You might remember this popular quote made famous by Apple’s Think Different campaign in the 1990s:
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
A social misfit is typically defined as someone who doesn’t conform others’ views of what’s normal. A social misfit does their own thing, regardless of what society expects of them.
A career misfit, then, can be defined as someone whose career does not conform to the traditional career path. Career misfits forge their own uncareer path. They see things differently. Career misfits are the ones crazy enough to think they can change the world, and often, they’re the ones who do.
My Intent To Follow A Traditional Career Path
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a total career misfit. Not that I wanted to be or set out to become one.
Growing up, I conformed to every rule put in front of me. I studied hard, got straight A’s, practiced piano for an hour a day, and graduated with honors from an Ivy League school.
I was the quintessential Asian American goody two shoes.
So when it came to my career, I had intended to follow a similar path. I figured, once I graduated from college, I’d get a stable job, then follow a single career path all the way to the top.
I knew from the career paths of others before me that climbing the career ladder would take decades, but I was okay with that. I was ready to put in the work and climb slowly but steadily to the top.
What happened next was something no one expected, least of all me.
Becoming A Career Misfit
Even though I’d set out to follow a traditional career path, I quickly started to forge a career path that was anything but traditional.
I started out my career as a 4th grade teacher for Teach For America. After two years in the classroom, I left the classroom to make educational video games for kids, then made my way into corporate learning and development, creating gamified courses for large companies.
Then, seemingly out of left field, I developed an interest in real estate investing once I saw how it helped me and my husband build wealth for our family, so I quit my corporate job to start a real estate investing business.
A pretty atypical path, every step of the way.
The first time I jumped ship to a new industry, I thought, this is the one. This will be the new path I stay on forever. Then, after the shift to another industry…and then yet another, I realized that I had become a serial job (and industry) hopper and hence, a career misfit.
But in looking back at my uncareer path, I wondered – was being a career misfit and hopping around from job to job really as bad as people made it out to be? Did it really deserve the stigma it carried, or was it, in fact, a better and faster path to success in today’s world?
Why Being A Career Misfit Can Help You Go Farther Faster
Conventional wisdom says that the best path to success is to stay in your lane, follow a single career path, and build your network within a single industry.
But is a traditional career path still the best strategy, given the fast pace and continual evolution of industries in today’s world?
Let’s talk about a few unexpected benefits of becoming a career misfit and forging an uncareer path.
Innovation
One of the biggest benefits of being a career misfit and forging an uncareer path is the ability to bring in new ideas and to inspire innovation.
When I became a game designer, my prior experience as an elementary school teacher helped me bring new ideas to the games industry, of how skills within games should be taught, as well as ideas about how to use games to teach real world skills.
Similarly, when I got into corporate learning and development, an industry mired in traditional instructional design theory, I brought in innovative game design ideas to help make traditionally boring compliance trainings fun and engaging.
When you switch from one job to another or one industry to another, you bring with you fresh ideas and infuse your new role and new company with a dose of innovation.
Social Capital
Another benefit of being a career misfit and moving fluidly from one job or industry to another is the network and social capital you build up over time.
Rather than building a network of connections within a single industry, you can expand your network to multiple industries, helping you to build a diverse network and tap into more opportunities.
This was a huge benefit for me when I started my own business. Having held nine different jobs in ten years across multiple industries, I had an extensive network to tap into when building my business, helping me to hit the ground running.
Adaptability
Every time you move from one role to another or one industry to another, you force yourself to move beyond your comfort zone and to adapt to new ways of thinking and new methods of doing things.
The first few times you do this, it might feel very unnatural, overwhelming, and downright scary. This is why many people choose to follow a more traditional career path, because it’s safer and feels less risky.
But when you take on that risk and embark on a new adventure, you push yourself to develop new skills, open your mind, and hone your ability to adapt to new situations.
Adaptability, just like any other skill, improves with practice, so the more you do it, the better you’ll get and the more comfortable you’ll feel.
In today’s world, with change as the only constant, adaptability is a skill that will certainly serve you well, no matter what path you decide to take.
Are You A Career Misfit?
Not everyone is cut out to be a career misfit. Forging your own uncareer path is not for the feint of heart. It involves a lot of out-of-the-box thinking, risk taking, and going against the current.
Being a career misfit means you’ll constantly be going against the status quo. Your friends and family may not understand your decisions and may actively try to talk you out of them.
You may feel lonely along the way, because your path will be different from that of everyone around you.
But by definition, being a career misfit means that you are different. You think differently and refuse to accept things as they are.
You know that you’re meant for greatness and refuse to accept anything less. But while some may see you as crazy, I see you. I’ve been in your shoes, and I see genius. Through the courageous action you take to move from one job to another, you are bringing fresh ideas and innovation to each new role, expanding your mind and your network, and forging your own path.
If you’re a proud career misfit like I am, or you’re ready to blaze your own uncareer path, join our community of career misfits and trailblazers – people just like you who think differently and are out to change the world.
