On the subject of jobs...
Recently, there has been some discussion about jobs and what jobs should be. So here's my two cents. My parents have always said that they don't care what I do, as long as I'm happy. I appreciate this immensely, and I think it is a good way of looking at things. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter what "job" you do, just as long as you enjoy it in some capacity (whether it be because it is interesting, for the money, or whatever). You don't need to "be" your job, essentially it is just how you pay the bills. I mean, I used to work retail, but I wasn't a "retail salesperson". It was just a job. I do think that an important distinction needs to be made between "jobs" and "professions" though. You might be able to disengage yourself from a job, but it is more difficult, if not impossible to be completely separate from a profession. I mean, doctors are doctors all the time, not just at work. Same with nurses and teachers and clergy. They cannot as easily leave their work behind at the end of the day. I think it takes a special sort of person to do these kinds of things, because they are so difficult and all encompassing.
I also think that only some people would be able to do some random job for the rest of their lives. Box lifting is all fine and dandy, but I wouldn't do it even if the money was really good. I need to be doing something I'm genuinely interested in. For me, that's cognitive psychology, for Phil, physics. I totally agree with Phil about how we should be defined by what we love to do, and not by our job. Ideally, everyone would love their job, but that's not about to happen, which is unfortunate. It really sucks to see people so unhappy with what they do, and many of them are essentially trapped in these unfulfilling jobs because they need to pay the bills. I love my parents dearly, but I hope I never have to do a job because I "need" to like they do. I want to do a job because I "want" to. I don't care if it doesn't pay a lot. There's a lot more to job satisfaction than money.
Even though I don't think our jobs should define us, I know that they do. If you meet someone new, the first thing you ask is "What do you do?" or at school "What's your major?" In an ideal world, these questions would tell us a lot, because they would indicate what the person loves to do. In reality, they just indicate how that person pays the bills, or the major that came up when they picked it out of a hat, and a lot more probing is necessary to determine if the person actually likes what they are doing or not. It's terribly sad that some people never get a chance to find what they love and to pursue that. I guess that's the beauty of university in a way. You can try a bunch of different things and if you're lucky, something will strike you and you'll find "the one". Perhaps finding a job you love is like finding your soulmate. It might take a lot of looking or it may be love at first sight. Your may never find them, or you might have to settle because you get knocked up or something. But when you find "the one" it's perfect and other stuff doesn't seem to matter as much, because you're happy. Possibly destitute, but happy, and life's too short to not be happy.
