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| Illustration: Susanta Das |
Dream jobs exist only in dreams; the very word “jobs” has a negative connotation. In Christian mythology, it stands for suffering and — after a life not worth living — eventual reward. Even in daily parlance, it’s a nose-to-the-grindstone affair.
Is the eventual reward good enough? Can the dubious pleasures of second childishness and mere oblivion — sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything — compensate for a lifetime of dissatisfaction? Or, to quote an earlier writer: a life sans wine, sans song, sans singer, and — sans end.
The question crops up every year when market researchers and analysts come up with their lists of best jobs for the future. It’s easy to create such a list: look at the areas of rising demand, examine the supply situation, and zero in on jobs that seem to have a mismatch. The positive side is where demand is higher than supply; you can expect salaries and promotions until the imbalance is addressed. The negative side is where supply exceeds demand. This is the area of dead job descriptions and careers. The postman and the secretary have to reinvent themselves. Will the print journalist become a threatened species?
If you are thinking even slightly long-term, the first thing to ask is whether the profession will survive time and technology. Most of the time, it doesn’t need a futurologist. Everyone can take good pictures these days; the camera does the work for you. So who needs a photographer? A generation of editors will blissfully bid them goodbye, as a generation of printers did to their devils.
“There is a difficult decision here,” says Mumbai-based HR consultant D. Singh. “You can specialise and command a higher pay. But such professionals are more vulnerable. The cat in C++ has nowhere to go when a more efficient computer language comes along. There has to be a constant process of re-educating yourself.”
More important is whether the career suits you in the first place. There is the mistaken notion that if you are not running after money, you are bound to be happy. There are plenty of non-governmental organisations that are home to unhappy souls.
The Pinoy Employee’s Guide to Survival in the Workplace has a list to help you decide whether you have found your dream job. It reads:
1 You’re doing something that makes you feel good about yourself
2 You are learning new things and still get a chance to develop your talents, skills and abilities
3 You feel that you’re accomplishing something worthwhile
4 There are opportunities for moving up
5 You have the chance to do what you do best
6 The company is growing and there is no talk of mass firing or closure, and your job is not a dead end
7 You work with terrific people. Even if your boss is scary, you feel you can learn from him or her
8 There is challenge; you are not stuck doing something mundane and unproductive
9 You get rewarded for what you do. The pay isn’t so bad either. You know your work circumstances will improve.
10 You get respect for what you do and your contribution is recognised.
Another way to get a fix on your dream job is to look at how the other half lives. CareerCast.com has a list of 10 worst jobs for 2010: roustabout, lumberjack, ironworker, dairy farmer, welder, garbage collector, taxi driver, construction worker, metre reader and mail carrier.
These are jobs that employ a lot of people. For a more niche profession, turn to oddee.com. Its pick is janitor at a porno theatre. Would that be the choice for the clean living?
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
The top careers for 2011
Business jobs
☻ Accountant
☻ Actuary
☻ Financial adviser
☻ Financial analyst
☻Logistician
☻ Meeting planner
☻ Public relations specialist
☻Sales manager
☻Training specialist
Creative and service jobs
☻ Commercial pilot
☻ Curator
☻ Film and video editor
☻ Gaming manager
☻ Heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration technician
☻ Interpreter / translator
☻ Multimedia artist
☻ Technical writer
Healthcare jobs
☻ Athletic trainer
☻ Dental hygienist
☻ Lab technician
☻Massage therapist
☻ Occupational therapist
☻ Optometrist
☻ Physician assistant
☻ Physical therapist
☻ Physical therapist assistant
☻ Radiologic technologist
☻ Registered nurse
☻ School psychologist
☻ Veterinarian
