How to ensure a satisfying career

Amongst us there are those who have completely fulfilling careers, both professionally and personally, those who have satisfactory careers and lastly those with careers that are disappointing from both a professional and personal level. The question that needs to be answered is how do you achieve option 1 rather than option 2 and definitely not option 3.

The start of the career path for each of us starts from a different place due to a number of factors; family wealth, educational background of parents, socioeconomic status etc but this does not guarantee you have a satisfying career. There are many people coming from a background of wealth and privilege who are underachieving, unmotivated and not satisfied with their career and career path. Likewise there are those from ordinary and disadvantaged backgrounds who would say they have fulfilling careers.

From what I have studied the responses given may or may not be based on expectations but we may have to consider that has some influence but it is also important to note that purely considering financial rewards does not result in a guaranteed positive response or likewise a negative response if the financial reward is low. It appears the key drivers to a satisfying career are; having control over the career path, having your personal goals satisfied, feeling useful, receiving meaningful benefits, and knowing why you are undertaking the career you are in. It is also known that if you consider your career satisfying your performance will be high and you should receive personal benefit. High performance will be achieved simply because you want to perform well and this will ensure your focus and dedication is strong.

So what this means is that you have to be clear on why you are undertaking your job and what you are gaining from both a personal and professional perspective, not just undertake a role for the sake of it and assume it will provide you with what you want. It is up to you to take the time to identify what aspects of a job are important to you, from a principle point of view, and ensure you align these with the career you undertake. The consequence of not doing this is dissatisfaction and lack of motivation, perhaps not initially but over time when you are not achieving what is important to you - however at that time it might be too late to change.