4 benefits of doing a career you love

Ever heard of that saying, choose a job you love, and you'll never work a day in your life? As cliché as it is, it's important that we find work enjoyable enough to support our lifestyle and the career goals we've set for ourselves in the long-term. It also helps you feel motivated to exceed the expectations of your role and value the need to continue your education to maintain currency in your industry.

According to The Australia Pay Experience Report, it revealed that 38% of Australian workers were unsatisfied with their current role for the following reasons:

• Issues with salary or pay
• Job security 
• Uninteresting work

Career change has been on the horizon for plenty of Australians since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with 3.3 million individuals rethinking their career path as mentioned in The ING Future Focus Report. This staggering number implies that what we're going through as a collective, has provided a wake up call for some to consider a career change during these unprecedented times.

Below, SkillsTalk go over some of the benefits that come with doing a career you love and how it can elevate your professional life.

You feel confident as a professional.

Making the most of your skills and talents go a long way. By doing work that you enjoy, it's likely that you'll become a master of your craft and feel confident in making decisions for project work and other responsibilities you may need to tend to as a professional. 

Confidence is key and is an important attribute for career growth and development. By feeling confident in your ability to hone tasks at hand, it can only help increase your levels of job satisfaction and encourages you to keep working towards your professional goals.

You have more energy for projects.

It's no surprise that many people who are stuck in jobs they hate have low energy when it comes to their day-to-day responsibilities. According to Forbes, becoming complacent in your role is considered "dangerous" as it can derail your career trajectory and discourage you from pursuing opportunities that help elevate your professional life. 

It may be time to consider pivoting into a new role or changing career paths if you experience the following: 

• You no longer strive to do your best
• You become disinterested in staying up to date in your field and industry
• You're not maintaining or building relationships within your network
• In fear of upsetting the status quo, you hold back from sharing your opinions or ideas

By doing a role that you enjoy, you'll have more energy because you're passionate about the projects you're working on. It also means that you're actually invested and want to make a difference, big or small. If you find yourself feeling complacent, one of the best ways to counteract this is to consider taking a course to help boost your skillset.

Upskilled has a wide range of courses in business, community services and IT, with most having a duration of 12 months. Busy professionals can work towards a qualification since courses are delivered online, making it more manageable to balance both work and personal commitments.  

Increased levels of satisfaction and happiness.

It's a known struggle for Australians to find a happy medium when it comes to work-life balance as stagnant wages and commute times (pre-COVID) are factors that prevent workers from experiencing increased levels of satisfaction and happiness.

An enjoyable role is one that presents increased job satisfaction and while getting paid well is a good incentive for most, there are companies that promote work perks like wellness or professional development programs to help maintain employee loyalty. While the typical millennial is notoriously known for having the title of "job hopper", factors that do make them stay include:

• Professional development
• Advancement opportunities
• Great leadership and management
• Interesting work

If you want to experience great job satisfaction and happiness, finding a career you love can help you get there. Work that aligns with your vision and values can potentially provide you with more opportunities that can help you flourish as a professional. 

It encourages you to continue learning and growing.

If you're not interested in developing your skills and knowledge in your current role, then you should take it as a sign that you need to move on to the next big thing. As a professional, it's important to find a role that challenges and helps you grow. 

By being outside of your comfort zone, you're exposed to new experiences and projects that can be valuable to your career trajectory. An online course can help you get ahead with your career and one of the main factors that contribute to this is genuinely studying something you enjoy, which hopefully can lead you to a role that you love. Mary Hope writes, "If you move to work that is more in line with those values and beliefs then you will achieve more congruence, less stress and greater success." 

Whether we'd like to admit or not, our job shapes our identity but it doesn't sum up the whole of it. We spend more time at work than with our loved ones so it's important to make your career count for something, as finding one you love is well worth the effort!

Work towards a career you'll love with Upskilled

If you're ready to change jobs or switch industries, studying an online course with Upskilled is a great start. With a wide range of courses across some of Australia's in-demand industries, you'll have the opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge needed for your desired career outcome. As courses are delivered online, you can enjoy the flexibility of learning at a time that suits you and accessing assessments and course materials anywhere you are. 

Get in touch with the Upskilled team today and explore the courses available that can help grow your career potential! 
 

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