Stepping-Stone Jobs

Currently, I’m working as a third grade teacher at a local school district.  It’s a good job.  I am fortunate to have this opportunity right now because the education industry is in a bit of upheaval — especially with deepening state budget cuts.  I’m reasonably successful as a teacher, have the blessing of an alarmingly short commute, and enjoy an uncommon amount of days off.  Despite the positives, I know in my heart that this job is just a stepping stone to something else.  I just wish I knew what that “something else” was.

I have had people tell me that they think that I am “meant” to teach — that this is the job to which God has called me.  I’m not so sure.  While I don’t wake up dreading the workday ahead, I also don’t wake up with a passion for what I do.  Don’t get me wrong, I work hard and try my best each day, I just don’t love it in the core of my being.  To gripe about my current situation would be to wallow in ungratefulness, but to claim deep contentedness would be lying.

In truth, I sometimes look around at others and begin to envy their careers.  My brother-in-law is the Director of Communications for a U.S. State Senator.  My friend Justin is a physician who is a few months short of completing his residency.  My high school girlfriend’s “little” sister is doing mission work in Myanmar with her husband.

It’s never really been the money or the status that I envy, but the purpose.  Each seems to ooze a purposefulness that I tend to lack.  My hope is that, as I work the jobs between now and “what I’m meant to do”, I will do so with an open mind and continually expand my toolkit of knowledge and experience.

Here are some of the things I’ve already learned from the jobs I have held since college:

• Hoarders never make good leaders.  Keeping all the responsibility buried a mile deep on your desk will never accomplish anything.
• Cold-calling is uncomfortable, but just like with everything else in life, it gets easier with time and practice.
• You will hear “no” many more times than you hear “yes”.  It’s nothing personal.
• Little kids love hugs from male role-models — some never get them from their dads at home.
• Sometimes the best education can ruin a good childhood.  There’s more to life than a full school day and three hours of homework a night.
• Innovation flows from a wide variety of sources, but duplication dulls creativity.
• Big mistakes are embarrassing, but they are also unique opportunities that show you where you need to “tighten the screws” in your work.
• There’s a fine line between respectful submission and being seen as weak.  A little hellfire goes a long way.
• Push-back is one of those uncomfortable situations that takes time and practice to master, but is vital to effective teamwork.
• A great leader is well-read, well-planned, and always accessible.
• Striving for perfection is maddeningly futile.  Your work is either “right” or “not right”.
• Relying on government to do your job of parenting is unAmerican.
• Self-esteem can never be given, it is earned — usually through hard work in difficult circumstances.

What about you?  What keys to success did you learn from stepping-stone jobs?  Did you have a particular job that you hated when you did it, but now look back and see the value it added to your life experience?

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