Being Defined By Your Job or Career

If 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?