Finding Your Purpose Professionally

For years now, I've been reading that young people (which, to me, means Gen Z) are unemployable because they want to find purpose in work. By that, they mean that the company they eventually join, should have values that align with their own. They want to impact the world in meaningful ways.

This, of course, may not be compatible with the values that employers traditionally value - hard work and discipline.

Now, I've often stated my opinion that the value of hard work is often overrated. And people who fixate on that at the exclusion of all else, are doomed to fail. That doesn't mean I think that fixating on purpose in work is necessarily an improvement.

Heal the world; make it a
better place...

On the face of it, these are noble goals. Who doesn't want to make the world a better place?

On the other hand, what's "better"? There are some who would say the world would be better if everyone was unable to say hurtful things, and some might say the world would be better if certain kinds of people simply did not exist. Who gets to decide? I think most of us would have enough of a sense of self-preservation not to trust some wet-behind-the-years kid straight out from University, high on purist ideals, to make that decision. Not that I would necessarily depend on some Bible-thumper Churchgoer for those decisions either, if we're being honest.

In all fairness, however, career choices are highly personal. Still, let's examine the issue of wanting to find purpose in work. Some like to claim that it's all hubris and entitlement.

Is it really entitlement, though?

One might say this comes across as a little selfish. After all, every day one remains without a job is another day that financial slack is taken up by someone else. So holding out for a job with purpose does suggest a disproportionate amount of privilege.

But entitlement?

To be honest, this does come across as awfully entitled if they want the success from the start, without paying their dues or starting small like the rest of us. The people who have changed the world as we know it, were extraordinary people with extraordinary talent, some of whom endured extraordinary hardship. I'm by no means saying that people should not aim to be extraordinary - ambition is a grand thing to have, after all - but the fact is, not everyone can be extraordinary. That's literally what the word means. If everyone can be special, then no one is special.

Everyone should have the right to aim high. Not everyone, however, should expect to be given an easy ride. Chances are, the first several companies won't be a great fit in terms of purpose and values. The pay and hours may (probably will) suck. And expecting not to have to deal with any of that shit because you're special or something, does smack of entitlement. I mean, you better be pretty damn special, sweetheart.

Be willing to start small.

All I'm saying is, as long as one's willing to start small and compromise without expecting instant success, it's not entitlement. It's just a goal like any other.

Now, I could spend this entire blogpost ranting endlessly about how kids these days don't understand the value of hard work and paying your dues, loyalty and all other Boomer values that employers tend to like perpetuating (wink wink, nudge nudge). Or I could unpack my own experiences when I had what the older generation called "unrealistic expectations".

And trust me, there's plenty to unpack.

Back in 2010...

I was in between jobs. Things were looking bleak. I was patiently holding out for a proper software dev job. My dad recommended me a tech support job at some medical company. I declined repeatedly. If anyone's at all familiar with my backstory, they would know how much I absolutely despise the role that I spent the first six years of my career in, and how hard I worked to never have to do another day of tech support in my life, ever again.

Dad didn't agree. To him, a job was just a job. To him, I was this spoilt brat who wasn't even giving it a fair chance.

I didn't understand why my dad, who sometimes couldn't tell a laptop from a lap dance, was presuming to give me any kind of career advice, let alone tech career advice. The truth was that he wasn't. He was just trying to get me to see reason; that any job was better than no job at all.

From a survival standpoint, he was absolutely right. However, from the standpoint of a career in software development, it would have been one hell of a stupid choice.

I didn't want just any job. I wanted a career. And the job I chose needed to at least be a positive step towards that goal, no matter how small. Dad didn't understand the concept of a career. He didn't have much of an education. His work experience consisted of selling used cars, selling insurance, basically selling. He might even have tried to run a garment factory once. As far as he was concerned, he was lucky to have any kind of job, let alone one that just required him to drive around and talk to people. To this day, I simultaneously resent and admire him for his ability to just suck it up.

I have an
education, dammit!

Because I was different. I had an education, and with it, the ability to be choosy. Honestly, if I just wanted to do any job, why waste all those years on tech qualifications?

Thus, I like to think that I had a practical reason to be choosy, as opposed to doing it for "purpose". (Like these young punks. Heh heh.)

It's now 2026!

I won't pretend I know how kids these days think. I know what they think, or at least, what the news reports say they think. But I don't know how they arrive at those conclusions, or how it even makes sense to them.

Purpose? Every job has a purpose. Perhaps not the high-minded noble purpose these young ones pontificate about constantly, but purpose nonetheless.

Hey, some people find purpose in not starving. And if you think that's not a purpose, shut your privileged piehole.

Some people find purpose in a job that enables them to take care of the people who matter. What the job actually entails isn't the issue. What effect it has on the world isn't the issue. The issue is that they have mouths to feed, and by God they are going to feed those mouths.

Still think all that isn't purpose? It might be more actual purpose than these youngsters have ever dealt with. Remember, before you try to save the world, take some time to help Mommy with the dishes.

Too good to do the dishes?

I don't mean to sound condescending (even though I probably do). After all, I've struggled with career choices myself. And the conclusions I came to as a result, some might uncharitably say was due to me not being successful in changing the world.

Newsflash: don't worry too much about changing the world. Leave it alone and it'll sort itself out most of the time, with or without you. Thinking that your input is required, is nothing short of vanity... though it can be argued that said hubris is exactly one of the ingredients required to change the world.

But I can say all that. I have the benefit of hindsight, after all. And perhaps young people need that exact same benefit.

Or it could be that they're right, and my ways are outdated, the same way my father's ways were outdated back in 2010.

My advice (not that anyone asked for it)

There's nothing wrong at all with starting small, or imperfect beginnings. So what if the company you land in doesn't align with your life goals, or at all? You're fresh out of University; you have zero leverage with which to change the world. And expecting to be able to do it right away is mere fantasy.

Clock your experience points. Pay your dues. Do all that, and you'll have a leg to stand on when you eventually pursue those lofty noble goals. Without practical experience, all you have are good intentions. And we all know what the road to hell is paved by.

This blogpost was written on purpose,
T___T