Getting used to a career change
By Leen Khoury, Staff Writer
It’s strange to think you can know what you want to do for the rest of your life at the age of 18. Many of us struggle to find ourselves and what we love years after our studies finish or even after working jobs in our field of choice. To be honest, it sucks when you find yourself working for something you aren’t even sure you want. The problem is that the working continues until you find yourself, rather than finding yourself before you start working.
I was pretty lost at a young age and had no idea what I was interested in. It’s pretty safe to say a lot of people were in the same boat as me, but there were also others that were on the other end of the spectrum -- who knew exactly what they wanted to do and who they wanted to be at the age of 11. You know when people say, “I want to be a doctor when I’m older” at the age of 7, and then actually follow through with their word? Yeah, those people.
I decided to branch out into hospitality because the option of traveling and working anywhere in the world as long as there were hotels, gave me the whole of planet earth to find myself. It was my second choice after journalism. Because of the sensitivity of the news in this side of the world, I found an issue with journalism seeing that it works better in continents other than the Middle East. I got into hospitality in Switzerland, for university -- had so much fun -- and decided to specialize in event management. It was what I wanted and what I honestly felt like I would be great at. Once I moved back to Jordan and tried out events in hotels, I realized that it was not meant for me. I found I was unmotivated to continue working in the field I was so sure I would thrive in.
I moved on from the whole events dream and thought about trying advertising for the sole purpose of moving to Dubai with a decent career a few years down the line. My experience in advertising was amazing, only because of the environment; however, the work itself didn’t suit me as much as I had hoped. On top of that, the experience with my manager was the farthest thing from rainbows and butterflies, almost leading me to hate advertising more. I always had this urge to go and work in a nursery, not just because of the amazing working hours but because of the job itself. I find myself constantly with kids either at family gatherings or anywhere else. The problem was working in a nursery and with young kids is so far from what I studied and I didn’t want to feel like my time at university was a complete waste. At least advertising was a bit relatable to what I studied, because there was marketing in my curriculum. Regardless, I gave it a shot, and applied to nurseries while still working in advertising. I also gave up my dream of moving to Dubai when I left advertising.
Looking for jobs in Jordan was easier than expected. It can be harder than others at times, especially in particular fields. But having a degree from a foreign country was a definite asset in the job-hunting process. Another thing that helped were my language skills. Being able to speak Arabic, English and a bit of French was considered a positive skill by different industries – especially in hospitality.
The challenge of job hunting in Jordan is that you have to be persistent. When I was looking into advertising, the fact that I had no previous experience in the field and what I studied had almost nothing to do with what I was applying for was working against me. But I listed the places I wanted to call and did that every day for about a week. I asked them for their specific HR email, instead of a general one, in order to make sure that my CV went to the right person. I think that it's important to continue to follow up - not just in Jordan, but all over the world and in every industry you want to get into.
After a week or so of applying, I got into a nursery and I have been working there ever since. It does not seem like much, but honestly, I have not complained once for the past couple of months regarding my job, except how physically exhausting it is. Otherwise, I go to work excited and leave it even more motivated to continue into this field. I took a 7-month course involving child education to be certified. I even started my own business in childhood educational packages, which involve educating kids at home through different materials like flashcards, worksheets, books etc.
My point in all of this was that I found what I am truly passionate about and I am currently thinking of opening a daycare or something similar. After a few years of working in the field, with the experience and the courses that I take, along with the business skills I have, I felt that I could succeed at what I am doing. Slowly, you start to find out more about yourself and where your passion and patience lie. In advertising, a lot of it was about patience, but because I did not really love what I was doing, it was a constant internal battle on whether or not I was going to have a breakdown that day. After working for 4 years, I can finally say that I have settled – one way or another – for something that I didn’t even know I loved back when I was choosing what I wanted to do.
Some of us grow up thinking that our career is the only thing that defines us, or we might wonder who we are or what our life would be without it. But a lot of us walk around hating what we do and do not even see a secure future. That’s what sucks: the world and economy has become so much more difficult than it was back when our parents were finding out what they loved and what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. It’s not an excuse, but the truth. It’s unfortunate, but even with the coronavirus, things have become even harder. People are losing their jobs – whether they love or hate it – and are losing their passion for a lot of the things they used to be very passionate about. Therefore, making it double the struggle.
We put pressure on ourselves when we don’t know what we want to do at a younger age, making us prone to giving up faster than probably any other generation. There are so many people that I know that have changed their career paths or found their passions to be elsewhere as they grew older. I always felt like my degree was going to waste, which felt a bit scary to me as working outside my field of study meant leaping into something I knew nothing about. But then I realized, not just through my own experiences, but through the experiences of those around me, that sometimes you can find yourself growing out of something you once thought you loved.
Additionally, I tried to merge what I studied into what I am currently passionate about. Not only can you find yourself in more than one thing, but you can strive for greatness in so many different areas that when you are asked to define what it is you love to do, there’s so many thoughts racing through your head. It took me a while to understand that that isn’t a bad thing, on the contrary -- what’s life if you cannot find what truly makes you who you are?
Another thing that can affect you and your choice in jobs and that is the people you work with. I would have not survived in the hotel nor the agency without the people. It’s so cliché to say, but people make up everything. When I used to complain, they were there through it all and we would lean on each other when things became stressful. At the end of the day, you spend the majority of your time at work, so it might as well make it an exciting place to be.
I still sometimes blame myself for finding my career path at a much later stage. But then I think, with all the experiences, I have taught myself something important; you have to go through life to understand it. And once you do, you then begin to realize that you can grow out of things while simultaneously finding yourself somewhere else. It’s just how the world works. It took me a while to understand that it’s not a waste, but rather a process of self-discovery and maturity, along with a sense of belonging in the world.