I believe there was once upon a time, sets of individuals that stayed at their place of employment for rather long times. Perhaps decades and perhaps forever. Nowadays, just as people go bar hopping on a Thursday night, they go job hopping as well. I have seen individuals go from one job to the next in the span of a year. The hope, it seems, is to keep growing and moving upwards. It does seem rather incredible that people think they can jump two or three rungs in a career ladder in one year. Let’s just keep it real. Not many people are that good even if their self-esteem is through the roof.

Now, what I have been also finding is that individuals are not only moving from job to job but they are also moving from one field to another.  A few years back, I met with a colgege alum who went from being a lawyer to being a newscaster. He was definitely past 35 years of age. I am bad with guessing age so, it is what it is. I was shcoked that someone that “old” would want to or be willing to change fields. It was a complete change. But he had the passion for it. I loved and was mortified that he was going from a high paying salary to grunt-salary for he was happy. I got a tour of the Fox News Channel studio and have ever sine watched him continously advance in his field. I get a tickle when I see him. And I also get a poweful reminder that we need not be wedded to what we once thought we wanted to do or be.

From an early age I supposedly wanted to be a pyschologist. That’s my mom’s story. I’m happy to honor my my mom’s story and reality. I am well suited for psychology. I am quite good at it, as a matter of fact. However, I have been itching lately for a change. Here is the thing about psychology, it is applicable across a number of fields.  I think back to when I was a kid and I would produce variety shows at home on Sundays. I wasn’t great at singing. I was even less great at dancing but I loved dancing. I still do. I love the kinectcs of it. I am a person that constantly needs to be moving. And I think that need for movement is not just about my physicality but also my psyche.

I loved singing way back when. So, why couldn’t I become a singer now? Well, there is the small problem that I am tone deaf and can’t carry a tune. Can I be taught to sing? Am I too old to become a singer? Susan Boyle wasn’t. She was 47 when she won Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. I am younger than that. So there is hope for me yet, I believe. Of course, I don’t know what she has done since winning but she did get a second chance and that is what counts for me.

Now, let’s look at the US elections that just occurred. Both candidates were experiencing a slight change of career very late in life. Donald ostensibly gave up being a business man to be President of the United States -a job that pays less, way less, than what he was making (if you are to believe his pronouncents).  They are the embodiment of second careers. These days, we should be thinking we will have 3 or 4 careers, I think.

In all honesty, I probably won’t drop everything tomorrow to be a singer. It sure would be nice to become a photographer.  Perhaps a photojournalist. I can even become a political pundit. Can’t do a worse job than the ones this past year. Seriously.