How big are the chances of having a succesful career in the world of today?

"Other people cannot possibly know more about us than we know about them". (J. Kosinski, Being There)

Nina Karlström - 27.09.2019 @ 16:15

Stefan an me thought about the value of becoming rich and famous in our life.

Lennart Klein - 17.12.2019 @ 16:25

How big are the chances of having a successful career in the world of today?

By Stefan Heise and Lennart Klein, HPS Buxtehude/Germany

“Other people cannot possibly know more about us then we know about them”. (J. Kosinski, Being There)

In the Oxford English Dictionary success is described as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”.

Each day everybody accomplishes something, even if it´s just as little as tying your shoes. You set yourself a goal and you make it come true. However you never feel like a successful person after tying your shoe right? And you probably do not even remember the first time when you were able to do it. The value of learning how to tie a shoe will always be higher for a young child than for an adult so if we analyze the chances of having a successful career we rather have to look at each person’s perspective on how happy they are with their career than looking at the perspective from the public view on each job or career path. In this case happiness is the best possible description of success in the working world because if you are genuinely happy you have achieved one ultimate goal for most people. The quote of J. Kosinski perfectly fits this way of thinking because only each individual itself knows how happy (successful) they are and only themselves can judge their own success.

The map shows the result of a 2015 survey by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research regarding whether dependent employees in the EU reflect on their job quality to be good.

In my definition of success as happiness, the chance of being successful at your job in the EU is around 86%.

https://www.iwkoeln.de/studien/iw-reports/beitrag/andrea-hammermann-oliver-stettes-qualitaet-der-arbeit-in-europa-355697.html

https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article167861391/So-zufrieden-sind-die-Deutschen-in-ihrem-Job.html#cs-lazy-picture-placeholder-01c4eedaca.png

Dear Stefan and Lennart,

I really liked your article. Especially the diagram you included was very interesting. It's nice to see that the majority of Europe's population is happy with the profession they chose. I also couldn't agree more with your statement that "happiness is the best possible description of success in the working world", and I think that most other people agree with it as well.

However, there is always an exception to the rule. Some people want to be succesful just for the sake of being rich and famous. Unfortunately, they often overstep boundaries on their way to success. A good example of a situation like this can be found in the book "A ladder to the sky" by John Boyne. The book follows the story of Morris, a young man who wants to be a famous writer and sacrifices many things while chasing this dream. It's an amazing book, and it explores the darker sides of success in a unique way.

But overall, fame will never be as important as happiness, and instead of success, we should chase satisfaction.

Anja Leitner - 21.12.2019 @ 08:47

Hi Stefan and Lennart

I think your article is about a difficult topic in our society and I am convinced being famous and rich is a long-term issue. Nowadays, countless different professions exist. Everyone has so many options for the work life, so fortunately the majority has a job they really like, but for some people is the selection too large.

Furthermore, for some humans it is important to be famous and receive a lot of money. For example, in the book "Whisper" from Isabel Abedi the main character Noa has a famous mother Kat. Noa sometimes tells about the missed time with her mother.

Of course, money is an important part in our life but in the end just the joy counts.

Sandra Juffinger - 06.01.2020 @ 19:03

Hi! I found your article very interesting. I agree that in today's society our career path is a big part of personal happiness. We have so many options to choose from. It is amazing, but at the same time it might be a little bit overwhelming. Work takes a massive part of our everyday lives. That is why it is important to find a job that truly makes us happy. I find it kinda sad that due to our development we lose an ability to feel succesfull because of little things. Even as a simple 'as tying your shoes', but I guess it is a part of growing up and the need for accomplishment is what pushes us forward.  The same as Anja - I am really glad that most Europeans are content with their jobs. Unfortunately, not all people feel successful. I wonder why is that. It might be the wrong decision in the past, loss of passion or discovering another, stronger one. The sad but also exciting part is – you can choose your career but you never know if this is the right one and if it is really going to make you happy. That is why the choice is so hard. Deliberations about what career should we choose take a lot of time from our lives.  It begins with thinking of the ‘impossible’ as little kids, through more serious considerations of teenagers to the final decision as young adults. At least that how it looks according to the general scheme. In my opinion, the most amazing part of the ability of choice is that you can always change it. Just like you said ‘only each individual itself knows how happy (successful) they are and only themselves can judge their own success’, so if you don’t feel successful, why don’t you try something else? Your happiness is always worth fighting for.

Monika Pociecha - 11.01.2020 @ 19:27

Hey Stefan and Lennart,

Your article (and the diagramm) is really motivating and I  enjoyed reading it. Especially for us teenager that are on the threshold to a new part of our live it is extremly important to be reminded that our own sucess is not depending on our parents, friends or teachers view of it. And that our greatest goal in life should be to find our own happiness while of course being kind to other people.

I myself am really anxious about my future and if the profession I choose will fulfil me. I mean it will be a great part of my life so whatever I will choose should make me happy and satisfied. In this aspect your diagramm is really motivating. It states that in Austria nearly 93% of the population are satisfied by their job. Eventhough, I can't completly believe those numbers it makes me faithfull that as long as I follow what makes me happy and satisfied whatever the future might  holds for me should be okay.

Magdalena Dessl - 18.01.2020 @ 16:49

Hello Stefan and Lennart.

Your article was very interesting to read. I like that you wrote about the definition as well as your thoughts and had a diagram in it. "The accomplishment of an aim or purpose" is a very good description of the word successful. We have on some occasions in school talked about what the meaning of being successful is. Some people said e.g. having a family, being well paid, coming high up in the society etc. And as you said about tying your shoes as a child, it can be the greatest accomplishment for you. But as you become older your goals may seem out of reach. If you would just make a goal a day, preferably a small one, you can accomplish a goal each day.

Many people feel overwhelmed about the choice of a career or school. We now have so many different career choices that it can be hard to know what you may want to do. I feel overwhelmed very often because I don't know what I want to do in the future, even the near one. For example, I have less than a month to decide what I want to study next year, I have to choose three subjects and then maybe eight backup choices. And I have NO idea what to choose, but I know that I can change the course of my life whenever I want.

I hope you all find your dream professions and passions, good luck!

Christina Stefansson - 23.01.2020 @ 11:27

Hi Stefan and Lennart!

I really enjoyed your text! I liked that you guys brought up a perspective that rarely is talked about in media. The source that people often get of how it is to be sucessful I think comes from music and especially pop and rap. A lot of artist often brag about how they have a bunch of money and how they've got girls and drugs. There are a few that talk about the hardships of being famous and sucesfull but since there are not that many I think it's good that you brought this up.

In the end it doesn't matter how much money we have or have prestigeful our job is as long as we are happy!

Gabriel Lindström - 23.01.2020 @ 11:27

Greetings Stefan and Lennart,

I thought that your article really awakened thoughts about the theme of happiness according to one's work. It made me wonder about what the cause to why some countries are happier than other in relation to their work. Different countries have different natrual resources due to their geographical location. Hence there might be more need for an unpopular profession in some countries.

Your article also reminds and encourages readers to work harder for their ambitions and goals in life in order to make it better for themselves. What one should keep in mind aswell is that having a work that's well paid might not always make you happy if it means to sacrifice things that make your life enjoyable such as having to move away from your family.

Felix Wollter - 23.01.2020 @ 11:35