The Occupation Correlation

I find it a bit disheartening that someone's occupation is often the primary descriptor of who they are or what they are doing with their life. Furthermore, there are many assumptions and unconscious biases that correspond with various occupations, further pigeonholing people into a box. If they want to be perceived as anything else, they must make an effort to communicate that their job is really only part (perhaps even an insignificant part) of who they are or what they do.

A person's chosen career or job certainly makes some statement about who they are and what they value. And perhaps it's the most tangible statement a person can make. But as I mentioned above, the biases and assumptions that accompany the various occupations often don't match the original intent, increasing the likelihood of someone being misunderstood.

I went to several social events this past weekend. I met quite a few new people and the obvious first question is "what do you do"? I ask this question to other people, so I am definitely not criticizing anyone for asking it. But when you really think about it, the question doesn't help you get to know the new person any better. It just gives you a label with which to associate them. Even if the conversation makes it to the next level and people begin to describe what their occupation entails or how long they've been doing it, it still may not scratch through the surface of who that person is.

Wouldn't it be interesting if instead of asking "what do you do?" as an introductory question upon which to build a conversation, the question was "what are you passionate about?" or "tell me about yourself." Freeing the other person to reveal as much as he or she chooses about himself, and not restricting them to their job title. In a social setting, most people don't even want to talk about work. But because "what do you do" is such a prominent conversation starter, many social events are turned into mini business meetings and networking sessions. Perhaps other areas of the country or other age groups aren't so focused on jobs as identifiers of who people are. For college students, it's more of "what's your major and what clubs are you involved in?" But the concept is the same.

Maybe our society hasn't evolved to a comfort level of people openly expressing their passions or their inner realities. It's safer and more socially comfortable to stick to concrete subject matters, such as one's job or where someone lives. "Small Talk", in other words.

Most people's true passion is not something they can make a living at. In reality, passion and what someone wants to do with their life has nothing to do with making money, unless that person wants it to. I've often heard that the ideal way of life is doing something that you love and getting paid to do it. But I would say a very small percentage of people can earn money by living out their true passion. Musicians and artists are prime examples. And even the ones who do earn their living through their art are restricted creatively by what will sell. Artists are commissioned to paint certain paintings. Musicians must cater to the markets so that their albums will sell. Classical musicians must play whatever the symphony is playing.

I once met a writer on an airplane. He was a columnist for The Washington Times, a travel writer and a best-selling author. You might look at him and think he had the ideal life of earning a living by engaging in his passion of writing. While he enjoys writing his column and his travel essays, this man confessed to me that there were other types of writing he would rather be doing. But he doesn't have enough time or energy to be doing the type of writing he really wants, because the daily column takes up so much of his time. As someone who writes all day for a living, he finds it hard to go home at night and also write for himself.

I believe myself to be very lucky because I am passionate about my job. However, I didn't come about it in the way most people would expect. I was an English major in college, and at that time the most frequent comment was "so you want to be a teacher." That comment really annoyed me because it assumed firstly that an English degree wasn't good for much else, and secondly that I was getting this degree because I wanted it to directly apply to my future occupation. I chose English as a major because I like to write. Plain and simple. When I graduated college, I sought out a career in writing, which happened to be Marketing and Communications. Which eventually turned into Marketing in the general sense, because I also like to think strategically about how my writing and communications materials should be used to benefit the organization I am working for. Most people don't get the English degree ---> Marketing Director transition, but to me it makes complete sense. After all, marketing is simply a matter of communicating the benefits of a product or service to a particular audience. An education in English literature teaches you to do just that by writing persuasive essays.

Despite all of this, I have many passions. Writing isn't the only thing I am "doing" with my life. I have many other interests and pursuits. And as I've said in past entries, even these interests and pursuits don't define who I am as a person. That's determined by my beliefs, feelings and values. Which aren't necessarily reflected in what I do, but sometimes are. It took me awhile to learn this. For a very long time I had been attaching my identify to various labels because they were tangible examples of my success and worth. Those labels serve me well in a social setting, but have little relevance in how I see myself.

Many people seem to believe that if you aren't loving your job, then you shouldn't be doing it. I am guilty of this myself, and I won't tolerate a job that I don't find fulfilling. But realistically, this is not always possible or even necessary. As long as you know what your passions are and who you are outside of your job, then you could have a very mundane job, and still be very happy and content with your life. I once dated a musician who worked in research for a consulting firm to earn a living. He told me that he only tolerated his "day job" because he had his music on the side and he was still being able to engage in his passion. We often chuckled to ourselves as we would go to social events and people would ask him what he did for a living. He would tell them his job and describe what he did, but really, that was such a minuscule component of his life compared to everything he put into his music.

Perhaps we will never evolve to a place where one's career isn't such a "label" of who someone is, weighed down with preconceived notions of what that job entails, or what type of person would choose it. But I'll play my part by delving beneath the surface with anyone who has the deeper interest.