Feeling Stuck In Your Career As A Young Professional

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching about my career, lately.

And as a result, I’ve been a crazy mess full of anxiety!

But before I get into that, let me just make sure everyone understands something…

My life isn’t terrible! I really don’t don’t have much to complain about, at all.

I have an amazing fiance, we’re getting married in November, and our new house is supposed to be ready by then too.

So no, definitely not a terrible life.

But I’m 24 years old and I feel stuck.

Stuck in my career.

Stuck in a career that I’m not really passionate about.

Again…disclaimer here…I am SUPER THANKFUL for my job. SUPER THANKFUL for the amazing people that I get to work with.

But does the idea of doing this job for the rest of my life make me want to jump for joy?!?!?

No, I don’t think so.

Could I do it?

Sure…I’m pretty confident that I could perform really well at almost any job (with some training, obviously).

But do I WANT to do it? Do I WANT to do it forever?

That’s an entirely different question.

Call me naive, that’s fine, but I still really hope and believe that it’s possible to find a career and a job that you’re passionate about.

And more than that, I believe it’s what you should be striving for.

Sure, a job is a job and there are inevitably going to be days that suck…Days where I have no desire to get up for work, and instead want to spend my entire day binge-watching tv shows on Netflix.

But I want to wake up excited about the work that I’m doing.

I want to wake up and go to work and know that it’s something that I love and that I’m good at.

Something that I’m passionate about….

Something that does bring me a sense of personal satisfaction…

While knowing that I’m helping others in the process.

So when I think about what that is, I know the answer to it…

More than anything I want to be an On-boarding & Employee Development Specialist.

I want to work with companies, developing training sessions that will benefit both their employees and their leadership team.

I want to coach individuals to perform their best at a job, and I want to provide them with resources that help them get there.

If I could do that everyday, I’d be a really happy camper.

I know it.

But it’s not always so easy to transition into a new career field.

And I know I’m not the only one in this situation, for sure.

Especially us young professionals.

I mean, come on. We had to pick a major, something to study, when we were like 18 years old. At 18, I didn’t even know how to do my own laundry (thanks, momma, for all your help with that).

So I chose a major. And I got a Bachelors degree in Healthcare Administration. And I then went on to pursue a Masters degree in something that I assumed would complement my undergraduate education.

I earned my Master’s degree in Public Administration, as well as a Graduate Certificate in HR, and through that entire crazy process, I came to develop a passion for human resources and employee development.

Hence the creation of this blog, 3 years ago.

And you know what? It’s so great that I finally found something that makes me light up when I talk about it!!

It’s such a cool feeling!

Except for one thing…

I’ve never held a full-time job in HR!

So at this point in my career, when I’m already making a decent income and have a wedding and house to pay for, can I afford to take a job as a secretary in some HR office, hoping to climb that corporate ladder?

Not really.

Actually…I just looked at my bills for this month, and no….no I VERY MUCH can’t afford it.

(On a sidenote: think about how many young professionals out there are in a similar situation. They studied their butts off and studied something that they love, but got a job in something TOTALLY DIFFERENT because it paid the bills…because it allowed them to pay off their student loans. And now, 5…7 years later, they’re stuck at a job that they don’t really love, all for the money.)

So what are my options, then?

I can work really hard and continue to pursue this passion of mine in any way that I can, and hope that one day a company will allow me the opportunity to become an OED Specialist based solely on my volunteer experience and the content that I write on this blog…

Or, I can sell out.

I can do a job that I’m NOT passionate about, because it pays well.

And as the years go by, I can feel that much farther away from my dream.

Yea, it’s a little dramatic, but you know what I’m trying to say here.

Maybe it’s just me, and maybe I’m totally crazy, but I feel like I’m way too young to sell out. I’m way too young to not work towards the things that would make me happiest.

I’m way too young to make my career decisions solely on the digits that appear on my paycheck.

Because I really, truly believe that if more people did the things that they love to do, the workplace would be so much better.

If more people woke up excited to perform their job responsibilities, people would be happier! And people wouldn’t be so nasty at work! And people would be more productive! And people wouldn’t be so stressed all the time! And as a result, there’d be less heart attacks every year.

So I think this is the end of my rant. It’s been a while since I just word-vomited on a blog post.

But it’s how I feel, and I know I’m not alone.

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