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Being Defined By Your Job or Career

Last Updated: December 19, 2015 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 149 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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home-office-599475_640If you saw my Facebook status the other day, then you know that my self-employment switch date is very soon (check it out if you haven’t yet!). As all of you know, I am very close to leaving my day job and switching to full-time self-employment.

FYI – This is kind of a rant post. Please don’t get upset if anything sounds crazy, I’m just trying to get everything off my chest. That’s what a blog is for, right?

I have many freelancing services, such as website management, social media management, staff writing, freelance writing, and so on.

I provide services for many different clients: finance companies, hotels, travel websites, tourism boards, personal finance websites, and so on. I have been building my services for a couple of years now, and earlier this year I decided that I would eventually make the full-time switch and rely on my freelancing services for my income entirely.

Something that I have encountered a lot lately is people asking me if I am throwing my life away. They will often ask if I regret going to college. They will ask if I regret obtaining my Finance MBA. They will ask if I regret everything that I’ve done.

I am completely serious. For some reason, many people who I tell my story to do not consider freelancing to be a “career.” I’m not sure why my boring financial analyst job (where I just sit in my office by myself all day and give millionaires even more money) is considered to be full-filling by others, whereas doing what I want to do and interacting with people on a daily basis who I actually care about, is considered to be not full-filling and throwing my life away.

Others think that I will be bored all day and that “they could never do what I want to do.” They say this in a way that makes it sound like they are sad for the life that I am about to live.

Almost like they pity me and my choices.

 

I have worked hard for what seems like forever.

I have worked very hard in life. I have been working full-time for over 10 years, and as a 24-year-old, I think that says something. I started as a full-time nanny to a neighbor when I was around 14 years old to a newborn (who coincidentally shared the same first and middle name as W) all while going to school, so if that is not considered hard work, then I do not know what is.

I then worked full-time in retail as a manager, and then full-time as a financial analyst at the same firm that I still work at today. I have always worked full-time while having something on the side, such as school or a side business. I did all of this while obtaining awesome grades in high school, undergraduate school and graduate school.

So, why is it that since I’m working towards having a successful business considered letting everyone down and me not being successful in life? I feel like everything that I have done in my life has been working towards this important moment in my life.

Obtaining my degrees, along with my Finance MBA is something that I would never change. I do believe that jobs and/or careers can help shape a person, but it does not make anyone less or more (or at least in most cases). I don’t care if you’re the President of a company, I don’t care if you’re a Walmart greeter. If you’re an awesome person, I won’t judge you 🙂

I do realize that the world of freelancing can be hard to understand for those in the outside world. However, just believe in me!

As a public announcement:

  1. I’m excited for this new beginning in my life.
  2. Freelancing can be hard, and I am ready for it.
  3. Even though I will probably be in my pajamas a lot, it does not mean that I am not working hard.
  4. I am a business owner.
  5. I am a freelancer.
  6. I enjoy life.
  7. I am my own person.
  8. I CAN’T WAIT! WOOHOOOO!

 

Also, another instance in where we have witnessed this is with how W is going back to school. Many think that he is throwing a successful career in sales away by going back to school. They also think that he is choosing to go back to school in order to “live the easy life,” or because he got fired. Come on people, he is not choosing the easy road, and he did not get fired. He genuinely wants to go back to school. Why is it so hard to believe that someone wants to learn something new?

Mo Money Mo Houses also recently had a post similar to this on her site. Check it out! Great personal finance writers think alike, right? Ha 🙂

Are you defined by your career? Do you judge others by what they do?

 

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149 Comments
Filed Under: Career, Life Tagged With: Career, Life, Self-employment

About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. Daisy @ Prairie Eco Thrifter says

    October 12, 2013 at 12:07 pm

    Hmm, I don’t know that it’s healthy to define yourself by one part of your life, even a big one like your career. Then again, I am one of those people who doesn’t really define myself at all. Most definitely not my career, or my side career, or my relationship. I hope I don’t define myself by my future kids, either, when I have them.

    You must be very excited to make the switch, though. It’s a huge jump and a bold one!

    Reply
  2. Harry @ PF Pro says

    October 12, 2013 at 3:21 pm

    I recently quit my job about 2.5 months ago and have been freelancing full time and I’ve gotten similar responses. Whenever I tell people I work online I don’t think they believe me haha. I’ve made a ton of money though in the past 2.5 months and while it wasn’t as much as my day job it’s probably close to the average salary of my peers(but a lot less than 40 hours a week!).

    I’m gonna go back to work b/c I don’t mind my day job and I can do both pretty easily but eventually I’ll probably make the switch and at that point I won’t really care what other people think. They’re probably just jealous anyways 🙂

    Reply
  3. Jessica Lawlor says

    October 12, 2013 at 4:58 pm

    Go you, go you, go you! You are rocking this and I couldn’t be more excited for you to make this switch. The people who are doubting you are jealous and/or feel crappy about their own life or career choice. You obviously know that this is right for you, and please know, you have a whole community here ready to cheer you on! xo

    Reply
  4. Fig says

    October 22, 2013 at 4:56 pm

    Going back through all your posts and this one definitely hit home. It’s funny how people think having a job where you do work you don’t care about for people you don’t care about is supposed to be fulfilling and superior just because it’s a standard full time gig. Crazy!

    Reply
  5. Brittany says

    October 27, 2013 at 8:51 pm

    I am so sorry you’re dealing with this. That is SO frustrating! People like to judge the success of others.

    Plus, your degree is WHY you’re so great at your freelancing. Why would anyone ask if you regret going to school???

    Reply
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My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.

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