Career Choices

**WARNING - this blog may be a little long and a little wordy - and it's not filled with cutesy stories about the girls. Sometimes I forget that this is a family blog, and I am part of the family - so this blog is about me!***

That being said - I find myself at an interesting turning point in my career. As we begin to plan our move, and my company continues to hand out severance packages every day - I have no idea where my future is heading . . . so the best way to plan the future, is to reflect a little on the past (at least in my opinion).

So prior to college, and probably right after college when I decided NOT to head to law school - the below video encompasses my feelings of careers and the corporate world (and I LOVE Jon Cusack, and this is one of my all time favorite movies):



But since I didn't go to law school, I had to do something - so I did what was easy, got a job in an office. It actually turned out to be a great step in a career path . . . if I had stayed on that career path . . .but alas, we moved to Minnesota and I decided to take a chance - and it worked out great. Thus began my career as a bar manager - I worked my ass off and got that job pretty quickly considering I came from a world where it was all about that coveted piece of paper - the degree! - to a world where that meant nothing, it was all about the experience.

And as quickly as that career flourished, and as much as I loved every second of it, just as quickly Marlie Katherine came into my life and made me see a different set of priorities. Pretty much from that point forward I saw my job as a paycheck - as long as I was happy enough doing it and I got paid for it, I was fine. Because in the end, I didn't care what I did - it was now all about raising my children - and if it was about anything else, one day I would look back with regret - because in my eyes, my kids are my job now.

So then we moved, and funny enough, I did my job well enough the first time around that they hired me back to that little cubicle (and LITTLE paycheck - what seemed like a fortune at 21 was ridiculously small at 26 with daycare expenses). But I kept plugging away and realized that I didn't want to pay $1600/month in daycare for someone else to raise my kids. So the option looking began . . .

That's when I found Mary Kay. I was the first person to say, "I have 2 college degrees, I do NOT need to sell lipstick". But here's the thing - if my kids were really more important, and I didn't want daycare as my only budget breaking option - I did need to sell lipstick.

(Un)fortunately - I have to say that with parentheses because it has been a blessing and a curse - my cube job decided that I was needed and allowed me to work from home. I have to say that I love my situation right now - but there are days when work needs to get done at the same time as a temper tantrum and a diaper change need to be dealt with that I feel like it's not worth it. And most days I feel stretched between everything and don't actually feel like anything is getting 100% of my attention or effort.

At the end of the day though, it has been a good experience . . . but I think that I am ready for it to be over. I have realized that while raising my children is more important to me than anything, a paycheck isn't worth it just to go through the motions - I have to find something that I at least enjoy. While my true career that I loved more than anything (managing bars) is just not a possibility anymore - I think that building my Mary Kay business is fun, and that's what I am going to do.

But along with that comes getting over my own hangups. My Grandpa always said "titles are like assholes, everyone has one" - on a side note, his other 2 pieces of wisdom I carry with me every day are "don't let the assholes get you down" and "don't let the assholes know you think they're assholes"! all applicable to daily life and it got him through 30 years in government, so I think they're timeless snipits. Anyway, I have to get out of the mindset that the corporate title is ever so important . . .and I just received this little gem that's helping me do that:

Mary Kay…A Real Job?

Shared by NSD Gloria Mayfield-Banks

Throughout my career I have seen many Consultants come and go because they

felt they needed to find a “Real Job.” Why do people think that Mary Kay is NOT a

“Real” job? What classifies an opportunity as a “Real” job? Does getting a paycheck with

the same number of dollars each pay period classify as a “Real” job? Does working 10-

40+ hours, and still making the same amount of money classify?

How about getting up very early, taking a shower and leaving your house every

day? What about putting your kids in daycare- does that make it a “Real” job? How about

having to schedule vacation time a year in advance? Or having to explain to your

supervisor why you need a day off? Maybe that is what makes it a “Real” job. Maybe you

need to be working for someone else, have to report to someone else and let him or her

decide when you deserve a raise.

I remember telling my Mom as a child that I wanted a real job, not something like selling Mary Kay . . . .this paragraph makes that real job (most people's reality) sound not so appealing . . . so, I am going to ditch the title of Pharmacy Benefits Coordinator (just as soon as they give me my severance package!) and go with Senior Consultant for Mary Kay and Director of Development (tell me that doesn't sound better than SAHM!!!)

I wish I were Jayson . . . he says that of course he would rather not work, but if he has to, he's doing exactly what he wants. And he has progressed in his career and is still enjoying it (well, now that we have some unpleasantness behind us). So I guess I'm going to quit wishing - I may be almost 30 (ugh, mild heart attack) - but I am waaaayyyy too young to start settling.

So in Crandall family fashion - we are full on for the change - new place, new careers, new lifestyle - here we go . . .