Have you ever heard the saying “caught, not taught”? Oftentimes, the opinions we have are the direct result of our family’s convictions – we “catch” them, so to speak. Your mom may never have explicitly said, “I think that financial planners are lame sauce,” but she may have implied over time that the best career options are the ones that don’t involve building your own clientele. Many people absorb the beliefs of those around them without realizing it. Sometimes that’s a good thing (e.g. money isn’t all that matters in this life), other times that prejudice is destructive (e.g. entrepreneurship is too risky to be worthwhile, so give up your dream of opening a bike shop brewery combo).
Students steer clear of a variety of careers because their friends, mentors, coaches, and families have strong opinions (spoken or unspoken) about those lines of work. There are certainly times in which it is wise to absorb that hard-earned wisdom and operate accordingly. There are other instances in which we may benefit from actively choosing to move in a different direction, operating out of our own intentionally sculpted perspective on the world.
My family never said it out loud, but they firmly believed that the best jobs (and lives!) require bachelor’s degrees. I don’t regret that I got my degree – what a privilege! But I think I might have loved being a hairdresser in a nice salon, a job that wouldn’t have cost me tens of thousands of dollars and four years of education. I probably would have benefited from someone asking me, “Hey! What do the influential people in your life believe about work? And do you want to embrace or reject those beliefs?”
This is the type of proactive reflection that can yield great insight. Consider taking the time to go there. And if you’d like to do this with support, you might meet with a career counselor or sign up for the next Designing Your Career Mini-Course in which we’ll explore these waters together!
