Implications of choosing the wrong career

Everyone has an idea of what they’d spend their time doing if money wasn’t an object… But it is, and those things usually don’t pay the bills.

Usually, for most people, there is some type of fundamental tradeoff between money & passion. There’s also other tradeoffs:

• How much physical labor are you willing to put forth/capable of?

• Is status more or less important than the amount of freedom you have over your schedule?

• How much does location matter?

• How much will any of this matter over the long-term? Of all the things that are important now, how many of those things are likely to maintain priority over a 10-20 year horizon? These types of decisions are well to be made with foresight.

Just think about how many young people make a killing doing physical labor but then have all these injuries in their 40s. Or the amount of people who choose a career that is geographically captured. Or the amount of people who choose a career that makes sense on paper but then they’re so bored and unfulfilled that they become a shell of themselves; ultimately wishing they chose a less lucrative career that they enjoyed more, or worse; end their life (it happens more than most people prefer to acknowledge, unfortunately).

I say all this to say that it’s important to consider what might be important 25 years from now instead of making decisions only predicated on your current situation.

Let’s run through some of the implications of choosing a career…

1. Health
Mental & physical health. There are careers that pay well but wreak havoc on your health and vice versa. Self-awareness is key to understanding how to hedge these bets. For example, if you’re the type of person who finds tranquility within chaotic environments, you may be more cut out for fast-paced environments that require long hours than someone who is overwhelmed by constantly being on the clock or on call.

2. Status
How important is it to be perceived a certain way? Is that important enough to sacrifice some of these other levers? Fore example, is it worth sacrificing some of your free time to be seen as a high-earner? Is it worth sacrificing a percentage of your income to have a career that invigorates you? There’s no right or wrong answers, just preferences.

3. Location
If you have always dreamed of traveling & being able to work remotely, teaching might not be for you. If you’ve always wanted to be a teacher, you might not be able to work while traveling. Think about the types of friends you want to meet, the types of cultures you do or don’t want to be a part of, the communities you‘re drawn to, etc.

4. Relationships
If you’re locked in on the idea of raising a family, you may want the stability of a high paying career that allows you to have peace of mind in raising kids knowing they won’t struggle. But some people don’t want kids and they’d rather have a career that they enjoy, so they can take bigger risks. Additionally, the sooner you plan on having kids, the sooner you need to have the money required to provide for them.

These are some of the fundamental pillars that affect the fulfillment we find ion our careers.

Usually, people who chase their passions sacrifice money & free time. People who chase money often wish they hadn’t. Then of course, all of this also depends on one’s unique circumstances. A 25 year old without debt or children is in a very different circumstance than a 45 year old with a family they need to provide for.

My point is, choosing thew right career and avoiding the wrong one involves tons of variables and almost no one gets it right on the first go. Usually successful people were once broke. Usually happy people were once at emotional rock bottom. But not all the time. People of various backgrounds & situations have cultivated a great life for themselves.

The Takeaway?
There’s a lot of contributing factors that go into someone choosing the right career and understanding how these factors affect each other can be beneficial in aligning your interests with opportunity.