According to Encarta, a Job is a: paid occupation; task; assignment; function etc.

So what makes a job a job? I’ve come up with this question because of “THE LOOK”.

After graduating, unlike my classmates, I have decided to pursue an interest outside my studies. I graduated from a business course and yet I have tried to make a career of writing. Yup. Writing.

As a fresh grad, the most common question asked to me is “San ka nagtratrabaho?” (Where do you work?). My answer varies, either I say I’m a freelancer or go right at the heart of a matter and say I’m a writer.

And then they give me “THE LOOK”. It’s basically a flow of emotions starting from “A writer?” to “No way!” to “Is that a job?!” (The fact that I’m a home based writer add to the intensity of “THE LOOK”

So how can you qualify that a work is work? Is it because of the uniform? The Company ID? A boss? A nine to five working hours? The salary?

Does your job have to be unenjoyable for it to be considered work? It sometimes amazes me how limited communication I have with other people in the same profession. Or maybe I’m just surrounded by people who are basically “non-readers”.

Is it necessary that my occupation must have something to do with what I studied for the last four years? Maybe. It is the norm after all. But I am defying that. Not because I want to be unique but because I like what I do.

Applying what I have learned and translating it into a career is one thing. Cultivating my talents through my own efforts without the apparent units in tertiary is another. Sometimes, it gives me a warm feeling inside to know that I am doing something I have not studied in school for. This is me. I can learn accounting. I have learned accounting. But this, this is me.

It’s amazing how much people state that they want to be able to manage their own time without the restrictions of a schedule, and then they meet someone who does and they refuse to believe that the option really exists.

Maybe it’s making me cynical, but I have found out that the most highly regarded evidence of a job for people is the salary. A few people I know were unconvinced that I have a job, believing that what I do is a mere hobby. Until I bought a Levis Strauss. After all, what could be a better proof that you are earning than a Levis Strauss?

I like what I do. I’m still taking my time and learning me. People who have given me “THE LOOK” seem to forget that they were me once. I’m running after my rainbow. Maybe at one point, I’ll start to notice other paths, other jobs that won’t make people give me “THE LOOK”. However, I am happy with the one I have chosen to thread. n_n

http://brain-matter.blog.friendster.com/2009/08/featuring-what-is-a-job/

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