Some people really have a hard time finding out what they really should be doing as an adult. I think that anyone having this problem are looking at other adults too much. They should be looking at their past instead.
Children aren’t shy about having fun. And I know that what we enjoy doing as adults are simply extensions of things we used to do as children.
My job as a software engineer cum web developer cum innovator stems from my childhood hobbies playing Lego and drawing portraits and doing all sorts of other ‘building’ stuff. I also spent my teens collecting comics, which I used to build my figure sketching skills. I was never into sports, but I feel that sports is a great way to learn about strategy, which is useful for stuff like finance, management, and innovation.
Playing with dolls may mean you enjoy storytelling, or being part of a hospitality service, or traveling. Reading may mean you enjoy research and learning, and being able to function as a team player.
One question a career counselor asked my wife when she went in for a session was ‘what did you enjoy when you were a child?’. Most likely, the things you did when you were a child were already preparing you for something you would be doing as an adult.
I posed this question to my youth session yesterday as well. Not all of them responded to the various interests. Some enjoyed traveling while some didn’t. Almost all of them played computers, but I’m guessing what they play may differ as well. Some enjoy sports. Some don’t like cartoons but enjoy watching animal planet. These were children aged 9 onward. They were specific and vocal – they could express what their interests were at a very young age.
I told them that when they become an adult, the toys don’t go away – they get bigger. So the trick is in deciding which toys to play, because there’s never enough time to play all of them (or enough money).
The reason why I love web development is because I like building things. I like art as well, and graphic design, although my background is in engineering. I like ideas – and good sites build on good ideas. I also love writing, and the web really needs a lot of that. In fact, writing was one of the things I used to do growing up.
In the book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell described a phenomenon about how Sesame Street became such a huge success. In that research, scientists realized that children watched TV very differently than adults do – in that they watch for learning’s sake (in terms of context), instead of pure entertainment. Their attention span only maintains when there are things on TV that they are attempting to gain knowledge from. This may be why one of the boys said he didn’t enjoy cartoons, when quizzed yesterday.
Don’t abandon your childhood for your adulthood. Bridge it together in one seamless story. Penelope Trunk’s advice is to do what you are – and I feel everyone ought to already know that growing up.
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Hey boon, stumbled upon your website while searching for a restaurant online. But, what a glad accident this is- I love your insight to life and the way you blog out those thoughts. Keep it up! Did you get this childhood to career thing from your wife’s career counselor? Because if you did, I feel glad that there’s science that kinda confirms my suspicion tht I may not have taken a wrong career choice.
Hi adeline,
Thanks for your comments.
This childhood to career thing is not entirely from my wife’s career counselor. It’s a combination of a few things, and my own experience is one of those few things.
Counseling is part science, part relationship. It’s about knowing who we really are inside. Being in a specific industry or job may not necessarily mean it’s not the right fit.
When I did a career profiling test as a college student, the only thing the test could conclude was to provide historical records of job types of other people who matched my personality profile. There’s no clear answer as to what job or career will fit.
Which was what I meant by my last sentence – it’s important to do what you are, not what you love.
hi boon,
i’ve been following penelope’s blog and decided to scan through brazencareerist.com to see if there any contributors from my part of the world. Good Stuff.
Few things I wanna highlight:
1. Myers-Briggs and co. provide great interesting insights about our tendencies (i’m an EFNP) but like most personality tests, it tends to place us in a box. So I liked about what you said how counselling is part science, part relationship. Ultimate we’re each made unique by our Creator.
2. I come from a organization which is strength-based. While I agree with you and penelope about leveraging and developing your strengths, what do you think about this theory (which i support) whereby since your strengths will always come naturally to you, why don’t we concentrate on improving our weaknesses? (i’m assuming everyone like using their strengths?)
3. I think sometimes setting milestones can anchor us down to a specific path which “forces” us to choose a career to achieve those milestones. Like how Randy Pausch sets to achieve his childhood dreams. Or how I set a list of 100 things to do before I die. One of them being completing an Ironman which forces me to take a job that actually allows me the time to do so!
greg, thanks for your comment. About weaknesses – I feel, because of the limited amount of time we have on hand, that we should do enough to make sure our weaknesses are in check. The point isn’t in becoming super in all aspects, but to invest quality time to our strengths and personal traits, while making sure that our weaknesses meet a ‘pass’ grade. There is a higher tendency to ignore our strengths because it comes naturally to us – this shouldn’t be the case.
Boon