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Show 4 Signpost Tuesday, 29 July 1986 1 ''"7 jftUiT f Money motivates most career choices in today's lifestyle Tanja Schaffer Arts and Entertainment Editor What reasons determine the choices you make in which career path to follow? Are they emotional or intellectual? In other words, do you listen to your head or your heart? Ideally, you should listen to both. Logic isn't the only factor in deciding whom we marry we allow other intangibles to play a part as well. But when it comes to choosing a career or a field to major in, we somehow ignore our gut responses in order to succumb to the advice of "success gurus." Oft times, they are the writers of success books who teach the gospel of rationality and deny that intuition can play a part in telling us how to be happy. Certainly, the realities of status and money can't be faulted but they aren't the only realities. What about the most elusive of intangibles job satisfaction? How many times do we hear people say, "I love working at a university, but I should be in a corporation," or "I'd like to be a sales clerk, but that's not highly paid, so I'm going for an MBA." Many people leave jobs they love and from which they gain personal satisfaction in order to pursue more lucrative careers in other fields. They've been told it's the logical thing to do. It's interesting to discover how today's generation differs from those of the past in feelings toward attaining success. In a recent survey conducted for Forbes magazine, 78 percent of college students today feel that choosing a low-paying field, even if you like it, is a mistake; 53 percent felt the same way in 1976, and 37 percent in 1966. What students have overlooked is their emotional reaction to a job the sense of challenge and accomplishment it can give them is arguably just as valid as the potential for great advancement or high income. By overlooking this mandatory ingredient to overall happiness, they sabotage their own satisfaction in the long-run. For example, I have disliked my job as a waitress for three years. When I started waitressing at the age of 17, I knew that I couldn't be picky in determining where I worked. At that age, we jump at practically anything that will pay us for our efforts to get into the work force. But that doesn't mean we like the job. I'm one of those waitresses guilty of saying, "I hate waitressing, but the money is good at times." Because of my negative feelings, I dread every work (slave) day and my performance has slipped. I'm not implying that we must sacrifice ambitious dreams if we decide to follow our hearts. Success stories are told constantly from those who combined both logic and love. Entrepreneurs are wonderful examples of this. (However, they do possess more of a drive that accepts risk-taking a characteristic that must be present to some degree in obtaining any success.)But do each of us dream of owning our own business? Do we each share the same abilities and aspirations as everyone else? I certainly don't see myself as a doctor or an accountant or carpenter nor would I want to for that matter. Although they are well-paying careers, not everyone has the desire to follow their paths. Each of us has our own set of skills and abilities that are equally competent in different fields. Ignoring our hearts is commitment, and it affects our entire society. How many of us would like to be treated by a doctor who'd rather be a journalist? Would any of us want to travel over a bridge built by an engineer who'd hoped to be an English teacher? Money is still not the only key to happiness in this material world we live in. For a literal "heaven's" sake, I want to be genuinely happy in whatever I do, whether I make a million dollars or not. Enjoying what we do may seem a frivolous factor in selecting a career. But it is, indeed, one of the most important. "Yesterday my stocks cleared $20,000. Am I happy yet7. " RO and CONsensus Do you feel the career choices you are making now are motivated by money and material gain or by the hope that you will find happiness in the career you have chosen7 V j Sf-- i -. .. . i vy "Definitely the career and happiness. I was in engineering for the money and now I'm going into teaching." Gordon (Thailand Senior "Both. I'm going back to school because I'm not happy in the career I now have. Being the second time around, money is important. I hope to find both." M.J. Reinier Senior "Primarily, happiness. Money is a consideration, but if you don't do something you like, it becomes drudgery." Alan Stout Senior "Money is one of the important reasons in today's society. You have to have money to be respected and to fit into the community.Jolynn Cummings Sophomore t A' mm mjjww Af j "Both. I'd like to have a good "A little bit of both. Money paying job, and if it includes always does help, but basically, happiness, so much the better, the profession I have chosen is The money comes first." something I enjoy." PWWTO HRWxmmsr "Jim iH Doug McNamee Senior Sara Baldwin Freshman "First, my choice was motivated by the curriculum that would get me out of school fastest, while at the same time, give me the opportunity to make good money and have job satisfaction." Steve Willcox Graduate "I like to be happy in what 1 do, so I will find a career that 1 will be happy in doing." Anne Larsen Sophomore (Interviews and photos: Jeff Bybee) Write a letter to the editor! |