High flying or keeping a low profile; it’s hard to feel content when the career bar is set so high. Read Wedded Miss & Miss Independent’s views on work and the modern woman.
Wedded Miss says…
The idea of having a career is still a popular one but in the current Climate is it just an ideal that few very determined and motivated people will reach?
I was always brought up with the idea of going to university, getting a degree and then going off into a bright career where my skills would be transferable. Despite my attempts at knowing what I wanted to ‘be’ I’ve never quite settled in anything. So it seems at the age of 29, I am left without many options regardless of having a vast amount of experience & qualifications.
I admit I am in a very fortunate position as my husband can and does support me whilst I work low paid and part time jobs. Things would be very different if I was still a single girl about town. But this is the nature of partnerships & life in general. Maybe if I had more pressure to support myself and possibly my husband I might be more motivated to get a ‘proper’ career. Then again who knows? Would I just adapt my lifestyle to suit the work I was doing?
This attitude I’ve developed jars somewhat with my feminist upbringing as, in some senses, I am quite an independent person.
I think having a bout of depression has severely hindered my sense of direction and thus my life has become not all black and White and more a million shades of grey! It’s easy to try and fit yourself into boxes but life is often a great deal more complex than we expect it to be.
I am an independent lady but I’m also reliant on my husband for certain things. I never thought I’d say this but I’m happy with this arrangement. I like cooking and looking after things at home. I have interests, friends and family that I like to see regularly and this arrangement allows me to make that side of my life more important. I’m happy and so is my husband and to me this is a great deal more important than trying to do something because I feel I ‘should’ be.
I’d love to be successful in a job or career that I’ve carved out for myself and I have the upmost respect for those women that do. I’m just not sure I have the confidence or drive to get there – I’ll keep trying and will always want to be able to pay my way in our house but I think I know myself well enough to know I’ll never be a particularly high flyer,and that’s ok with me.
Miss Independent Says…..
We live in an era where messages of being an independent woman are broadcast more than the constant repeats of Friends, and it’s all too easy to feel like Miss Rachel Green; being ‘just a waitress’ as your career clock ticks on by. But these days should a career define who you are; I mean how many conversations are filled with the inevitable question of ‘so what do you do then?’ This question used to fill me with dread, as being ‘just a receptionist’ made me feel like I had achieved nothing in my 27 years, while others rocketed sky high in their respective fields.
I always knew I wanted to be a professional scribe, but it has taken me a good while to finally have the balls to put pen to paper and make my dreams a reality. I am the first one in my immediate family to pack my bags and venture off to University; I remember being this meek, shy and unsure young thang, questioning every piece I wrote and comparing myself to every other wannabe hack on my course. But confidence is a journey, and I honestly wouldn’t take a detour or exit on to Ambition Avenue any sooner than I have, even if it meant being in my dream role right now.
They say the best thing in life are free; love, friendship and Benefit samples, so being a high flyer with a bank balance to make Lord Sug’ totes jel has never been an aspiration of mine. Yes, I would love to be rolling around in a bath full of money, but the career I have chosen doesn’t necessarily pay big bucks straight away, so for now I enjoy the journey until I reach my destination.
I understand that being in a long term and stable relationship means that you are forever in each other’s pockets, but personally I don’t agree with it. I am fiercely independent when it comes to my funds, and although it is nice to be wined and dined during a date, I would rather go halves or go home. Of course there is nothing wrong with having a boyfriend who earns more than you, but for me it is an issue which would bug me and has done in past relationships.
My mind set now as a 27 year old woman is one of career before care; meaning I would always put my career before a relationship as it is always going to be with you, and will never wake up one day and say ‘Kelly, this just isn’t working for me anymore.’
Both my parents never had high paying or ‘amazing’ jobs, and I have never had anything handed to me on a plate, so starting from a grounded position and working that little bit harder to reach the stars is a challenge I accept with arms wide open.
Hitched & Ditched 