Dan Redler, my Career HMO coaching colleague, recently published an article on LinkedIn called “Choose a Job You Hate.” If this doesn’t make sense to you, you need to read the article.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/choose-job-you-hate-dan-redler
Dan’s advice, “A job you hate will focus you on thinking about what you want to do. If you’re already in a job you hate, embrace it as an opportunity to take action and fuel your quest for passion. When you hate a job, you stay active pursuing something better. When you find it your life changes.” is true.
Here’s a personal story. Way back in 1969 and 1970 when I was a college student I worked two summers for American Bridge. American Bridge was the fabricating division of US Steel. We built bridges and skyscrapers. My hometown, Ambridge PA was so named because American Bridge was headquartered there. So yes, I grew up in a true company town.
I worked the 3:00 to 11:00 pm shift when I was at American Bridge. This allowed me to spend my mornings at the country club where I caddied. I didn’t have much of a life. I got up at 7:00, hitchhiked to the country club, and did a loop. I got home around 1:00 had some lunch and headed off to American Bridge. After work, I would have a beer or two then head home to get some sleep so I could start over the next day. I made quite a bit of money those two summers, and saved most of it.
I liked caddying, but I hated working at American Bridge. The work was hot, dirty, loud and dangerous. I wear hearing aids today. My audiologist tells me this is most likely a result of working on an American Bridge rivet gang while wearing no ear protection.
My dad worked at American Bridge. He told me that he wanted me to work there for at least one summer so I could see what it was like. He told me that if I didn’t finish my education, I would be likely to end up like him spending my life in a hot, dirty, loud and dangerous place. He gave American Bridge 37 years of his life. They closed the plant when he was 57 years old leaving him without a job.
My dad and I didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things back in those days, but I agreed with him that I didn’t want to spend my life working for American Bridge. I hated it there. But those two summers fueled my passion for getting an education. Every time I didn’t feel like hitting the books when I was back at school, I remembered how much I didn’t like working at American Bridge. I stayed active in pursuing my education because I saw it as an opportunity to do something better with my life.
The point here? Simple. Working at a job you hate can pave the way for you to find something you really love, something about which you are truly passionate. Working at American Bridge helped me find my passion for education — which led to an amazing life and career.
Your career mentor,
Bud
PS: I write this blog to help people create the life and career success they want and deserve. Now I’m going one step further. I’ve created a membership site in which I’ve pulled together my best thoughts on success. And, as a reader of this blog, you can become a member for free. Just go to www.BudBilanich.com/join to claim your free membership. You’ll be joining a vibrant and growing community of success minded professionals. I hope to see you there.
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