The Two Types of Career Success: Vocation vs. Opportunism
Choosing a career can be a daunting task for many people, and with good reason. One’s choice of profession can have a significant impact on their quality of life, financial standing, and overall satisfaction. While many are often encouraged to “follow their passion,” is it always the most beneficial path? In this article, we’ll explore the two types of career success – vocation and opportunism, and evaluate the relative benefits and drawbacks of each.
Vocation – Pursuing Your Passion
The concept of vocation refers to pursuing one’s passion, or doing what one loves for a living. This approach to career success is often romanticized as the ultimate goal, but it isn’t always feasible for everyone. Vocation-based professions tend to be those in which formal education and rigorous training are required, such as medicine, law, music, and art.
One of the primary benefits of pursuing your vocation is that it gives you a sense of purpose and personal fulfillment, knowing that you’re doing what you love every day. Additionally, it can lead to a more specialized career, allowing you to develop a high level of skill or expertise in a particular area. Vocation-based professions can also offer intrinsic satisfaction and creativity, as well as a sense of belonging to a community of like-minded individuals.
However, not all vocational careers are financially lucrative, and they require a high level of dedication and commitment to attaining success. There is also a high level of uncertainty in job outlook, as some vocational positions may not be in demand or may require intense competition. For example, becoming a concert pianist or a well-known author requires extreme dedication, hard work, and talent, but the likelihood of becoming successful is minimal.
Opportunism – Pursuing Opportunities
The opportunistic approach refers to pursuing careers regardless of one’s passion, but rather focusing on the opportunities that the profession presents, such as job security, growth, and financial gains. Opportunistic careers tend to be those in which one can climb the ladder and gain promotions, such as in finance, law, and consulting.
One of the primary benefits of pursuing an opportunistic career is job stability and a clear career path, often with a higher starting salary. Additionally, there is a broad range of jobs in various industries, making the job market more accessible to people with different educational backgrounds. Opportunistic careers tend to offer a sense of routine, stability, and the ability to build a network of connections, which can further enhance career prospects.
However, the opportunistic approach can come at a cost, particularly for those who feel disconnected, unfulfilled, or without a sense of purpose in their work. Opportunistic professions often require more job responsibility and, as such, can limit creativity and autonomy. There can also be a lack of passion and interest, which can lead to dissatisfaction and loss of motivation.
Find Your Fit
Ultimately, the path to career success depends on what you value, your personality, and your career aspirations. Whether you choose vocation or opportunism, both approaches have their advantages and drawbacks. Hence it is crucial to find your fit and what you are most comfortable with.
Notably, the importance of self-reflection and experimentation cannot be overstated when it comes to determining your career path. Assessing your strengths, weaknesses, and values can guide you in making informed decisions. Participating in internships, volunteering, and mentorship can provide an opportunity to test the waters before making a firm commitment.
Additional Piece: The Impact of Technology on Career Choice
The rise of technology over the last decade has transformed the job market, and it’s poised to continue with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and other technological advancements. As a result, today’s workforce is grappling with the impact of technology on career choices.
While technology has undoubtedly created job opportunities, it has also disrupted traditional career paths and created new ones. For example, in recent years, job titles like social media manager, mobile app developer, and data analyst didn’t even exist. However, the future of work might see more of these new types of jobs and others that we can’t even fathom.
Moreover, the impact of technology is not uniform across various industries, and it’s important to consider which jobs are most vulnerable to automation or obsolescence when making career choices. For example, jobs that require repetitive tasks or low-level critical thinking, such as data entry clerks, are more likely to be affected by automation. In contrast, jobs requiring higher-level critical thinking, such as software engineering, may be less vulnerable.
In conclusion, while the rise of technology may present a challenge in terms of job security and change in the labor market, it’s crucial to understand that technology can also create new job opportunities that were once inconceivable. It’s important to stay up-to-date with technological changes as they can impact career choices and prospects. By staying informed, we can adapt to the current trends while keeping an eye on the future.
Summary:
The article explores the two types of career success, vocation and opportunism. Vocational-based professions tend to be those that require rigorous training and education, such as music, medicine, law, and art. In contrast, opportunistic careers are those that offer a clear career path and the ability to climb the ladder, such as consulting and finance.
Ultimately, the path to career success depends on the individual’s values and career aspirations. Both approaches have their advantages and drawbacks, and it’s crucial to find your fit. Additionally, the article highlights the impact of technology on career choices, with technology creating new job opportunities while disrupting traditional career paths.
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Bill Gates’ father once asked his son and Warren Buffett to write the word that explained his success. As Buffett later told basketball player LeBron James, both men chose the same word: “Focus.” Jeff Benedict, who recounts the story in his recent biography of James, writes: “Gates [junior] he believed that what he did obsessively between the ages of 13 and 18 was what had the best chance of being world class.” For the teenage Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, that was writing software. For Buffett, it was investing, although he started long before he was 13: at seven he had asked Santa for a book on bonds. For Martha Argerich, from the age of three, it was the piano. James’ thing was basketball.
The moral here is a familiar one, one that will have been repeated endlessly at American graduation ceremonies this spring: Find your calling, “follow your passion,” and lead it to fame and wealth. Certainly the vocational route works for some. However, there are two types of career success, and the opportunistic route offers more reliable results. The highest-paying industries (finance, law, technology, consulting) are populated mostly (though not entirely) by ambitious, hard-working people who have no calling.
There is something beautiful in people with a vocation. My childhood best friend never seemed particularly smart. But when we were around 18, he gave me a fascinating, impromptu late-night lecture on Vermeer and the art forger Han van Meegeren, and I realized, “Wait, he knows this stuff.” Today he is an art dealer. It’s the only job he’s ever had.
People with a vocation know what they want to do and don’t want to do anything else. The job may be poorly paid: a nurse, a philosopher, or a baker. She may barely have a career: a friend studied to be a world-class pianist, but in her country there’s only room for one concert pianist per generation, and she wasn’t. Instead, she became a piano teacher for children, few of whom had a calling. Many dedicated musicians and athletes spend their lives training amateurs.
Vocational people may like money, but are looking for something else. jiro ono he began learning as a sushi chef when he was nine years old. Thirty years later, he opened his own restaurant in a Tokyo basement. It has space for just 10 customers, who sit on stools around a wooden counter. Today, at 97, Ono is the world’s most admired sushi chef.
People with a vocation are strangely unambitious, in the sense that they do not aspire to move up in organizations. They are specialists and usually just want to be left alone to do their thing at a level of excellence that most people can’t even see. They waste no time in organizational turf wars. They don’t want to manage others. And they try not to adapt to changes in the labor market. Elizabeth Gilbert says: “My writing career could end one day. The publishing industry might end one day, people might decide they don’t care about my books anymore, and my writing career will end. My calling will not.” At least she was successful in her career. Most writers never do. They stick to their vocation despite everything. Those of us who found our calling in journalism have seen our industry shrink. I’m holding out, still on the island, grazing on one of the last patches of grass, but the waters are rising and I don’t even want a Plan B.
By contrast, ambitious opportunists have a clearer path. It often starts with a degree from a reputable university, followed by a professional qualification, because people with no callings feel they are better off keeping jumping through hoops. A good resume generates job offers in the booming industry of the moment. In 1999, when that industry was management consulting, Nicholas Lemann explained in the New Yorker magazine: “For someone who is intensely ambitious but doesn’t yet have the ambition to do anything in particular, a consulting job is a placeholder. ideal. It encapsulates that rare superior meritocratic combination of love of competition, herd mentality, and risk aversion.”
Even better if, like most people, you never find a calling. That frees you up to jump into the next booming industry, or to climb the ladder and become the boss. You have the opportunity to manage (and often frustrate) people with vocations. Your life is not shaped by an uncomfortable inner lodestar, but by attractive offers. On average, ambitious opportunists end up living in bigger houses than people with a calling; Buffett and Gates are exceptions. The only advantage of the vocational track is (sometimes) a more fulfilling life.
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