5 Steps to a More Satisfying Career

The urge to be successful, and to be regarded this way by others, leads an unfortunate number of people to confuse success with monetary gain. This usually leads to the pursuit of careers which can make people miserable and bore them to tears, all because of a tremendous misunderstanding of what constitutes "success." While financial concerns and the need to take care of oneself are legitimate issues, the steps to a more satisfying career involve looking beyond the money and nurturing your sense of identity and humanity a bit more.

Take Stock of Your Personal Interests

Take an honest inventory of your personal interests, which may have fallen by the wayside over the years in your attempts to be a financially successful adult. The career that will be the most satisfying for you will be the one which engages most if not all of those interests. If a new and more engaging career will also mean a serious pay cut, you'll also need to determine whether you can downsize your lifestyle expenses to meet the smaller paycheck that will come with a more appropriate career.

Determine Which Tasks You Hate, and Consider Moving Elsewhere Within Your Workplace

For some, the most unsatisfying aspect of their current career isn't that they're in the wrong field entirely, but rather that they're working within an area of their field that isn't utilizing their interests and talents. For these people, attaining a higher level of career satisfaction may not necessarily involve a dramatic change or leaving a particular company or organization. Rather, increased career satisfaction for such people may mean a lateral move into a more appropriate niche. For example, if you're an artistic sort who hates working as a statistician for a corporation, you may find much more satisfying work within the same company as a graphic designer and/or editor of the company newsletter or website.

Try Out Different Careers by Volunteering or Interning

One of the best ways to determine whether a career is right for you before making a commitment is to volunteer or intern with a company or organization. You'll gain a firsthand, realistic knowledge of the career you're interested in, rather than making assumptions based on detached research. While internships are traditionally considered to be the domain of twenty-somethings, some companies are willing to take on older interns if they're made aware that the applicant is seriously investigating a career change. If the volunteer or intern position winds up not being your cup of tea, you'll nonetheless walk away from the experience with more for your resume.

Take a New Colleague Under Your Wing

If your career has become repetitive and boring, one constructive way to solve this problem is to volunteer to mentor a new colleague. By explaining the day-to-day workings and expectations of your job to a new worker, you'll be lending you're expertise to an appreciative individual, thereby helping to increase your sense of personal workplace importance, while also making new social contacts through work. Offering to help in this manner, unprompted, may also increase your respect in the eyes of higher management, possibly leading to promotions at a later date.

Make Challenges and Goals for Yourself Within the Workplace

This step needn't be an exercise in mundane busywork. Rather, it can involve arranging a workplace social event, offering detailed suggestions to management regarding making the workplace more comfortable and pleasant, or even helping management and other coworkers to tackle a work issue that falls outside of the immediate purview of your day-to-day duties. Setting aspirations beyond your daily tasks can provide a definite sense of confidence and accomplishment.