This post got me! I have had a good few jobs before I found my calling with nursing. It’s so hard to know what you want to do when you grow up and I had no idea about what types of jobs were available to me. I went to a grammar school – where you have to be of a certain calibre I guess to attend. I loved the school but sadly it only focused on the ‘elite’ types of employment, for example, doctors, lawyers, engineers etc. I had never really thought much of nursing and so many careers I had never even heard of, for example, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, speech and language therapists etc.

Therefore, I floated from one job to the next. That being said, I loved most of the jobs that I have done and always worked hard in whatever role. I started off as a student in retail and absolutely loved it. I worked in a supermarket, a catalogue store, and a student newsagents all while being a student from 16 years old until I was 21.

I then worked in a theatre as a theatre host and again with sales. I absolutely LOVED this job and is still probably my favourite to date. Being able to watch all the great shows while working was an unbelievable experience, from musicals to dramas, from ballet to operas (not so much a fan), from big production shows to local ones, it was an unreal experience and I made life long friends here.

I have also worked in call centres, factories, banking, hospitality and administrative jobs until I finally had my calling to nursing. To become a nurse I had to obtain some experience so I worked in a care home before applying to university. Whilst studying for my nursing degree I also worked in various hospital settings as a nursing assistant until I finally graduated and became a nurse. It is actually 10 years this year that I have been a nurse and I’m glad to say that I still love it. Also this year I took on a permanent position as a teacher of nursing!

It’s been an adventure to say the least and who knows where it will lead to. I think the most important things with work are :

• You need to enjoy your work. We spend so much of our time in work that we really need to be happy there.
• You need to feel pushed / fulfilled. I have left many jobs because I was starting to feel bored, not because I disliked the job.
• Money. As sad as that sounds, we need to make money to have a decent quality of life. I’m not saying money is everything but you need to be happy with the life you have from the money you earn. I remember Boris Johnson saying nurses in the UK didn’t need a pay rise as they do it for the love of the job, not the money. Yes we love our job and money isn’t everything BUT we need enough money to pay our bills and put food on the table. I have left many jobs due to low wages, you need to know your worth.
• Work / life balance. This is extremely important to me. I don’t want to be working 70 hours a week. You want to do your job well and be able to switch off and enjoy your life outside of work. We only get one life so you need to make the most of it. We work to live, not live to work!