When we look at the most common qualifiers that people hold when choosing a career path, it’s important to assess just how possible they are. For instance, it might be that working outside in an animal rescue shelter gets you outdoors and focusing on animals, but it’s unlikely you’ll make a huge salary this way. For some people, that’s more than fine, as they value daily satisfaction over being unnecessarily wealthy.
For others, the ability to travel might be a key possibility of a job. But of course, it’s important to note that this won’t take the place of a free holiday, and that traveling from place to place, while satisfying, can be quite tiring and means your job becomes a lifestyle. Some people are more than happy to accept that.
One of the most common virtues people look for in a career path is that of being able to make a difference. But to what degree is making a difference even possible in a career path? In this post, we’ll discuss that and render some advice:
Incremental Change Measured Over Time
Making a difference doesn’t come at once. For instance, a civil engineer may work on constructing a bridge that conjoins two towns, effectively eliminating a 20 mile round trip and turning it into a 30-minute journey. This might sound pretty cool on the surface, but over ten years, this could save literally hundreds of years worth of cumulative driving time from the local community. As you can see, sometimes, it’s best to think of your long-term impact.
Direct Change In The Lives Of Individuals
While not everyone will be able to make earth-shattering differences in the fields they occupy, sometimes you don’t need to, nor might this be the most important change to make. For instance, sometimes making direct change in the lives of individuals can be the most profound change you could make. Health coaching to help unlock the wellbeing of a client, for instance, can have a thorough lasting impact on your clients and everyone they come into contact with, all for the better. Perhaps a career like social work, too, can help you bring children out of tough home situations, or fight for the rights of those you’re in care of.
Shifting & Shaping An Industry, Even In Small Part
Many people tend to think that their contribution will only be toward their immediate surroundings, but you’d be surprised just how industries can be shaped by innovative decisions and small norms being reapplied and reinforced. For instance, think of how many vegan food options are now becoming the norm in fast food restaurants. It took a few individuals in a marketing team to think that this would be a good investment, and now, it has become a phenomenon. It might be that even in small part, shaping an industry should be for you should you have ideas to help with that.
With this advice, you’ll see that while making a difference may not be possible all the time, in the ways that count, this is more than within your grasp.
