By Stu at SJI Creative
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question we’ve all been asked when we were young, and doubtless our answers were all likely fantastic to some degree.
When we were children, many of us imagined becoming an astronaut, a doctor, a firefighter, a veterinarian, a zookeeper, a police officer, or, on the more outlandish end of the spectrum, a famous musician or actor. A lucky few may realise those early imaginings. However, as we grow, the idea shifts – what constitutes a dream job changes personally, but it has also changed culturally.
“The Dream Job” has been a pervasive idea in Western work and, more importantly, popular culture for decades. The nameplate, the corner office, the desk, the blotter, the high salary, the status, the suits… Or at least it was a pervasive idea. The heady days of the 1980s and 1990s have long since faded, as the personal and economic realities of the 21st Century have begun to bite. Outside of Hallmark Christmas films and the occasional glossy TV drama (I’m looking at you, Suits), high-powered and high-paid jobs are not the purview of the protagonist anymore, but more often an antagonistic figure if not the outright villain of the piece. One might think of Gary Cole’s grimace-inducing performance as the overpaid, slimy manager Bill Lumberg in the 1999 cult classic Office Space by Mike Judge as an early example of this trend. There have certainly been plenty more since.
But why am I talking about popular culture in reference to work preferences? Because art imitates life, as the old saying goes, pop culture often reflects the moods and attitudes of the era in which it’s produced. Office Space can be viewed through the lens of a period piece, a pastiche of the turn-of-the-century dot-com bubble, and office culture in general, but I see it as prophetic. I encourage anyone who hasn’t seen it yet to seek it out, particularly if you’re feeling stuck at work. You’ll have to get to the end to see what I mean. I’m not spoiling a 26-year-old film for anyone here. I also recommend The Big Short by Judd Apatow. Especially for one scene, set in the remains of the Lehman Brothers’ offices.
My own dream job falls somewhere between professional puppy socialiser and “billionaire playboy philanthropist,” to paraphrase Robert Downey Jr. in The Avengers (the 2012 Marvel version, for the benefit of any older readers out there). But at this point, I’m not likely to become either. I’m a pen for hire, and I like it. It affords me the flexibility that my personal circumstances require, and presents me with new challenges every time I open a brief or sit down to start typing something like this. I never dreamed that I’d become a writer growing up, but I also never dreamed of a high salary and a corner office in a shiny high-rise. I never really knew what I wanted to do.
I ended up doing this because, for lack of a better way to phrase it, I’m good at it and it pays my bills. I also get to work from home most of the time, so I don’t even need to worry about going home; I’m already there.
The point I’m trying to make – in this series of extended metaphors, references and personal anecdotes – is that it’s perfectly acceptable, if not outright desirable, to work for your pay and go home.
An article from March 2025 published in The Independent discusses this phenomenon at length and can be read in full here. But some choice quotes include:
“Why are we expected to put all our hopes and dreams on our work?” asks Rachel*[1]
Additionally:
“The ambition just isn’t there for me anymore,” [Jake] says. “I want a decent salary, decent hours, and to feel like I’ve got my life back.”[2]
The whole article makes for fascinating reading. I think the key takeaway from all of this is that dream job ≠ dreams. Further reading from publicly available sources, e.g. job satisfaction surveys conducted by Gallup and other trusted polling institutes, reflects similar trends.
Therefore, if you’re sitting at home or indeed at work, wondering if your dissatisfaction or lack of ambition is somehow wrong, fear not; you’re not alone. More importantly, prioritising salary or personal time over connection with the work itself is a perfectly acceptable way to make career decisions, and doesn’t preclude you from finding the best job for you. It does, however, mean that you might struggle with a lot of careers advice and support services, which are often structured more around ladder-climbing and linear progression.
Your career story needs to be written around a new set of questions:
- How do you present yourself truthfully when your career philosophy contradicts cultural expectations?
- How do you articulate “I want good work that pays well and lets me live my life” in a way that attracts the right employers?
- How do you navigate a job market that often demands “passion” and “commitment” when your approach is more straightforwardly transactional?
These aren’t simple questions with template answers. They require developing a professional narrative that honours your actual relationship with your work while still engaging meaningfully with employers who may operate from entirely different assumptions. Your story is no less valid than any other. You just need to find the right way to tell it.
[1] Rosseinsky, K. (2025, March 29). Is the idea of the “dream job” dead? The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/dream-job-ambition-work-life-balance-b2722681.html
[2] Ibid
*names were changed for the privacy of the participants
