08101 Job and Career
Whenever it is possible, you should choose some occupation which you would do even if you did not need the money. — William Lyon Phelps
Most people go about the choice of job and career completely backwards from what they should do if they want to pursue happiness.
When our young people get to high school, people start asking them — "What will your career be?" By the time they are juniors and seniors in high school, career counseling begins in earnest. We think it's a smart idea that these young people, at the end of 12 years of often dysfunctional schooling, who may or may not have any real education, should rush to judgment on their future.
They may or may not have some sensible advice on the subject. Many people unfortunately receive career advice that is not oriented towards what is best for the person. Instead, the counseling benefits the educational institution. Such schools see students as nothing more than profit centers. That's a lot more common attitude in higher education than anyone is willing to admit.
Because they are pressured to make these decisions too early in their lives, young people often change their minds as they get older and learn more about themselves and the world. If they are in school, this can mean that some credits they've earned won't count towards their major and they will need to take additional courses, which cost even more money. If a young person rushed into a trade school, and then find that that is not what they want to do, they may be loaded with debt for a career they will never pursue.
The concept of deciding first what a person needs out of life and then thinking about the role of work, job, and career in meeting those needs, is foreign to the modern way of doing things.
A better way is to decide first what you need to fulfill your human needs for happiness.
- What are your passions?
- What do you need to live and be happy?
These answers have something to do with what your needs and wants in life will be and how much it will cost (money, effort, education) to meet those needs and wants. Note that the questions are about needs and wants, not about greeds.
After you know something about your needs and wants, you can ask and answer a second question —
- How much job or career do you need?
As you organize your life by permaculture ethics, you may find that your need for money is less than you previously thought. With the right lifestyle design, you may find that you don’t need nor want full time employment for cash.
A third question is —
- Do you want to work in the global economy or the local economy?
We think our only option is to find a job and a career somewhere in the globalized world economy. While that’s been a great strategy to date, people shouldn’t automatically bet on it going forward.
Most areas have a growing local economy. These local revivals of mutual economic links usually begin with producing and distributing locally grown and made food and non-food items such as artisanal body care products and clothing. An additional growth sector is locally-based services. You could join or start a worker owned cooperative that makes a useful product or sells services to your community.
Your local economy may offer better and more secure opportunities for you to make a living and enhance the quality of your life. Now you have options for earning a living outside of the globalized economy.
Whatever path you take in life — whether you are at the beginning or well advanced — ask yourself —
- How do my career or work plans care for people, care for the planet, and have a care for the future?
This is one of the reasons why permaculture design is important for your life.
Following the popular madness and delusions of crowds is never a good way to make life decisions. It is better to observe, evaluate, design, and then live an exciting and practical plan to meet the needs and goals of your life using methods that have some chance of succeeding in the real world.
You can come into the praxis of permaculture design in your life at any stage. It's never too late to start making better decisions.