Happy Friday! That means it’s your turn to give me, and each other, some advice and outside perspective.
From what I’ve seen, there are 2 kinds of people: those who put their career before anything else, and those who make life their number one priority. I’ve always wondered, is it a generational thing? A male vs. female thing? Are older generations more apt to put their careers first? Do people who choose to focus on their career above all else end up the most successful? Or does it not matter? What do you all think?
I think our generation (I’ll be 24 this year) tends to value our passions and creativity in our work as part of our life. We look at our careers as our work but also as contributing to our “life.” Our devotion to one or the other seems to be which is more fulfilling
I agree with Charity. However I did take a different route and pursued life, more specifically married before figuring out a career. Having a family is really important to me and I wanted to make sure it didn’t get sacrificed because I was so consumed with a career. As a result I’m almost 25 and the only one married out of all of my friends, yet probably least successful career wise but probably the happiest.
I just turned 31 and maintaining a balance between life and work is very difficult. For our generation of ladies, work and our career is so important as we’ve gone into careers that are defined by who we are (blogger, doctor, teacher, attorney, etc) so you can’t just throw it away because it is party of our life. With that said, I don’t know any woman who hasn’t had a breakdown because she only focused on work. It’s very tiring, but I work hard in my career but I work even harder to make time for my fiance and I to travel and have frequent date nights, get togethers with friends, finding alone time, etc.
I haven’t exactly started my career yet, as I am about to graduate from university this spring. But even so, I am actively pursuing things related to my future career, whether it be classes, work, or volunteering. I think because I have so much love for my field, it is hard to tell where the career ends and “life” begins. So many of my interests and friends, and so much of my time, is wrapped up in my degree. But as a (future) wildlife biologist, I wouldn’t have it any other way! So for me, I guess it is a “both/and” scenario.