Are You In a Job or Career Right Now? - Deploying Your Money (2024)

by Nyiko Mongwe | Mar 5, 2019 | Career Advice, Financial Freedom | 0 comments

Interesting question isn’t it. It is cause for deep introspection, almost about the entire purpose of your life, your calling. These two words are often used interchangeably to define a state of employment, but these two concepts couldn’t be further apart.

While on this point though, when drawing a distinction between the two, society often will nuance these distinctions to fit into good, versus bad; excellent versus mediocre. I tend to disagree with this approach and I will tell you why in a bit.

A job is a form of employment. You can be considered to have a job when you, on a regular basis, swap your time in exchange for money. This can be done on a temporary, part-time or full-time basis.

This job may require experience and a particular set of skills, but these skills are not usually highly specialized.If they are, these are skills that do not require an awful amount of time to develop.

What typically establishes how long you remain in a particular job is the extent to which the quid pro quo arrangement is compelling for you.

When faced with the prospect of a new opportunity, the inspiration behind the strength of your impetus to make the change is predicated on the monetary benefit. You may even abandon one skillset in lieu of another to take advantage of the earnings advantage that you may benefit from upon your transition.

Your most valued commodity in this space is your paygrade.

You may not be required to work beyond your stipulated hours often, and your remuneration package will often not even be structured in a way that allows you to do so and receive compensation for your work.

Sometimes you may have every intention to grow in your job, but the job you are in generally has no allowance for upward mobility,Thus this jobcannot be turned into a career. You have to get creative to move from this space into a career.

Having a job may not be an entirely bad thing though, as we will see a bit later.

Similarly to a job, a career most commonly takes shape in the form of employment, although it may also not.

With a career, your primary focus is your professional development.You relate to the prospect of a new job in relation to how it can add value to your journey towards professional development. Sometimes you may even opt to forgo remuneration in exchange for attestation of milestones completed towards this development.

When you are in a career, you are working to build yourself as a brand. Competing businesses may create ploys to add your brand to their business and have you come work for them.Even if you were to oblige such offers, your changing of jobs would not constitute a change of career.

In fact, when you are doing well in your career, this may often be evidenced in your constant receiving of job offers. When you have a good career, your first job leads to your next, and the next to the next, and so forth. To you, a job is a progression tool and not an end.

You may commonly be required to put in extra hours and prove your dedication.This may be handsomely rewarded in monetary terms once your career has gained a bit of traction.

Your most valued commodity in this space is youraccomplishments.These are often denoted by changes of titles. Although there may be monetary mobility as well, these bear testament of your accomplishment and your title more than anything else.

Careers could possibly have its disadvantages though.

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Yes, both of these paths have both advantages and disadvantages.

While a job may not always be the best path towards building wealth, it can often afford you a wealth of time.You can use this to live a fuller life, or pursue other opportunities, or both.

Although a career may be highly rewarding on the monetary front, this is often at the expense of time and opportunity.

If I were to make an example to illustrate how a job can get you what you want:

You did a bit of research and found out that you can become an Electronics Repair Professional. Knowing that you do not need a college degree to become one, you can do so through on-the-job training. Within five years you could find yourself earning in the region of $78,000.00.

It may not be the most glamorous of jobs, but the pay is decent and you know that you could use this job to get funding from the banks to start and quickly grow yourself a property portfolio, all the while getting to spend a decent amount with your family and nurture other potential business opportunities. Within less than ten years you no longer require the job and move on to other things on your own terms.

You could do something similar with a career although it may take a lot more from you and take you longer to achieve because of your limited time.

I recently read an article that said that it is expected that a great number of people in our generation may go through three career changes throughout their working life. The world is changing so fast, so I can easily believe that.

This being said, a career can also lead to having multiple jobs at the same time. I will use myself as an example:

Let’s say, I spend a good couple of years developing my Financial Advisor brand. Then I develop my own products (over and above the financial products I sell my clients) to help my clients manage their money better. While consulting with High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWI) and business owners, I get afforded the opportunity to become an entrepreneur through the networks that I have built with people that trust me and want to go into business with me. I later start a blog, counting the lessons that I have learned and sharing them with the masses. People notice me and ask me to come and address their people at various conferences.

Through my brand that I have developed with my career, I earn money as a:

• Consultant
• Entrepreneur
• Blogger
• Public Speaker

One career. Four income streams, four jobs.

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Depending on what you want from life, a job orcareer can get you there

Contrary to what you may have assumed when you clicked on this post, you may be in a job when really you need to be building your career, or even more surprisingly, you may be in a career when you really need to be in a job.

Figure out what is really important to you in your life and make the changes that you need to make.

Many like many jobs don’t require a college degree, many careers don’t either. And as a lot of money can be made through a career, a good bit of money can be made in a job as well. You can reach Financial Freedom in a reasonably quick amount of time through any of these paths.

Check out, Types of Income PROPERLY Defined: Passive Income Redefined, to find out if you need a job or a career to achieve your goals for your life.

Do your research and go with what’s best for you. Don’t let society dictate what you should be to be somebody.

Let me know what you think in the comments below