21 Jobs that Made Me Money, and 3 Takeaways for Graduates Entering the Workforce
Career Paths are Often Winding and Unpredictable
How you make money is more important than how much money you make. As a career counselor and executive coach, I find people get fixated on one aspect of their story—their specific passion or unique strengths or educational background or prior experience or life goals. Then comes the question: What should I do? (I never answer that question for another person.)
Sometimes we gain new perspective just from seeing another person’s vocational path. So how have I earned money in 49 years?
- Mystery Shopper Independent Contractor
- Organizational Consultant
- Published a book and sold articles online
- Bank, credit card, and other Loyalty Reward redemptions
- Sold toys (mostly Lego) on eBay
- Sold other people’s trash on Craigslist
- Sold a product concept to Audi
- Bank and credit card cash incentives for new accounts
- Focus Groups, surveys, and consumer-feedback panels
- Summer Camp counselor
- Donated platelets
- Recycled metal
- Painted a house
- Sold original artwork
- Lawn care business
- Childcare
- Invested in the Stock Market
- Returned lost items to their owners
- Itinerant preacher
- Part-time work in the fast-food industry, admissions recruiting, resident hall assistant, and construction
- Full-time work in the non-profit and education sectors
Every job above has a stories of success and failure both tragic and funny. More importantly, my journey isn’t unique. From my interviews with retirees—many of whom were successful businesspeople—a consistent theme arose. Their career path, like mine, was a circuitous route involving many unexpected turns and surprises.
Active learning is a lifelong skill.
Don’t miss the opportunity for vocational expansion when you are considering career advancement. I intentionally put full-time work at the bottom because most graduates focus all their attention there. I want to free them from getting stuck in a narrow box by seeing opportunities to learn, grow, and flourish even making an income.
When considering vocational advancement, there are two great barriers. First, what we think we know—what is called extrapolated knowledge or misapplied experience. Second, what we don’t know that we don’t know—in a word, ignorance. Broadening your experience can correct both.
A few observations from the above list:
1. Many of these jobs appear completely unrelated from the others. If we could talk further, I would convince you otherwise.
2. Wealth generation depends on income sources that are scalable and stackable. This is because we all have limited time.
3. Wealth accumulation depends on active and passive income streams.
4. Half these jobs required someone else to take a risk to give me the opportunity. In return, I had to work diligently.
Here are four takeaways for graduates entering the workforce:
1. Every job taught me something essential about life; active learning is a lifelong skill.
2. Meaningful work is worth more than the best money.
3. You must invest back into yourself. See number one in this list.
4. Ask someone to take a risk on you. Then make them glad they did.
Career paths are winding and unpredictable. Experiment. Branch out. Try something different. So doing, you’ll be able to identify your limiting beliefs and dream wider. In the end, you might be surprised where the path of vocational contentment leads.
About the Creator
Joel Hathaway
I do not make the words, but I am put to setting them right. When I write, it is pain. When I don't, it is displeasure. I mean to elicit breadth of human experience. Then, a drink for all! Good luck, You Rabbled lot! Fortune to us all.
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