The Career of Ours in Our Life

Having a career is different with only having a job because we can get many things in many form, either experiences or friends, not only money, from having a career. Most people find anything related to careers is interesting because it makes us fathom who we are. That's why experts say to establish a job, we must find our career first (Smith et al, 2018). Having a career makes us more productive than simply having a job. But, how does a career impact our life and ourselves? How do we know that what we work for is beneficial to us? First of all, we have to know what the 'career' is.

What is 'Career'?

There are some definitions which give the meaning of 'career'. These are the definitions according to some sources:

• Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) (2016):

1. (n) perkembangan dan kemajuan dalam kehidupan, pekerjaan, jabatan, dan sebagainya (development and progress in life, job, position, etc.)
2. (n) pekerjaan yang memberikan harapan untuk maju (a job that gives hope for progress)

• Cambridge Dictionary (2013):

(n) the job or series of jobs that you do during your working life, especially if you continue to get better jobs and earn more money

• Oxford Dictionary (2010):

(n) an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities for progress

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2003):

1. (n) a job or profession that someone does for a long time
2. (n) a period of time spent in a job or profession
3. (n) a job followed as a life's work

• Longman Dictionary (2014):

1. (n) a job or profession that you have been trained for, and which you do for a long period of your life
2. (n) the period of time in your life thay you spend doing a particular activity

• Simamora (2001):

The sequence of activities related to one's work and behaviors, values, and aspirations during the life span of a person.

• Dalil (2002):

A process that the company deliberately created to help employees participating in the workplace.

• Ekaningrum (2002):

All positions (jobs) that have individual responsibility to account people in each role or status.

The conclusion is, a career is an occupation that we do for a very long time to pursue a better life and a better self. The better life and the better self might indicate how developed we are. It involves a sequence of experiences related to the work experienced by a person during his tenure individually and the regeneration of new tasks from an organization's point of view (Glueck and Greer, 1997).

Is a Career Important?

Before we answer the question above, we must confirm whether we need a career or not. From the definitions above, having a career is a way to develop our own selves. We will try to link this to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Abraham Maslow's theory to detail what human needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a well-known theory classifying human's basic needs.

Figure 1

The Pyramid of Needs, The Hierarchy

The hierarchy is represented as a pyramid that divided into five parts from the top to the bottom. The lower the place in the hierarchy is, the more basic the needs are. The more basic needs tend to be fulfilled first if we want to fulfill the upper needs then. The most basic one is the physiological needs. Physiological needs include clothes, food, residences, oxygen, and other things that a human body requires. A human can't get to the next needs when his or her body isn't functioning well. After the physiological needs are fulfilled, we will be able to fulfill the next necessities such as safety needs, social needs (love and sense of belonging), esteem needs, and self-actualization needs consequently. What's a "stair" to reach all of the needs in the hierarchy? It's a career for ourselves. Like what is mentioned in the first part of this writing, having a career makes us get many things in many forms. From the experiences we get, we know what needs to be fixed. From friends, we have links and we can interact with many people. From social interactions, we may find safety because we are not alone and we feel respected by others. Don't forget that with the money that we get, we can buy food and clothes for our supplies.

If we have a career for our life, we can meet the satisfaction from our needs. If we utilize the career that we have to make ourselves better, that means we are able to fulfill what we need. Having a career means we are learning so many things in purpose to develop ourselves. Having a career means we are actualizing our better selves and better life. Having a career means we are doing what humans do.

What Do We Do When There are Problems Found in a Career?

Sometimes, what we expect about the career that we have isn't the same as what happens in the reality. But, our career exists because we want to develop ourselves. We want to develop ourselves because we need self-actualization. To climb higher, we must pass through an ascending way. I, myself, actually have concerns too, like if what I do is not fit enough with myself or if the environment is too full of drama so those make me uncomfortable. So, I try to overcome the uncomfortable situation with these steps.

• Know ourselves.

That is the very first move to start a career. To know ourselves, we've got to consider what value that we have in our role (Smith et al, 2018). Knowing ourselves means we are making our own path of career. It's okay to follow someone else, but we have to consider and reconsider what we are doing. Know yourself better every time!

• Remember our aim from the first place.

Next, if we already know what we want to do, we have to stick to it and have our commitment. Our objectives and to whom we'll target our for must be specified clearly and be realistic. Learn to be responsible! Sometimes, someone loses their base in the middle of the road because he/she can't keep up with the pace that he/she has built. So, don't let the challenges that we face on the way stop us. Prepare ourselves by training to have an efficient way of working (Napitapulu, 2018).

• Think (and do) positive! 

We think to do something. We think to make a change, a better one. If we're just thinking but our bodies don't do anything, there will be no change of anything in our environment. So, how to do anything positively? These are the ways:
1) make relation with friends in our team,
2) learn something new,
3) participate in some non-formal activities with colleagues,
4) make over our working place so we won't be bored,
5) be focused. Don't let ourselves be distracted,
6) use our imaginations. It makes us happy,
7) don't blame ourselves too much for the fault that we did or made. Mistakes are there so we can learn from it and we'll make ourselves better because of it,
8) do the work at the workplace and finish it on time (or, better, in time). Don't make it a homework,
9) if we're feeling too tired, take a vacation to refresh ourselves! And,
10) smile! Don't forget to smile (Napitapulu, 2018).
The important thing is, stay connected to the environment and try to relate to other people's emotions. Thinking positive will let us do anything positively without caring too much of what people say if it's going to give a positive effect. Learn to think fast and do anything effectively to make something brilliant (Firdiansyah, 2018).

• Be beneficial not only for one own self but also for other people.

The best humans are those who are most useful to other people. We know that we aren't alone, especially if we work in an organization. After we make friends at work, try to socialize with them. Try to volunteer in some works or outside the works. We need a life outside the work, like participating in the community or in the neighborhood (Napitapulu, 2018). To me, one of the best achievement to attain is being impactful in the society, both inside an office room and outside the office room externally.

• Reborn as many times as necessary!

We, humans, may have flaws. Some flaws that we have can make us do mistakes that lead us to a failure. We might experience a failure in our life, but that doesn't mean we should stop, quit our job, and give up on what we do. What if the failure that we encounter is a chance to boost our potential? What if the failure that we encounter is a stepping stone to approach our success? If anything is broken, fix it. If anything is lost, find something new to replace it. If anything ended up badly, start something anew to make a better ending. That's why we need to learn from the mistakes we made. Remember, our parents, our best friends, and those nice colleagues want to support us. Like what Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, said, "Our greatest pride is not because we never fail but rise again every time we fall." So, keep the optimism in you.

***

A career is important for us in our life. A career makes us learn how to be a human. Humans always want to develop themselves because they need self-actualization. Having a career is a way to develop ourselves. Don't waste the time when your talent meets the exact opportunity for you. Do what you love and love what you do.

Don't just stay still. Start your career now!

Bibliography

• Cambridge Dictionary 4th Edition. (2013). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Dalil, S. (2002). Paradigma Baru Manajemen Sumber Daya Manusia. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Amara Book.
• Ekaningrum, I. F. (2002). The Boundaryless Career pada Abad ke-21. Jurnal Visi (Kajian Ekonomi Manajemen dan Akuntansi), 9.
• Firdiansyah, A. (2018). Cara Mengasah Pola Pikir Agar Sukses Dalam Karier. https://glints.com/id/lowongan/pola-pikir-agar-sukses/ (accessed on 5th January 2019 on 11.14 PM)
• Glueck & Greer, C. G. (1997). Strategy and Human Resources: A General Managerial Perspective. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Englewood Clifft.
• Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Edisi Kelima). (2016). Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Indonesia.
• Longman Dictionary 6th Edition. (2014). London: Pearson Longman.
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary 11th Edition. (2003). Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster.
• Napitapulu, S. (2018). 4 Nasihat Karir Untuk Generasi Millenials Yang Sedang Membangun Karir. https://glints.com/id/lowongan/karir-millenial/ (accessed on 6th January 2019 on 0.27 AM)
• Napitapulu, S. (2018). 10 Cara Berpikir Positif Ketika Menghadapi Tekanan di Kantor. https://glints.com/id/lowongan/berpikir-positif-menghadapi-tekanan/ (accessed on 5th January 2019 on 11.12 PM)
• Napitapulu, S. (2018). Tentukan Tujuan Karir Dengan Realistis! Simak Tipsnya Di Sini. https://glints.com/id/lowongan/tujuan-karir/ (accessed on 5th January 2019 on 11.10 PM)
• Oxford Dictionary 3rd Edition. (2010). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Simamora, H. (2001). Manajemen Sumber Daya Manusia. Yogyakarta: Penerbit STIE YKPN.
• Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Segal, R. (2018). Finding the Right Career: How to Choose or Change Career Paths and Find Job Satisfaction. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/finding-the-right-career.htm?pdf=13386 (accessed on 28th December 2018 on 10.27 PM)