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Leslie_Hubertus's avatar
Leslie_Hubertus
Ret. Employee
Feb 07, 2023

Ambition and career goals question

Here's a work-related, non-technical question for the community:

Can you be ambitious without org climbing being part of career goals?

  • 100%!

    I think it's natural to want to move "up," but UP means different things to differnet people. Preferring to be an individual contributor will naturally have an organizational boundry, but that doesn't mean ambition halts. I am always hungry to explore, learn, do more, but I don't have a strong desire to be a full-time people leader.

  • Lately I've been trying to figure out what ambition means to me. I don't consider myself a super ambitious person. Does a person who isn't ambitious still have a place in the work world? If so, what is it? If I don't consider myself ambitious, then what are my motivations for working?

    Big questions I'm trying to answer for myself. A work in progress!

    • JRahm's avatar
      JRahm
      Icon for Admin rankAdmin

      I think it's ok to show up, do your job well, and go home to the things you really care about. Jobs don't have to be identities. We work to live, not live to work.