Hi everyone, welcome back to Ashley Spills. Ashley, here. You can check out my other posts here. People tell me that I should stay at a job for an x amount of time so it can “look good” on my resume. The idea of finding a career that I make a lifelong commitment to scares the crap out of me. It doesn’t fit the person that I am.

College and my major

During my college career, I struggled a lot with choosing my major: I bounced from nursing, to kinesiology, to health science, and finally to English. If I am being honest, I didn’t find my passion in college. I chose the concentration of Creative Writing because it came easy to me. During my time in San Jose, I was faithful to a bakery I worked at for about three years. After college, a lot changed. I relocated cities and dipped my toes in different jobs and careers in three short years. With that said, no – I haven’t held the same job since I graduated from college. 

Within the past three years I have had multiple titles that consist of a CSR, a licensed tax preparer, an inventory coordinator, an accounts receivable specialist, an export coordinator, a barista, a recruiter, and a student. Some of these positions have been within the same organization, but I yearned for something more every single time. Why? Because I have the desire to.

There is such a stigma around millennials not being dedicated or not working as hard as people did “back in the day”, but I am here to defend ALL job hoppers. We aren’t to blame for our short interest span. I’m not going to apologize for wanting to constantly broaden my horizon and expand my curiosities. However, what I am sorry for is the people who may feel stuck to do what looks good on paper even if they are not passionate about what they’re doing. Yes, I am aware that maybe in the future employers may take a look at my resume and think “she can’t commit to a job.” Well, here’s a message for them: maybe you should make the job more stimulating.  

Different jobs: Will I ever find the right job for me?

I am not speaking for anyone but myself. I am constantly getting bored and I crave something new in my life every so often. I’m not mad about it though. What I am mad about is the perception society has on people that don’t work that 9 to 5 job with an amazing benefits package. Graduating from a 4-year university and jumping through hoops to get that kind of stability just doesn’t seem as valuable (and not at all fun) as it used to for me. I’d rather explore and try different things BEFORE committing to one job for the rest of my life.

Some people know what they want from the very beginning, so kudos to them, but I am not at all one of them. You know, the fact that people can stay somewhere for so long is amazing and sometimes I envy it. I feel this way because I am not sure where and how I can make a living for myself through my passion. After my quarter of a life crisis, I came to the conclusion about what my passion is: exploring. 

What I know I love

I am all about experiencing new things and I used to think (maybe still do sometimes) that this is no way to live my life. I will say this though… at least I tried different jobs and industries like advertising, accounting, preparing taxes, marketing, sales, exporting products, etc. At least I know I ventured in these positions. If my 25 years of life taught me anything, it’s that I want to discover as many possibilities that entice me as I can.

I want to travel the world, dive into many cultures, read various genres of books, finally share my voice with people, get my feet wet in different career paths that I’m possibly not qualified for, but I know I’ll excel in them, etc. See, that’s another thing – just because I didn’t major in hospitality doesn’t mean I’m not capable of planning your dream wedding. I hate that degrees hold so much possession over our future. 

To this day I’m not sure what my future holds. Maybe I’ll be a travel blogger, an ESL teacher, an actress, a chef, a standup comic, or get this – maybe even a writer. What I do know is that I want my life to be full of adventures, variation in jobs, many environments, and I always want to continue searching for my “itch” that has yet to be scratched. 

Can anyone else at all relate?

Thanks for reading, xo.