You didn’t come this far to only come this far.

You’ve planned a trip to Disney World. You and your family spent months browsing the internet for hotels, watching youtubers talk about the best places to visit in and around Disney World. The research and preparation took a lot of time. You spent time, money, and energy working towards this epic family vacation. The time comes to leave, and you and your family hop in the truck and drive to Orlando. The kids are beyond excited to see the fruit of your months of research. All the conversations and the leg work you did to plan the trip to see the mouse. You pull up to the parking lot, tell everyone to get out, and look at the Magic Kingdom in awe. Then say, “whelp, we made it, that was great. Lets go home”. Your children would disown you and find another family to take them into the park. 

Of course, that is an extreme example but relatable. We often start a career path, put our heads down, and don’t look up to see what is happening around us. We constantly work so hard every day, planning, researching, and learning all about what exactly we expect from our career path. 

I got my degree in Human Resources because someone recommended it. It certainly wasn’t my first choice of career. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I went straight from high school into military spouse life and went with the flow. Getting my degree online while raising three children wasn’t exactly sunshine and roses, but it happened. I did it and graduated with honors. So now what? I have a degree; I’m sure I’ll get hired in a job related to my degree. Not exactly. I still had a military spouse life that took me around the country. I was fortunate to learn many different trades. The degree certainly opened doors that I would never have had open, but the degree wasn’t the driver. My curiosity was my driver.

In Texas, I was a teacher at a discipline school. I started there as a substitute teacher, which only required some level of secondary schooling. That opened the door to me seeing how much I enjoyed education. Once working at the discipline school, I found out that Texas offered Alternative Teaching Certification programs. So I went back to school in the evenings and earned my certification in business education, grades 6-12. Then, we got orders and moved…again. So I was going to take my new certification to North Dakota. I found out at that time; there was no reciprocity for my teaching certification in North Dakota.

No more teaching. That’s okay; I pondered; I’ll fall back into my HR degree and find an HR position. That didn’t happen, and I ended up working in a coffee shop. A job that came out of necessity because I refused to drive 25 minutes into Minot for Starbucks. That part-time barista position turned into a full-time career when I became a partner and bought into the coffee shops. I ran the coffee shops with my business partners with no knowledge, just the love of coffee and the training I gave myself over the years. I loved that business, everything about it. I just hated North Dakota. Flash forward to moving back to Pittsburgh and interviewing for a position at a local retailer that needed an HR person. Mind you, I never actually worked in HR after I got my degree, but my work experience gave me all the tools I needed to be successful. Sure, it may not be a career path many people understand, but it’s one I love because I see the appreciation every day from those who require my assistance. I’ve heard many say Human Resources is a soul-sucking job, but I’m afraid I have to disagree. I love it so much that I consult in addition to a full-time job. 

I’ve spent most of my life researching, learning and I find passion in helping others. Human Resources is a great way to do this daily. Those of us in Human Resources wear many hats. Benefits information, paid time off, work-related injuries, discipline issues, and meetings are just some things that I handled on Friday. Monday will be completely different, but it is so exciting; it constantly changes. I didn’t come this far in my love of Human Resources to just come this far. I came here to do more and go further and learn more to be better tomorrow than yesterday. 

The same can apply to you and where you are in your career. Every single day remember that you didn’t show up to show up. You are there to serve a purpose and do the absolute best you can. You may not have the dream job you wanted, but you have come this far for a reason. You may not be at a company that you envisioned yourself working for day in and day out, but trust me, you are there to serve a purpose for a specific time. There are days when we all struggle with our daily duties, but every day can be innovative, rewarding, and full of promise if you just let it. 

Only you know why you’ve come this far, but it’s certainly not to get here and say, “okay, lets go home.” Keep pursuing your drive and your purpose. Keep pushing for the things you want, and you’ll see how much further you can go!