May 07, 2011 9:50 PM GMT
I notice few people talk about it in their profile.
How important is your career to your identity?
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May 07, 2011 9:50 PM GMT -
May 07, 2011 9:59 PM GMTI think my career in fashion is important to my identity because I've always been a creative/artistic person and what people wear becomes part of their identity. -
May 07, 2011 10:32 PM GMTIt's important to my identity and self-actualization, like looking in the mirror each morning and night to feel better about myself, because that is what I worked for over X amount of years, how I spend about 14 hours of my day every day including weekend days, and how I will be doing this for Y amount of years until I inevitably irritate someone so much they choke me to death with my own belt.
As far as an online presence on a site like this? Not very important at all. I like to compartmentalize my life as much as possible and I use online outlets like these to meet new and interesting people with similar video game/movie/traveling/sports interests that I would not have otherwise come across. In private messaging if career comes up I will talk about it if that is where the conversation is going - but publicly on my profile I am not going to link to any of my career/professional networking things.
I prefer being around people who have something going on in their lives and they like it, but they can still talk about other things like Star Wars. Nothing is more depressing than listening to someone who spent X amount of years in school go on a sad-sack diatribe about how much they hate what they do for a living - they can never talk about Star Wars as a distraction, which is just as bad as the muckety-mucks who [think they have] slyly included links to their SSRN accounts or LinkedIn profile under their signature line in a private message.
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May 08, 2011 1:01 AM GMTAt present, massively I'd say. It's why I'm here and, other than drinking, gyming and writing, is all I really have. That said I generally love it. And I'm sure I mention it in my profile... -
May 08, 2011 1:03 AM GMTNot so much. Identity has much more layers than just job. -
May 08, 2011 1:10 AM GMTIt used to be a lot more important than it is now. I had a cooler job back then. Now I have a "better" job, as in way better balanced, a lot more flexibility and freedom.
I used to totally get off on how cool my job was, and used it as an excuse do have no personal life (and be a total closet case).
Balance is better. -
May 08, 2011 1:10 AM GMTnot at ALL.
i backed into this "career" because i was broke and didn't want to leave new orleans, my family, my girl friend and her extended family.
what i thought was a "temporary" job until i found something better has turned into 25 years of just barely tolerating the job.
looking forward to "Early Retirement" in a couple of years! -
May 08, 2011 1:11 AM GMTI'm a child of God. I have two amazing parents and two wonderful sisters. I'm Nigerian and take pride in my cultural heritage. I'm gay. I enjoy singing more than anything else in the world. I like making people smile.
That's my identity. My career has nothing to do with it. -
May 08, 2011 1:19 AM GMTI do stuff that saves peoples lives. My coworkers do it less well than I do. The doctors I work with say I'm the best in Ontario Canada at what I do. How could I now enjoy going to work every day when they love me more than I love my job? -
May 08, 2011 1:22 AM GMTnot. There really should be a do-over button on here
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May 08, 2011 1:25 AM GMTIt used to define me completely.
Then I got laid off. (Fuck that, I got fired. I wasn't downsized, laid off, staff level adjusted ... they fired me. On my birthday.)
Suddenly, WHO I was was gone. And I had to learn my identity absent how I put food on the table.
It's a part of who I am, a piece of the pie, but it's no longer 110% me. -
May 08, 2011 1:26 AM GMTMy career is my identity. -
May 08, 2011 1:31 AM GMTMy identity as a nerd affected my career a great deal, but it's not the single that defines identity. -
May 08, 2011 1:31 AM GMTIt is very important to me. I just don't want everyone to know about it!!! -
May 08, 2011 1:49 AM GMTMy budding career as a chemist is as much a part of who I am as being a gay man. It represents a trait that I value, hard work. I didn't get to where I am by just enduring academia but embracing it. Now I have much greater appreciation for science and how it applies to everything we do. -
May 08, 2011 2:06 AM GMTThat's an amazing question.
I'd like my career to help define me. I work in finance, but long-term I'm not sure if that's where my real ambitions lie. I think - for me personally - I'll be happiest if and when I can get my career and the things I'm passionate about to align.
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May 08, 2011 2:19 AM GMTya my career is a definite part of my identity
I'm independent, headstrong and creative - that's why I'm running my own business. I love not being told what to do and I love not being told "you will make x amount of dollars this year" because to me that just limits me too much. Right now the business consumes my life but I know down the road it will lead to greater freedom
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May 08, 2011 2:29 AM GMTIt use to be important, but it has become far less so now. -
May 08, 2011 7:33 AM GMTHmmm I wouldn't really call it a career. Although I suppose that's what it is. Considering it occupies many of my waking hours I think it's more like a life style and a life choice. I made the decision to go down this path in life because I believe thats my part to play is this global community. It affects my relationships sometimes in a positive way and sometime in a negative way. When people fully understand what I do then they understand why I live my life the way I do (eg work hard, long hours, frequently away, often unable to 100% commit to things until the last minute or unavailable for long periods because I have a back log of friends and family to catch up with).
It dominates my thoughts and severely influences the way I make decisions.
Basically my job is to help people. Both those in the community I live in and many other communities around the world. I am blessed to have the privilege of leading a life that impacts so much change for the better. -
May 08, 2011 8:11 AM GMTI think it's definitely a part of my identity. I spent a lot of years working towards it and take pride in my accomplishments I got along the way. I'm a Medical Laboratory Scientist....and it was not an easy road getting here. That being said....it's definitely not the majority of my identity and what makes me....me.
My values, beliefs, passions, friends, family, and character are what make up the majority of my identity and personality. -
May 08, 2011 8:20 AM GMTI haven't established my career yet, but my goals are very important to me. -
May 08, 2011 8:25 AM GMTit's almost all consuming, in the way that you can't tell if my career defines my identity, or if it's my identity that defined my career
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May 08, 2011 8:31 AM GMTThe traits that I bring to business are important to my identity, the title itself is not. -
May 08, 2011 9:24 AM GMTMy creativity goes hand to hand in my career as I am a designer by profession..
I really do hope I will be able to make a successful living out of it...Its tough, but I got to persevere -
May 08, 2011 10:05 AM GMTWhenever I used to make a profile on a website I would leave out my job and my profile would just come off, blah. That was because I didn't want to identify with my job. Then as the years went on and I got deeper into Medicine, Psychiatry, Neurology and neuro- (brain) everything I realize that it was part of my identity and a very important part. As a person I am driven to "figure out" other people and try to help them get better if they are sick.
I feel privileged to be part of a world that most people don't know (or refuse to acknowledge) exists. I've chosen to dedicate my life to helping the people that no one wants to help and it just feels right for me.
My job is strongly related to my education and I use the experiences of working in an ER to stay grounded.
Do I wish that I had time to be an artist? play an instrument? Yes. I do things not related to my job all the time, greatly enjoy people (even if I can't always relate well), the outdoors ec., The gym has been a great outlet for me but I am still colored by my experiences. I don't just sit there and drool, I watch other people and how they interact with people and things are constantly ticking inside!
So yeah, it's me and I'm not ashamed
But if I for whatever reason lost my job, I wouldn't lose many of the things I've described in my post, they would still be there and I think that is whats important.
