#First7Jobs Proves Theres No Clear Career Path - The Muse

First7Jobs Proves Theres No Clear Career Path - The MuseFirst7Jobs Proves Theres No Clear Career PathWe all have to start somewhere, right? Let me paint a hypothetical picture for you You fantasized about being a dinosaur when you were five. Then, after some deep soul searching at age 15 you discovered you really wanted to be a doctor. But, you took one organic chemistry class in college and realized you absolutely hated science, so thats out. So, you switched over to philosophy and considered going into teaching. That welches until you interned at a tech startup over the summer and liked what that had to offer so you applied for a marketing position. You spent a few years in marketing, realized it wasnt what you wanted to do until retirement, and started browsing open positions. You applied to job after job, and finally landed a random gig in public relations and thought, Why not. And you loved it, and the rest is history. Now, your story might not be exactly like this one, but ther es a common pattern to career paths. Which is that theres no set pattern for finding and ending up in a job you love. And thats OK. You most likely have to try, and fail, and try again, and take risks, and say Why not? many times before you get there.A recent trending hashtag on Twitter highlights this exact point. mariancall, a songwriter, asked the internet what everyones firstsevenjobs were, and the responses were truly inspiring- especially when a few select celebrities got involvedSome sounded like people you knowBabysitter, fruit picker, retail at Michael Hill, beauty therapist, receptionist, accounts assistant, amtsstube manager. first7jobs- Amy McDonald (amylmcdonald) achter monat des jahres 5, 2016My first 7 jobs1 Document shredder2 Taco Bell3 Host at Dennys4 Day care worker5 Pizza maker6 Macys store clerk7 Sandwich delivery- NeonBunny (DJNeonBunny) August 8, 2016firstsevenjobs Freelance coderProfessional gamerSoftware engineerDesignerDelivery personCEOChairmanTVFPitchers - Sachin Bansal (_sachinbansal) August 7, 2016Shop ClerkNASA internAu Pair in SwitzerlandPhysics TutorMath TutorComp. Physics SimulatorPhysics dept associate first7jobs- Juliet HLC Hougland (j_houg) August 8, 2016Some were funny, or clever.zachvandyke Here are my first seven jobs in emojis1. ????2. ??3. ??4. ??5. ??6. ??7. ????- Kelsey (kelsandcritters) August 8, 2016firstsevenjobs page soldiervalet of householde of Kynge Edwarde IIIsquire of samediplomatcontrollour of customsMP for Kente (1386)- Chaucer Doth Tweet (LeVostreGC) August 8, 2016Others reminded us that stars are really just like us (or, at least were at one point)firstsevenjobs Dish washerCamp counselorFighter pilotAstronautCommandantSpeakerAuthorNow Global Space Statesman- Buzz Aldrin (TheRealBuzz) August 7, 2016firstsevenjobs BabysitterESL teacher in BeijingCopy editorWaitressScript readerBartenderChinese tutor- Mira Sorvino (MiraSorvino) August 7, 20161. Busboy 2. Cookie store cashier 3. Skateshop worker 4. Boo kkeeper 5. Golfshop clerk 6. Student TV crew 7. Aerobics instructor first7jobs- Savannah Guthrie (SavannahGuthrie) August 6, 2016firstsevenjobs construction, bus boy, cafeteria server, library data entry, futon frame maker, futon salesman, waiter- Stephen Colbert (StephenAtHome) August 7, 2016In addition to pointing out that the common career path is anything but, this trending hashtag also proves that no matter where you start, there are infinite places you can reach.Are you wondering how in the world Stephen Colbert went from construction to selling furniture to television? I cant say that all of his construction knowledge attributed to him landing The Late Show, but odds are high that he learned certain skills there that helped propel him to where he is now. That is what we love to call transferable skills. This means that all those first, seemingly mundane jobs you had in college, or the career you had before entirely switching gears, are just as important in helping you get t o where you want to go now. Most peoples career path arent one straight line. Your first three, or seven, or even 10 jobs may look entirely unrelated. But the goal isnt to focus on that, but rather to pick up knowledge and skills along the way. Because those are what will lead you, eventually, to where youre meant to be. Photo of road courtesy of Photos by R A Kearton/Getty Images.