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"Success" in a career--What does it mean to you?

ygolo

My termites win
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
5,986
Balance in life?
Financial security, independence, etc?
Lot's of free time while keeping the bills paid?
Pursuit of long-lived dreams/goals?
Positive contributions to society?
Lots of opportunity for creative expression?
.
.
.
 

Kiddo

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Success for me is finding the good fights and getting into them. It is discovering and working toward the causes which I am willing to die for even if I have no hope of achieving any of them in my lifetime.
 

Badlands

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Personally, happiness is probably first and foremost when evaluating a career. I'm not big into the "burning out just to make a lot of money" thing (I don't think P types are generally).
 

Grayscale

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a successful career is one that contributes the most towards your greater concept of success in life

what is a "successful" career in a failed life?

to answer this question, one needs to know what they strive to achieve, only then can they weigh a career against that.



i aim to abrade my existence against all others... to explore, adapt, and finally leave my mark. a successful career for me is one that facilitates this both in function and allowances
 

ThatsWhatHeSaid

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Yay. Awesome fucking thread.

Success means being at peace with decision and not feeling like there's something else I should be doing, primarily. After that, interest in what I'm doing, ability to cover expenses, ability to help people, ability to feel proud. Maybe these are just the sufficient conditions for the primary requirement, or maybe just the necessary ones.
 

bluebell

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Hmm, interesting question. Contributing something useful to society is probably a major part of it for me. On a more mundane level, a secure job that gives me some financial freedom is also part of it.
 

Valiant

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Success in a career is when you start being the hub of everything, when you spend more time on the phone than actually doing something :D
 

nightning

ish red no longer *sad*
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Success is what brings you happiness. That applies to careers too.
 

Poser

Fe, rusted.
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Success to me:
1. Being the lead or subject matter expert. Shallow I know but it is what I strive for.
2. Being able to manage your own time.
3. Maybe should have been first but financial stability. I don't think I will ever make millions in what I do but I enjoy it and really would just consider success being if I can live comfortably.
 

Randomnity

insert random title here
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Career-wise, I'll be happy when I find a job that:

-pays well enough to keep me comfortable
-is stable enough that I'm not stressed about it
-is variable enough that I don't get bored
-is intellectually challenging/interesting enough that I don't get bored

It's also important to me that my actions will be meaningful to someone and that my work will go to accomplish something, but that's less under my control. It would also be nice to have a boss that gives me desired outcomes and lets me achieve them however I want, but again, that's not really under my control.
 

FDG

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Career-wise, I'll be happy when I find a job that:

-pays well enough to keep me comfortable
-is stable enough that I'm not stressed about it
-is variable enough that I don't get bored
-is intellectually challenging/interesting enough that I don't get bored

It's also important to me that my actions will be meaningful to someone and that my work will go to accomplish something, but that's less under my control. It would also be nice to have a boss that gives me desired outcomes and lets me achieve them however I want, but again, that's not really under my control.

Yeah I agree completely with these
 

CzeCze

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In answer to this question, I would like to quote one of my favorite songs EVA --

Well, now give me money, (That's what I want)
A lotta money, (That's what I want)
Oh yeah, I wanna be free, (That's what I want)
Oh, lotta money, (That's what I want)
That's what I want (That's what I want) yeah,
That's what I want.

I'll think of a deeper answer that looks better on my b-school applications in the morning.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA --> You know it's true. Don't even look at me like that.
 

Geoff

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In answer to this question, I would like to quote one of my favorite songs EVA --

Well, now give me money, (That's what I want)
A lotta money, (That's what I want)
Oh yeah, I wanna be free, (That's what I want)
Oh, lotta money, (That's what I want)
That's what I want (That's what I want) yeah,
That's what I want.

I'll think of a deeper answer that looks better on my b-school applications in the morning.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA --> You know it's true. Don't even look at me like that.

For me, money is not that high on the list. I could have more money by changing/progressing my career, but choose not to, at present, because other factors are more important (home/work life balance, for one).

Not that "more money" doesn't give me a HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA moment just once in a while.
 

Hirsch63

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If we define career as a deliberately planned machine, a means of securing and improving our material needs, then success may be simply defined as maximizing remuneration to the greatest extent possible with the tools at hand. The wealth generated allows us to realize personal needs and goals beyond subsistence.

I do not mean to imply a simply mercenary aspect in this description, altruistic goals can also be indulged either through your career choice directly, or through the resources that it can generate. Perhaps a successful career is one that enables choices (free time, security) and does not dominate our personal lives.

If we are discussing a vocation, something we are compelled to do for whatever reason, success may be defined differently. As part of a continuing craft tradition, I am constantly learning from the past to preserve and develop knowledge. Hand-in-hand with this is the obligation to share what I have gathered with others; I am a custodian of my craft, I am a temporary vehicle for knowledge and skills that need to be handed off carefully as they were imparted to me. There is a further obligation to the careful utilization of the raw materials needed for my work, in terms of extraction, use and disposal. If things go well my craft will reward me with what I consider a decent living. If things turn sour, then it is best that I bow out of the arena rather than do work that might demean or cheat craft standards. Vocation is a tricky path to navigate not the least for a partner or children of those who choose it. There can certainly be a lot of personal satisfaction, without the usual socially accepted hallmarks of "success".
 

Nighthawk

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When I was in the military, success meant regular promotions and lots of medals ... also been seen as tactically proficient with my unit (i.e. kicking butt on the battlefield, either in practice or reality). I also had to be in leadership positions with important titles, or actively seeking them out to be successful. That became more hollow and shallow to me over time.

In phase two of my life (post-military Corporate Amerika), success meant a big paycheck. The more money I made, the more successful I was ... or so I thought. The leadership postions became less and less important, to the point that I did not seek them out at all anymore.

In phase three (Corporate Amerika burnout), I started to value free time and interesting work more and more. The paycheck is still nice, as it enables me to do things I enjoy, but it is no longer the main measure of success. Title and position no longer mean anything to me either ... a very ironic change from the way I was in my 20's.
 

ygolo

My termites win
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Aug 6, 2007
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Wow, a lot of great posts.

I think Randomnity's post is closest to my current thinking.

I would like to define success in the ways that Edahn, Hirsch, and Nightning do, but it is somehow too vague for me right now.

I work in an industry where money is not much of an issue (though certainly not enough to retire already). If I learned to be more frugal, then I would be a lot more "free" in some financial sense (but then is the frugality itself a constraint on the freedom?)

Anyway, thanks for answering.

After watching a lecture/discussion by Peter Diamandis and George Zachary (audio linked in lectures thread in science section), I have been thinking about "passion" and where that comes from....
perhaps another thread....
perhaps in this section?
 

sriv

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Success is the infinite stairwell. I have success when I surpass most of the population climbing or falling down the stairs AND when I get tired. Both conditions need to be filled.
 
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