How long did it take you to find your dream career?

Norma,

When I was young I thought I wanted to be a Forest Ranger because I liked the outdoors. But searching further in high school I realized it required a lot of chemistry and biology. That changed my direction as I was really weak in that area. And the earnings potential appeared less than what I wanted.

My first real job was working at Sears in the automotive and sporting good department. I realized I really enjoyed working with people and helping them find and decide what they needed and wanted to purchase. It was my perfect departments too, as I really had a passion for them. That was my work all through college working 20-30 hours per week and full time in the summers.

It was clear for me to pursue a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. Upon graduating I continued to work at Sears and was promoted to Hardware Department manager. I soon realized how I did not particularly enjoy management people and after a short while made a decision to leave and go into Real Estate. Working straight commission though was tough at a young age. After 5 years and the introduction of the Personal Computer I realized I had found my true passion and started selling computers and my career of over 30 year has been very rewarding.

I now work part-time as a Product Zone Specialist at Apple and thoroughly enjoy it. All the best to you.

Great question. When I graduated from high school, I thought I wanted to be a medical doctor. So I went to college and studied biology. Then I decided I enjoyed technology and after working in the field for 3 years I finally discovered my dream job. I was 26 years old when I discovered my dream job. Now after 15 years I feel like my passions are changing, and I think in the next 5 years my dream job will change again. The best thing to do is follow your passions. Your passions will always lead you toward your dream. It's easy to find jobs, but they may not be your passion. We spend 8-12 hours a day working for a living, make sure it's something you really enjoy.

If you're having a hard time figuring out your dream job, try out a few different roles, and discover what you like most in them. For example, you may like talking to people about products, but maybe not too much of the technical detail. Then in another role you find another area you like. Piece them together, and you've got a good start toward the requirements of your dream job. Or you love animals, but never thought about it as a career, it may be your passion. Consider for a moment, if all jobs paid the exact same amount of money, what would you choose?

I think the idea of a dream career is an illusion. In my humble opinion, it's actually a dangerous way to think about careers. If you try to find the one perfect career for you, you may spend all of your time searching, and never actually explore jobs and careers first-hand. When I was a kid I wanted to be a stockbroker. I thought that it would give me a clear path to financial security (because my family had troubles with money), and it looked exciting when I watched what I thought were stockbrokers on television. But things changed a lot for me over the years. In college I changed my major 4 times. Not because I found the perfect dream career four times, but because I was always interested in something new. Then after college, I started working in finance and consulting, which wasn't necessarily my dream career, but was still awesome. I did that for 6 years and now I'm a founder of CareerVillage. Is this my dream career? I don't know, but I know that I'm deeply inspired by my work and that I enjoy what I do.

I think the moral of the story is that you shouldn't let the quest for the perfect career stop you from pursuing your interests. And if there's a second moral, it might be that you should always be looking for, and recognize, things that interest you. Put your mind to exploring what life could be like after you finish your education. Give it all you've got. If you're always interested, and always curious, you'll always be an explorer.

Hi!
This is a very good question. We always have this idea of a dream job since childhood but let me tell you that our dreams and aspirations evolve all the time as we grow and gain more experience throughout life.
You can have more than one dream job and it ok to change your career if you find out that it doesn't fit your passions and motivations anymore.
I started my career in the HR field. and I changed after one year to have a job in bid management. Actually, you can have transferable skills that would fit in many job areas, like communication, leadership, time management and so on... just follow your motivations and passions and you will get your dream job everytime ! :)

You will need to focus on stress and time management. In order to manage stress you have to manage your time wisely. <span style="background-color: transparent;">You have to set a routine for yourself and stick to it for the most part. Once you get into the groove of a routine it will be much easier for you to manage your time and have enough time for everything you need to do (including relaxing). Make yourself to-do lists on a weekly basis, use Google calendar or a planner to keep track of events, deadlines, and due dates. In addition to setting a routine and sticking to it, plan out relaxing activities into your day. Or set aside a time, after everything is done for the day, that you can have "me" time. I have also personally found it essential to not only find time for myself but also make use of that time in a way that is best for me and my holistic wellness. I have found the HeadSpace app to be an essential tool in helping me relax and generally feel more relaxed throughout the day, Guided meditation, even if you have a busy schedule, will make you feel more at ease and relaxed throughout the day as a whole (not just when you have the time to relax and focus on that "me" time).</span>

<span style="background-color: transparent;">Set a routine.Use Google Calendar.Set aside Me TimeWrite weekly to-do lists and use a planner.Find a peaceful and restful activity that will help you feel relaxed.</span>

Well it took me 8 years after I found a job. I always wanted to be in a business supporting role and not an call center, reason because I could contribute more to the company and where I could get my work highlighted, now iam there