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Is having a career selfish?
The answer isn’t always clear
In a book I’ve been reading recently, there was a line that has stuck with me. Not because it was beautifully written, but more so because it spoke to an internal struggle I have been going through myself.
The line went something like this:
You have a job to support your family, you have a career for selfish reasons.
This implies that a job is simply a means to an end. Something you do in order to provide for your family, but there is a ceiling to the amount of success one can have when they only have a job.
A career on the other hand is something that is much more prone to upward mobility, and the benefits and sacrifices that can come with that.
For context, I am recently married and my wife and I are having discussions around when we’d like to start our own family. Additionally, I am also in the middle of my career, looking to continue climbing the corporate ladder and be the best that I possibly can be in my field.
This internal struggle has begun to come to light as I think about starting a family of my own. My career ambitions have already required a lot of sacrifice in my life. Hobbies and relationships have fallen by the wayside as I continue to pursue more in my professional life.
