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Get your dream job
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July 3, 1998: 11:02 a.m. ET
Giving up your current job for a shot at your dream might not be impossible
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - You sit in your cubicle, hunched over your computer but dreaming of a better, more satisfying job. Fortunately, the impossible dream job might not be so impossible.
Going after it might also not be the terrifying experience you think it to be. It will, however, require determination, courage and persistence.
One of the hardest parts, in fact, might be determining what your dream job actually is. While that may seem simple, many people's judgment gets clouded, said Ted Belinky, executive vice president at Career Dreams Incorporated, a Los Angeles-based career development firm.
Belinky explained people often believe just because they have skills and experience in a certain job area, that is where they are meant to be.
"People need to start focusing on other areas of interest, what makes them tick," said Belinky. "After that, you can combine them all and find what you want to do."
Crossing the chasm
Once you've struck upon your ideal job goal you face another problem. On one side, there's your dream job. On the other, your current position. In between, there's usually a huge chasm.
"People think you have to make the complete leap," said Laura Berman Fortgang, career coach and author of "Take Yourself to the Top."
"The best way to make the leap is small steps across the chasm."
Fortgang suggests someone looking to make a change should "rub up against" their dream job in some way. This could mean taking a night class to learn one aspect of your ideal job. You could also volunteer in order to learn some small part of it.
"You're going to meet up with people who've been doing it longer and then you'll get a sense of what it takes," she said.
Having a structure helps. Fortgang urges creating a schedule of what you will do for each month. In this way, you'll plan what classes you will take, how many resumes you will send out and how many informational interviews you'll attend. This will be a good way to maintain a pace and will head off procrastination.
While the length of time it takes you to achieve your goal could vary from months to years, it's generally best to begin with a one year plan. After 12 months, you should have at least set yourself up to enter the next level of pursuing your job.
For example, if you dream of becoming an actor, spend the first year taking classes, which will allow you to pursue community theater work in the next year.
Financial fears
Perhaps no issue is more daunting to dreamers than the possibility your dream job will pay less money. That attitude is often misguided, said Belinky.
"People believe finances are success," he said. "Those are the things that drive people into their jobs. But if you look around, a lot of those same people are incredibly unhappy with their work."
Kim Knapp has dealt with the financial drawbacks of pursuing her dream job firsthand.
Knapp has a Ph.D in economics and was doing well teaching the subject to university students. However, at night she was working in various programs designed to offer assistance to survivors of sexual assault.
Additionally, for years she had been taking classes in Aikido, a martial art which uses the opponent's energy and momentum against them. Eventually, she decided to branch out.
"I added a class in women's self-defense at the university and found that I really loved doing that work," said Knapp.
The desire toward empowering women against being assaulted grew, and at night she began teaching both Aikido and self-defense to women and children in a studio she set up in her basement.
The time came to leave the economics world behind and take up her teaching full-time, and Artemis Self-Defense and Aikido was born.
Success did not come quickly.
"I took a huge, huge salary cut and it was stressful," she said. "I completely depleted my savings in a year but it was so nice to be doing work that I really loved."
Although she started the business by herself, she wasn't alone. "I knew other people who had left high-paying jobs to do what they loved."
Career experts say having support is key, especially for those times when worries about finances take over. They can also provide you with more than just a shoulder to cry on.
"Have a one-on-one buddy," said Fortgang. "They can help keep you on track and brainstorm with you when you think you're out of leads."
If you have a family, the pull toward a financially-safe job - even if it's not satisfying - is strong. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers for the family who is fearful about a parent who is considering a lower-paid career choice.
However, your family might surprise you, said Fortgang. "Sit down with them and see how they feel about the process. The family may actually want to help. The more people that have a hand in the process and have ownership in it, the more important it becomes."
In her own experiences as a career coach, Fortgang says she has seen people move to smaller houses and give up other amenities and become a more contented family because of it. "The best thing you can do for your family is to be a happy person."
And while the financial rewards may be few, you may become rich with intangible rewards.
Knapp has had people who've taken her self-defense classes come back and tell her they were assaulted but were able to get away thanks to her training.
In addition, her classes have strengthened some of her students' resolve to pursue their own dream jobs as well. One student quit her position as a nurse to go after her ideal job as a musician.
"It's very satisfying to get concrete results rather than just giving out economics tests," said Knapp.
-- by staff writer Randall J. Schultz
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