Is It Time For Your Plan "B" Career?

By Christopher E. Long

Are you at a certain place in your life where you find yourself seriously considering a Plan "B" career? Has your dream job - Plan "A" - eluded you, and now you awake every morning wishing you had a career rather than just a lousy job? You realize you need to regroup and plan a strategy to find a career you enjoy. You don't want to abandon your dreams, but you recognize that the current occupational route you're wandering is definitely not the path you want to travel for the rest of your life.

If this sounds like you, you're not alone! A recent survey conducted by the New York based Conference Board found that 49% of Americans are dissatisfied with their current job. How many of those people dreamed of being a best selling author, chart topping musician, or an award winning filmmaker but settled on a job they had no intention of doing for long? The reality is there are a finite number of jobs available for these coveted occupations. Does that mean you should give up and resign yourself to a lifetime of being a drone in the trenches of Corporate America? Absolutely not!

The trick is to find a job that satisfies you creatively and is reasonably obtainable. If you aspire to be a best selling author, you may want to consider working as an editorial assistant at a magazine, a writer for a public relations firm, or possibly as a copywriter at an advertising agency. These may not be your Plan "A" jobs, but they provide a steady paycheck, valuable experience, and the opportunity to get paid for what you like to do - write.

When considering your Plan "B," filter down Plan "A" to its essence. Now you have a starting point to see what other jobs in the workforce incorporate various aspects of your dream job.

Here are a few suggestions on narrowing the search:

Make a list of your skills

Recognizing your strengths and creative abilities is beneficial in narrowing your career hunt.

Brainstorm a list of occupations that associate with your primary skills

This is not a test, so there are no wrong answers. Write down all occupations that come to mind, even if it is a career you are vastly under qualified to perform (such as brain surgeon, rocket scientist, or nuclear physicist). You may not be able to realistically hold all the jobs you write down, but there could be an avenue to work in that industry you're not aware of, so don't limit yourself.

Review your list

Review your list and write a position you are capable of filling next to the occupation. If you have attorney on your list, and, assuming you don't have a legal degree, you could consider being a file clerk or an administrative assistant at a law firm.

What positions appeal to you most?

There may be only one or two positions that you want. That's OK. You don't want to pursue a career you are not enthused about. Pick only those jobs that you can see yourself doing for the next three to five years.

Research the jobs that interest you

Are there characteristics of those jobs that you will find satisfying creatively? Find a job that will allow you to showcase your creative voice and skills.

You have a list of jobs that interest you - now what?

Go online and visit multiple job sites and search for all the jobs on your shortlist. Are they available in your geographic locale, do you have the necessary qualifications, and, more importantly, is it a job you're confident you will enjoy? These are typical questions that plague job seekers.

Talk to someone who is already working in the field

If you do not personally know someone employed in the industry you are interested in, start asking around. More times than not, someone you know knows somebody who either works in the field or knows another somebody they can direct you to for advice. Generally, people enjoy talking about themselves and are willing to take a few minutes and give career guidance.

No Excuses!

There are many excuses people offer as to why they're not going to have time to pursue their dreams once occupied with a Plan "B" career: "I'll be too tired," "I might fall into a rut and just resign myself to doing my new job for the rest of my life," or "I won't have time." If you're concerned you might give up on your dreams if you get a Plan "B" job, you might want to re-evaluate your dreams. Someone who continues to strive to achieve their dreams while holding down a full time job is truly dedicated to the pursuit of their goals. Finding excuses as to why you're not going to be able to do what you love might be an indication that your motives for aspiring to that dream job are questionable.

Ask yourself whether you'd continue to write, play music, or act if you knew you'd never be successful doing it - if you love what you do, should it matter if you never get a huge book deal, a lucrative record deal, or a win an Oscar? The answer is no! Loving what you do is reward in itself.

"Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away." - Tom Clancy, best selling author who worked as an insurance broker while struggling to write and publish his first novel, "The Hunt for Red October."

Happy Endings

So, you ask, "Who juggled a full time Plan "B" job and still had the diligence to continue to work toward accomplishing their goals?" I did.

I was an aspiring writer who finally came to the conclusion that I needed to start a career rather than waiting around for my ideal writing job. I took a very humbling entry level job at a magazine, but I was in the right place at the right time - I was offered the opportunity to write an article for an upcoming issue. I had to write the article on my own time because I was given this opportunity with the stipulation that it couldn't interfere with my job at the magazine. One article lead to another, and one day I found that I had a nice body of writing clippings; I approached other magazines with ideas for articles, and soon I was published in a variety of magazines.

Today I'm proud to say that I am a professional writer who is currently in negotiations with a publisher for one of my projects. I reevaluated my career path, took a Plan "B" job while continuing to strive toward my goals, and eventually I was rewarded with the gift of making a living from what I love to do - writing.

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Revised: 2008-05-29T01:30:57-0700