Finding the right career

There's a new book out to help people take practical steps to find the right career for them. It's called 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller. It was recently reviewed in World magazine by Marvin Olasky. Between the two men, there were useful insights into career searches, in case any of you would like some advice or know someone who would..

They suggest one place to start is by listing your dreams and passions. What would you do if money was not important? What recurrent themes keep coming up in your thinking? What did you enjoy as a child but later people told you was unrealistic or impractical as a career?

They warn of a potential problem -- putting material considerations first when choosing a career. Miller says aiming for position, status, and power can be elusive, leading to rapid burnout. In addition, a person may end up with a job that has little security.

Olasky claims two things are the key to a proper career search. First is understanding the biblical approach to work. It is not seen as a necessary evil or simply a way to pay the bills. Everything we do should serve and glorify God, including the work we do. We want something that is a vocation, a calling. The Bible gives dignity to all work. We should not think of a separation between our work and full-time Christian service since all work is Christian service.

He says the next important key is how to find your calling. He suggests two questions: What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? He believes God hands out talents in a focused way. He claims most people come to find that they enjoy what they're good at because God gives us the desire to gain pleasure from being productive and having others respect our work.

Both suggest it's important to specialize. We need to become excellent at one thing, and, therefore, we should not think failure at some other things is terrible. As a teacher, I have seen students who struggle with writing, but they are amazing artists. Miller says we should spend 80% of our time working in an area we consider our strength.

The last piece of advice is important. Both describe the value of challenges in our careers. There was an interesting story here about David Livingstone, the famous missionary who went to Africa. A missionary society asked him if he had found a good road so that other missionaries could easily join him. His response was powerful: "If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all." I remember leaving high school teaching. There were several other teachers who said they wished they were leaving too, but they liked the security of their jobs. When we talk to our children or others seeking careers, let's keep Livingston's reply in mind. People need a challenge in life. Even if we already have a career, I'm sure there are challenges we can take on as well. Maybe we can think about that in the new year ahead.