Is ‘Dream Job’ really a “Dream” job?

Like many ambitions in our life, having a dream job is one of the most important dreams of our life.

We go to school, get qualified, trained, thinking “Bada Hoke Achcha Job Milna Chahiye” [once grow up, need to have a good job].

As a kid, when asked, what do you want to be when you grow up, the wishes are anywhere from Police, Military to Teacher or few even say ‘Joker’ as well.

But when we start understanding the equation of money, responsibilities – we change it or try to mold it for Doctor, Engineer, CA if from particular families.

As a kid, I wanted to be an IAS, District Collector – only motive, the power to declare holiday to school on any day [which I used to hear that time].

But when saw the vast syllabus of UPSC, sacrificed on those holidays.

If we just check, mainly for the school mates, most of us are doing what we got or we can say, ‘going with the flow’. One who wanted to be a teacher, understood the importance of doing an MBA and got into corporate job.

Few joined the family businesses, many in sales jobs, very few as doctor, few became engineers but not doing engineering job, as the case in these days.

Now what happened to the “dream job”.  

Once we get an earning source, then our mind makes us to think in that stream only. If someone has joined a banking job, he/she thinks to get promoted, then that ‘coveted position’ becomes a dream job for them. In that process, we totally forget what we actually wanted to do.

We try searching for better work culture, good pay, better practices, in what we do and consider that “seldom possible things” as a dream job.

So, many a times, as we drag ourselves in that forced decision of ‘doing the job we are doing’, and the race of elevating oneself, we get frustrated.

Because the motivation to do that is not internal, only motivation is to earn more to fulfil the responsibilities, pay the bills. So, we keep pushing in same line.

In short we keep walking towards the destination, which we never wanted to reach to.

Then come the bouts of the frustration – low appraisals, no appraisals, job loss, office politics, competition, nepotism, favoritism etc. This we see and also read about for all types of organisations, even the so called MNCs or Fortune 500, 100 and even in Fortune 10 companies.

Lucky are those who manages through these and still achieve whatever they aspired for, obviously they too have to strive, but they make it. But still, is this what they really wanted to do? I doubt.

We hear many stories, saying ‘do what you are good at and then you never have to do any job’. But the limited opportunities and the abundant resources available, makes it difficult.

So, this race for the “Dream Job” is real or like many other dreams, it’s just a dream. Or should we compromise, be content and start living, saying there is no such thing.

Really don’t know.

Vb

P.S. – Anyway what was your “Dream Job?”