Without pigeonholing myself into a single career option, I can answer that question with an emphatic YES!
I've had the rare luxury of working in jobs that I loved, doing things that I believed - and still believe - matter. Common themes from my past jobs:
- I've been able to help people in a real, concrete, direct manner. I've relied heavily on my education as a rehabilitation counselor to do that.
- I've been able to present useful material to large and small audiences in person and online through public speaking and my blog. This is where I feel I have genuine talent.
- I've been able to train, coach and mentor people. I believe that I have a passion for this, and that my passion serves to inspire many people.
- I've been able to find novel ways to use technology to help people do things better than they could before. My skill in this area is entirely experience-based; I'm mostly self-taught, but effectively so.
That's all fun, but maybe a bit esoteric. In simple terms: I'm looking for a job where I can directly help people, preferably one where I can leverage my skill as a presenter, my passion as a trainer, and my experience as a champion of new technology. I think that I could be happy and effective in a job that matches only one facet of my experience, training, talent and passion, but that I could be truly remarkable in an occupation that lets me leverage all four of them.
- I'd love to continue working with persons with barriers to employment, but could be happy assisting almost any population.
- I'd love to continue to work on issues related to employment, but could be happy with any work that helps other people with achieving maximal independence and quality of life.
