworkers enjoyed handling claims, I was really depressed that my life would be spent evaluating injuries and assigning fault to car crashes. I wanted to do something fun and creative. I found myself stuck in a rut. I knew I didn't want to do what I was doing, but I couldn't afford to leave. I wasn't making enough money to take 6 months off to hunt for a new job. I got to the point where I felt like I wasn't even me anymore and knew I had to break out. I started socking away as much of my paycheque as I could every month, planning my escape. Luckily I met my extremely supportive husband, Alex, during this time who told me to stop being so cautious and just quit already. What's the worst that could happen?

It's been almost 4 years since I quit that job and I am so glad I did. I went back to school (thank you OSAP and Canadian Millenium Excellence Awards!) and Alex and I launched ChickAdvisor last fall. My career has taken me in areas I never would have imagined. Me + Internet would have seemed impossible 4 years ago given that one of my favorite rants was, "I HATE technology!"

I can honestly say I am totally thrilled with my career path. I've never had less sleep, money or free time, but I've never been happier professionally. Turns out I love the internet. I also love being able to make my own show, which has been a life long dream.

If you have a passion for something, go after it with all of your heart. You will do so much better in something you love than something that just "pays the bills". I truly believe each of us have a specific job to do with our lives. It is different for everyone and it is just a matter of figuring out what that is and then doing it to the best of your ability. If you live poor for a few months, who cares? If you go broke, it isn't the end of the world. In the end, wouldn't you rather say, "I tried but I failed" than "I wonder what would have happened if..."? Ideally you'd like to say " I tried and I succeeded."

Chances are, if you are intelligently pursuing your passion that's exactly what you'll be able to say.