I heard the saddest story on the news last week. Actually it seems most news stories are sad. However, this story was particularly sad because of the work-life quality implications it had. It seemed that a group of young people were perplexed. The reason was they had gone to school were dissatisfied with the major concentrations of study they had chosen. Well you say “that’s not so remarkable. That happens all the time.” Well here’s the twist. This group prior to embarking on their college careers had done a survey of the market place and identified the top wage earning fields. They then chose to study in those areas so that when they graduated they would be at the ‘top of the class’ so to speak in making money.  You are probably already ahead of me in the story. Of course when they graduated 4 or 5 years later there had many changes in the world of work. Some of those jobs they had chosen because of the high pay had been sent overseas by corporations that wanted to save labor cost. Some fields had been radically changed by technology. Other careers had been devalued because the industry that they supported had been affected by changes in the investment community. Now don’t feel too badly for our young friends. They had completed degree work in some pretty awesome fields. The issue is that they were very disappointed that their starting salaries, even though they were pretty high for someone with no actual work experience, were not what they expected. The problem was they had based their choices of career on what they thought their starting salaries would be.
Now the first obvious problem is that the marketplace is fluid, moving and changing daily. To predict where a particular job or profession will be in the next five years is pretty close to impossible. However, the saddest part of this story is that these young professionals may not have chosen what they really enjoy doing the most. Their choices were based on money. What they didn’t understand was that money will not be the only thing that matters once you embark upon a career. Job satisfaction surveys do not show money as the sole determinant of employee contentment. In fact, when employee surveys are done money tends to be the fourth or fifth consideration of what employees want most. First most employees want to know that what they do is valued. Secondly they want to know what’s going on in and around their company.
Job satisfaction will not only be about how much money you make but also how much you enjoy doing what makes you money. When I see a bomb squad doing their work I admire them. Their skill and abilities in eliminating potential threats saves lives. The way they arrive on a scene and immediately go to work testing potential bomb threats is proof that they are committed to what they do. I however do not have that same calling. If I show up at a potential bomb scene I assure you it is completely by accident! Yet the guys that actually do this dangerous work LOVE what they do. I honestly don’t know how much money they make but I can assure you it’s not millions of dollars. If you asked them why they do it, you will learn that they absolutely love their craft! They put time and energy into what they do and are very proud of their work and their profession. Now you might say that they should put that type of dedication into their work because their lives depend on it. Well so does yours!

Your daily job satisfaction will be based on whether or not you like what you do. You will get up each morning and go to work every single day of your life for years and years. If you are only doing something because of the paycheck you will probably be one of the most miserable people on the planet. However, imagine getting up every day and going to work doing the thing you love so much that you can’t wait to get there. On your way to work you are envisioning the things that you will do and actually look forward to doing them. If you love to write and you have a job writing, your job is fun! If you love to help sick people heal you may have chosen to be a physician. If so, you may frequently see people made better by your work. This satisfaction is what makes your job rewarding. If you love computers and software design and your job is to create software programs that solve problems, your workday is a ‘fun day’.  Unlike many people at work, you will not be counting the hours until the day is over.

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Anonymous

Eric Kelly is a professional executive career and lifestyle coach with over 30 years of experience in corporate America. He has established management development systems in the US, Europe, Middle East, South America and Africa. As an author and speaker he shares the unwritten rules of career success with audiences worldwide.