How do we really measure career success?
These days, your street value doesn't always guarantee or reflect a personal sense of career fulfillment. Neither does a prestigious job title or a corner office with a skyline view. Increasingly, we are finding ourselves at a spiritual fork in the road. No longer content with material definitions of success, more of us are trying to follow our hearts, capitalize on our unique strengths, and find more meaningful work. But you have to pay the price to follow your passion.
Hitting the High Notes
For those blessed with a musical or artistic talent, modern life presents a common challenge: How do you nurture your gift while putting food on the table? Professional drummer and bandleader Bill Morgan calls it "a constant struggle." Morgan's musical group, Central Park, works for an entertainment company based in New York.
If it was strictly about money, we could find something less time consuming and probably earn more.
Together for twelve years, many of the band's ten members must hold down day jobs in order to support their families--and still maintain a unique level of musicianship. In addition to booking entertainment and bands for his company, Morgan opened Beatboy.com in 1993. Beatboy is an interactive Web site where songwriters, producers, and others can license digital drum sequences and performances by legendary drummers and percussionists. Central Park's guitar player, Lou Gimenez, also runs a Queens-based recording studio: Music Lab. Gimenez remixes songs for celebrities such as Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez. Emily Davis, the group's only female vocalist, earns her living through studio work, radio and television jingles, and singing on dinner cruises.
But not every band member's bread and butter is related to the music business. Bass player Roy DeJesus works on computer system for a local school district. Vocalist Frank Josephs runs the maintenance department of a housing project. Singer and saxophonist Maverick Gaither spends his daylight hours as a neighborhood postal worker.
For professional musicians, keeping up your chops requires real world sacrifices. A typical week includes at least one rehearsal and one or two weekend-evening performances. "We each have different schedules and most of us are married with children," says Morgan. "The hardest part is maintaining our family lives. When push comes to shove, many professional bands fall apart due to the pressures we face. If it was strictly about money, we could find something less time consuming and probably earn more, but it's the passion that keeps us together."
The Grunt Work
If you weren't born with a passion like that, finding gratification in your work may require a longer, more trying process. For Beth, a 33-year-old Long Islander, a love of animals and the desire to protect them began in childhood. Unfortunately, bad advice from guidance counselors, friends, and family members undermined her aspirations of becoming a veterinarian. The limited number of veterinary schools in America--and their fiercely competitive nature--also derailed Beth's dream.
Beth heard that "it was even harder to get into Vet school than regular medical school." Discouraged, she didn't take full advantage of her undergraduate education. She majored in English because "it came easy" and then completed a Master's degree as well, thinking she'd eventually teach.
After college, faced with a dismal teaching job market, Beth found an apartment and worked at an insurance firm to pay the rent. Almost a decade later, even after achieving management status, Beth was still unfulfilled. In fact, she was "almost at [the] breaking point." Luckily, her employer was bought out and Beth's retirement plan shot up to a sizable chunk of change. Wasting no time, she withdrew some of her newfound money and re-invested in herself. "I viewed this as an opportunity to re-examine my career, go back to school, and pursue veterinary medicine," she remembers.
Beth was forced to move back into the basement of her parents' home so she could save money and attend school. "The courses weren't offered at night," she says, "so I couldn't get a day-job." But, with the support of her parents, Beth was able to shrug off the social stigma attached to thirty-somethings who still live with their folks: "My mom was proud of me for my determination and didn't try to deter me."
After three years of classes, handling grunt work for an animal hospital, and applying to Vet schools, Beth is realistic about her chances of gaining acceptance into an institution in such a cutthroat field. But she's confident that she's put her best effort forth and finally followed her dream. "It's surprising what you can deal with if there's enough motivation behind it," she says. "Even if I don't get in anywhere soon, I know that I'll end up doing something at the heart of where I want to be."
