The Appeal of the Clear Career Path
And why so many people fall into careers that aren’t right for them
I’m sometimes convinced that the reason a lot of people become lawyers, doctors, or other similar professional careers is that the path to these sorts of jobs is laid out pretty well. There’s a sort of blueprint you can follow — go to college, get good grades, do well on some standardized tests, and so forth.
When I look back at my own education and career, the fact that there was a clear blueprint I could follow is probably why I ended up going to law school and becoming a lawyer in the first place. Sure, I told myself that I had a desire to be a lawyer. But I’m not sure how true that really was.
In reality, became a lawyer because it was a recognizable job — one that was clearly defined and had step-by-step processes on how to get there. As a new grad looking for a good job in a bad economy, becoming a lawyer appealed to me because it gave me direction.
The world is a confusing place. And I think a lot of us are looking for direction when we’re trying to figure out what to do with our lives. When faced between a clear path versus charting our own path, the clear path often wins — even if it’s not necessarily the right path for us.
