4 Reasons Why There Are No Dream Jobs

Just a whole lot of ‘good enough’ ones

Six months into my layoff and I am simultaneously amazed and disheartened at how many interesting jobs there are in the world — ones that I do not qualify for in any way.

I’ve applied for jobs at over 150 companies/organizations, not because those roles were a perfect match, but because I need to pay my bills.

Occasionally, I’ll hear someone say that they are working in their dream job, or they’re moving across the country for a dream role at Company XYZ. It’s like I’m listening to someone say they hit Powerball for $500 million dollars — to me there’s little difference.

The problem lies with the fact that there are so many factors that go into landing the perfect job regardless of what they tell you in high school or college. It’s akin to finding the perfect spouse and we see how well that’s been working for couples in the last few decades.

While your checklist may not be one hundred items long for what you are looking for in your next role, there are 4 critical things that keep most people from finding the perfect job.

Location

People like living where they like living. When they get tired of it (and have the means), they move. It’s really that simple.

The reasons for people’s passion for their geography can be many — maybe they love the ocean, maybe because all their family is close by, maybe it’s the local sports team or activities in the area. Regardless of the reason, if you love an area, then you’re restricted to that area in looking for employment. If you love French fashion design but live in Kansas, it could be very hard to find your dream job.

Even in major cities, taking a job with a 2-hour commute across the metroplex can be a no-go.

What if you had the dream job and then the company decides to relocate?

Company

Finding the right company is probably more important than geography.

With the right company, you may have options to work remotely.

With the right company, you may get medical benefits to support your special needs child.

When I worked for a global company, I woke up every single day appreciating the benefits I had; they literally saved my wife and me a fortune. Now, many years and companies later, I appreciate what they provided even more.

It’s night and day when it comes to what companies provide their employees and even working for the same company in different states can vary greatly. If you work at a company headquarters in a major metropolitan area, you may get benefits like discount rates to certain restaurants or even a professional sports game. It may be childcare or even free access to public transportation that can be used anytime.

If you’re working at their satellite office in Iowa, you may not get any of those things.

Culture is another big piece of the company you choose. Is it dog-eat-dog? Must 10% of the workers each annual review get laid off for underperforming? You can have the best manager in the world, but if they have to lay off one person each year, it may eventually be you.

Manager (and Skip Manager)

I’ve been very lucky to have great managers for almost my entire 30+ year career, which says a lot. But what if their manager (my skip level) is not that fond of me?

The dynamics of getting along with your team, and manager, and skipping level, can feel like playing chess.

If your own performance doesn’t sow seeds of doubt into your manager’s perception of you, certainly there will be a cast of characters who will gladly tell them why they’re unhappy with your work — there always will be. So, you’re constantly in a game of ensuring your manager is happy with you as well as everyone else. Anything less and it’s guaranteed to come up on your next performance review.

The Actual Job Requirements

So, imagine if you’re able to solve the first three factors; you haven’t even determined if you will like the work long-term. There are plenty of people who love their city, and company, and have that cool manager, but the work is just abysmal.

It’s long hours, low pay, and a cast of characters continually undermining or taking credit for your work. Weekend work and 2.5% raises will be the norm.

Does the role allow you to grow? Will they provide training so your skills don’t get stale?

Mind you, today’s roles require you to not just walk on water — you must do it without getting your feet wet. And those low performers… you must help them walk on water too.

The prior person in your role somehow got to escape all the scrutiny and is living their next best life.

You are now hired to fix 3 years of missteps in 3 months. Good luck!!

As I scroll through the job descriptions, compared to what I’ve seen years ago, the requirements are only getting longer.

Oh, you want to be a program manager?

You’ll need a master's, 10+ years in this industry (not another), security clearance, an RN license, a PMP in project management, certificates for Salesforce and Google Analytics, and have taken at least one AI course. A CPA license would also be preferred.

Conclusion

So, the odds of lining up these 4 factors along with anything else that’s important to you makes it very difficult to find your dream job. And if you find it, are you able to stay in that or a similar role for decades?

Probably not.

The more niche your dream job is, the harder it will be to find and the harder it will be to replace if you should ever get let go (or need to move). My first job was in a specialized energy sector that only had 4 companies in the world in the same space. Spending more than 10 years in that field could have severely limited my options going forward no matter how much I loved the job and the people.

Too much of the fate of your dream job is outside of your control…

What do you do if you have very specialized knowledge of some cutting-edge technology and get laid off at age 29 because the company decides to head in another direction? These scenarios happen all the time.

The reality is that most people will never find their dream job; there’s just a bunch of good enough jobs and you’ll need to take one if you don’t want to be homeless.

If more schools had more realistic conversations earlier with students, we’d have more people choosing the right career for them earlier in their lives.

We tend to romanticize certain fields or place a heavy emphasis on the amount of money you’ll make only to be handcuffed into a career that causes you to seek mental health counseling when you’re in your 40s.

This is also why life must be more than your job, and certainly more than money. Too much of the fate of your dream job is outside of your control — tied to the whim of a manager, a company, customers, or even the economy. But you can’t let that get you down — you weren’t born into wealth where you can spend your days trying new hobbies.

In the meantime, I will continue applying to my next hundred good enough jobs.

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