Do what you Love or Love what you do?

When we finally landed the job that we were aiming for, there are tiny unsettling questions that linger in our minds:

“Is this what I REALLY want?”
“Do I deserve this role”
“Will I be able to make the cut”
etc.. etc..

Life is full of unexpected things, people aim for the job they thought they would love, but along the way, learn that they aren’t really happy.

So my question is.. in terms of career…

ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU LOVE? or HAVE YOU LEARNED TO LOVE THE THINGS YOU DO?

Although I am young, I have experienced a handful of career shifts. Please note that this article is subjective to my opinion and specific to my journey. (PICS)

Technical Assistant

In 2007 I started to work as a Admin & Technical Assistant/Web Developer for a small company located in Makati central business district and my boss was amazingly kindhearted.

I was a working student who studied Information Technology in Sta. Mesa (which was quite far from my home in Paranaque). My goal was to simply get a degree that fits my budget and help me earn a lot of money.

Since I am pretty fond of computers, my mind was certain that being a developer was the best approach!

3 years in the company helped me learn a lot of things which usually involves budgeting what I had in my pocket and looking for freelance jobs for extra cash.

On my third year of College, due to undisclosed reasons, I dropped out of school to focus more on earning money from a full time job.

In my three years of college, I can say that I did good in terms of looking for on-the-side cash-flow such as freelance web development, virtual administrative work, and investing extra money that came by.

Technical Support Representative

Without a day’s rest, I went on to my next adventure as a Technical Support Representative for a night shift contact center.

The account that I’ve been assigned to involves troubleshooting multiple web hosting servers and mail servers through SSH (picture a black and white screen with only the keyboard to navigate).

It was truly difficult, even for a person with knowledge of computers; despite this, me and my peers persevered and became the pioneers of the account.

Technical Training Specialist

After a year, I was promoted as Technical Training Specialist. It was indeed true that BPO’s have fast paced and performance based promotions. It started when I was helping my Team Leader fill in for our designated trainer who had an accident at that time.

Being a Training Specialist was great, I learned that I have a passion for nurturing minds. I loved what I was doing, despite standing all day and the long unpaid overtime.

However, a sudden change happened yet again, for the sake of healthier work hours and for the woman I love. Sidenote: This is where I met my wife. 😉

Web Developer

In 2012, I was accepted as a full time Web Developer for one of the best Health Maintenance Organizations in the country.

Our team was small and quiet, but it eventually evolved.

I worked here for 3 years and utilized all the things I’ve learned from the past. Making the company more technologically inclined, one step at a time.

Business Development Officer

After three years, an affiliate company of this HMO was established and I was invited to become part of the Business Development Department. At first, I was scared and excited, but who wouldn’t be?

This was something new and it was worlds apart from my previous jobs! However, due to optimism, perseverance, and the support of my colleagues, I have managed to get by. We all continued to gain knowledge in terms of communication and negotiation skills. Even had a chance to start a small company with my peers!

Summary

You might have realized by now that throughout my career, I have often learned to love what I was doing.

To tell you frankly, my dream was to become a lawyer. But things don’t always happen the way you wanted it to be.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am definitely not saying that you should love your current job unconditionally, nor am I implying to be contented with what you have. OPPORTUNITIES are out there for the taking, GRAB THEM BY ALL MEANS!

It is with my purest intentions to say that if you are given a chance to have a job that you initially loved to do, without any issues, cherish it, protect it, and be proud!

But if you are in a career path with feelings of uncertainty, think about giving it a chance to nurture you, because you will definitely learn a thing or two. By learning to love the things you do.