Bring your dream career back to earth

Our mixed-up ideas about dream jobs

Ask a handful of people to define the term “dream job,” and the answers will run the gamut. When people think of dream jobs they might think of:

1. Being paid to sit on the beach all day and sip margaritas
2. Doing something you love so much, it doesn’t feel like work
3. The end result of following your passion
4. The way that people express their truest, most authentic selves
5. Any job you don’t hate that pays the bills

It’s clear the idea of a dream job is wide ranging—verging on silly, even. We can probably agree that nobody’s getting paid to sit on the beach with a margarita in hand.

Yet, many people want to follow their passion and find a job that doesn’t feel like work and is fully tied to their identity as a person. But that’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself—to find a job that meets all those criteria.

Maybe it’s time to modify our definition of a dream job. (While also, of course, shooting at least a little higher than not disliking our job.)

What’s a dream job?

You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” In other words, your job won’t feel like actual work if you’re getting a paycheck to do something you love. That dream looks different for everyone, but it speaks to our deep need to find meaning and joy in our work.

While dream jobs are unique to each person, they do have some qualities in common. Dreams jobs:

• Pay well enough that you’re able to cover your expenses and save
• Are related to a subject, area, or industry that you’re interested in
• Utilize your skills in a way that feels at least somewhat important and impactful
• Strike the right balance between ease and challenge—dream jobs live in the Goldilocks zone where they’re not so hard you feel demoralized, but they’re not so easy you’re bored
• Have working conditions that support your strongest preferences—working remotely, in a bustling office, with late start times, etc.
• Take place in a supportive work culture—a place you like to be, with people you like, including your bosses

None of this means that our dream job has to be about our soul’s passion—creating art, learning to fly a plane, climbing the Rocky Mountains. Finding our work challenging and interesting can be enough. Our passion projects don’t have to turn into a job.

Dream jobs strike the right balance between ease and challenge.

Being proactive to find or create your dream job

If you’re serious about finding your dream job, you first need to know what you want to do. We can safely cross astronaut, ballerina, and pro athlete off the list unless you’re already well on your way to one of these.

Otherwise, try answering these questions:

• What are you interested in?
• What kind of environment do you want to work in?
• What are you good at?
• What are you good at that someone would pay you to do?
• What experience do you already have?
• What could you learn or do that would open up other avenues?

Once you have a sense of what you’d like to do or the direction you’d like to pursue, it can be a journey to find yourself in that dream role.

Jenna, a Fidelity senior university talent acquisition leader, says, “I always believe in a dream job. I think that it’s not out of reach. It’s just you have to put in the work—essentially, work towards your dream.” She adds, “When you’re applying and you’re not getting that dream job, I think it’s important to take a step back and look at why. You know, ‘I haven’t gained the skills that I need yet.’” She advises looking into training and connecting with people in the industry you’re targeting.

You aren’t going to start out in a dream job—and that’s okay

Joseph, a university talent partner with Fidelity, has this to say: “Your first, second, or even your third job isn’t going to be your dream job. No one starts exactly in their dream job. There’s always an initial step to get there.”

What you can do in your first, second, or third job is to look around. Is there anyone there doing something you’d like to do? If so, talk with them. Ask them how they got there. If not, is there a role you can grow into that might get you one step closer to what you want to do?

Say you work in a retail clothing store, and your long-term goal is to work in event planning for the fitness industry. Maybe nobody you work with is in a role directly related to that industry. But, in the shoe department, you’ve occasionally seen sales reps from sneaker companies visit. Ask if you can move to that department. Learn what you can there, and speak to the sales reps when you see them. Ask if they’ll give you 10 minutes to ask them some questions. Grab their contact information or connect with them on social media. There are often some small steps you can take in your current role to learn more about the job or industry that you want to work toward.

There’s value in jobs that aren’t dream jobs

Every work experience has something to teach you—even if you’re not yet working in your dream job.

Try to take in as many positives from the role as you can, and learn along the way.

Joseph advises, “Find something you enjoy about the role you are doing. Everyone has to work their way up at some point. There’s no reason you have to be miserable during that time. Don’t think about it as, ‘Hey, this isn’t my dream job. I’m miserable.’ Think about it as you’re on the step to get to that path. All of that is going to help you.”

In reflecting on his earliest jobs, Joseph said, “Some of the most valuable experiences I had in talking with others and dealing with people came from those entry-level positions.”

Sometimes it’s nice to keep our passions out of our work life.

Your job isn’t the only way to live the life you dream of

Having a “dream job” isn’t the only way we can build a life with purpose and passion. Sometimes a job is just a job. As long as you are treated well, paid fairly, and have a degree of job satisfaction, sometimes that’s enough.

The way you spend your time outside of work is important, too. Sometimes it’s nice to keep our passions out of our work life.

Joseph says, “If your dream is the dancer, the chef, the movie star, there’s no reason that you can’t have a side hobby. I would absolutely continue, encourage you. Take that dance class. Go to culinary class. Do those things that you like if you want to. Don’t let the fact that your job can’t be that get in the way.”

Final thoughts

You may not find your dream job overnight, but you can learn a lot and still pursue your passions along the way.