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	text: jewelz pic: from Sandman: a game of you	You can be anything you want to be, is as a friend said, one of the biggest lies ever told. Implicitly translated it means that we all have full command and control over the path that life has staked out. But the statement also fails to recognize the urge to indulge in an endless shopping spree when it comes to our work life. Being whatever you want to be entails an investment in time and effort, virtues which few can afford these days. Maybe it’s instant gratification or the ever-changing structure of the job market. Futurists claim that serial careers is the wave of the future. It isn’t only a case of multiple jobs in one lifetime but also changing allegiances and swapping uniforms entirely. I’ve read all the prophecies. I know what type of work force employers will want to invest in and I’ve been clued into how the job market is going to be shaped. It leaves no consolation however, because it doesn’t answer the big conundrum. You may have the talent, the will and the education but is that enough? Career counselors seldom take a personal introspection into account. A 14 or 15 year old is often shoved into a jungle of information on jobs, what they pay and criteria, without a compass or guide. Most of us are filled with work-related fantasies, all of which are mixed up in a muddle of societal and parental expectations. You’re stressed into decision-making which carries life-long implications. A common fate emerges - after three to eight years worth of exams, a caffeine habit and student loans, you wake up one morning, get ready for work and it dawns on you. It was all a mistake. For the few who have ever been there, job jitters - whose symptoms can range from boredom to anxiety - can relate when I remind them of the irritating, gnawing voice they can encounter. Are you happy? Is this job stimulating ? You find yourself at the crossroads, where career paths and personal goals intersect and clash with the reality of bank statements and obligations. The whole ordeal of career choice in the latter part of your adult life is somehow clouded in shame, a type of closeted indulgence that grown-ups can’t own up to. Changing careers, though becoming more acceptable, is sometimes construed as a sign of failure, a whimsical nature or a brewing mid-life crisis rather than a calculated decision. Going back to school and starting at the bottom of another wage system is too daunting in some people minds, stupid in many others. And so we tread on rather than stopping the chugging train.
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