For must of us, there’s no perfect job

by Aaron

After my first few jobs, I learned that the best way to answer “How do you like your new job?” is with “Ask me in 3 months”.

Most of us tend to like our new jobs because we’re working with new people on new projects, where everything we do is more interesting than the last job. However, after a few months, many of us find ourselves changing our mind about the new job. Everyone’s annoying, the projects are boring, management is terrible, etc. It’s sort of inevitable.

It’s so hard to find that perfect job that will always satisfy us. Luckily we have friends and family who are always there :)

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4 Responses to “For must of us, there’s no perfect job”

  1. Neil on November 2nd, 2007 12:37 am

    This is true to an extent.

    As we’ve been studying in the Book of Ecclesiastes, the teacher speaks to the fact that on Earth we can’t derive our sense of identity and fulfillment from work. Even finding fulfillment or happiness in friends and family has its limitations…after all, they are human too and not infinitely compassionate or supportive. True fulfillment, then, only comes from finding our identity in God. God is the only one who is infinitely compassionate and supportive.

    And God created us all with a very specific plan and purpose for our lives. Our perfect earthly job, then, comes from seeking after and following that purpose. After all, who can tell you what to do better than the one who created you? Although there will be ups and downs even in that mission, it is what we were created to do, and we can remain joy-filled in the midst of trials because our identity is tied to serving God.

    Tada!

  2. Laura on November 19th, 2007 12:20 am

    I think it is important to realize that there is no perfect job out there, but there can be jobs that are a perfect fit for you at a given time. I think the main reason no job is perfect is because there is always some tedious part to any job. that’s why it’s work. But it is good to give a job time before you decide whether it’s the right one for you. I found that after staying at my job for a while, I grew to like it better. I found a great comradery with my coworkers, and the menial tasks got mixed in with some more interesting ones. So while, my job still isn’t “perfect”, it’s been a great learning experience, and hopefully will lead to more and more exciting opportunities… like becoming a chocolate tester! Now THAT’s a perfect job!

    (Also, Neil, not to tread to deeply into a religious debate, but I think it is impossible to underestimate humans’ capacity for love and compassion!)

  3. Aaron on November 19th, 2007 11:50 pm

    Laura-

    Those are some really great points you make. I especially agree with it leading to more and more exciting opportunities. I’ve come to realize that, in my life, I would rather work with 50 different companies/organizations than to have a single steady one. I think of work as an adventure, with trials and tribulations, but also with fun and exciting paths.

    You know the story about the police officer who retired and started his own restaurant? That’s awesomeness. That’s all I got.

  4. Neil on November 20th, 2007 11:15 am

    I like these metaphysical discussions so I’ll continue Laura :-)

    You’re right that we might not be able to fully understand the depths of humanity’s capacity to love…but that just makes God’s love even more profound, because even our deep human love for one another pales in comparison to His love for us. However deep our capacity to love may be, it will never be as deep as His.

    I think there is a “perfect job”, although the term “perfect” is a misnomer because it tries to put a worldly context on something that isn’t worldy. Our “perfect” jobs are doing what God created us to do according to his plan and purpose for our lives. He may have us doing a bunch of different things in different seasons of life to create impact in different places and situations. For some, that may mean being a teacher first, a dentist later, or a programmer beyond that, but regardless, we have to be cognoscent of the fact that our lives are not our own, but that we were created by Him to do his work in the world.

    So when we seek out our “perfect” job, that means we have to seek out God first to ask him what it is he wants us to do. Before we were even formed in our mother’s wombs he had very specific things he wanted each one of us to accomplish. We have to ask Him what those things are and chase those opportunities.

    The result may or may not be “perfect” in the worldly context (i.e. fun, enjoyable, challenging, personally fulfilling, etc.) but it is what we were created to do. The apostles were stoned, beaten and killed in their mission to spread the Gospel. But they knew the work they were doing was their “perfect” job because it was God’s work, and in the midst of those trials, they remained joy-filled because of that.

    Therefore, our perfect jobs come as a result of first seeking out God and then asking him what he purposes for our lives.

    Sorry for such a long-winded reply, but I like this stuff :-) Peace!