A Job is a Job

"Why don't you get a 'real' job?","Why don't you settle for a 'real' job?" or "Why are you still working in retail?" was among some of the questions I was asked when I was working in retail. Different people asked me such questions over time, including colleagues and customers. Although they probably didn't see any harm in asking questions like these, I felt a bit hurt and self-conscious about myself. I started worrying that I haven't reached that point where I got a 'real' job yet, where I'm wearing a grey business suit, sitting in an office overlooking the harbour, behind my two computer monitors doing jobs like accounting or banking, and earning a 6 digit salary a year.

I started applying for countless jobs in my desired field, and it was a frustrating process, since most companies anticipate for their candidates to have at least a couple years of experience in a similar role to the job and industry they're applying for. I didn't really have much because I did not get the chance to complete university due to my struggles with depression (it was a very dark time, and I was failing my units despite originally being a bright student). Getting rejection after rejection from interviews, made me lose motivation in continuing to look for a new career, so I decided to stick to my retail job.

Here is what I learnt.

A job is a job. Don't let anyone belittle you of the job that you are working for, and if they do, please do not take it personally. Ignore what they are saying. An ideal job does not matter what position you are working for or what industry it belongs to. What really matters is that you enjoy the purpose of what you're doing in serving for the community via your input, and also the fact that it provides you with income to help you buy food, medicine and other resources to help you stay alive.