Considering Male Values in Career Paths

I get the feeling that most men are dissatisfied with their jobs because their jobs don't reflect or reward their personal values. I'm a staff accountant and I will admit that it is not a very manly job. I've only ever had 3 jobs and they were all desk jobs in some office. Phone calls, paperwork, meetings, and emails all just kind of swirl together in endless drudgery. Being an accountant is a good job and it pays my bills but I kind of hit an epiphany that something was wrong when I had a meeting with my boss and he asked me how I was doing.

I told him that I felt like sacking a village, burning it to the ground, impregnating all the women, and stealing all the treasure just like great men (Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan) had done in the past. My boss really didn't know how to respond to my statement.

Earlier that day, I had been listening to the song Alexander the Great by Iron Maiden. And it made me feel like I should shoot for higher goals in life then just getting my freedom and living in the desert. Maybe when men became free, they decided to set up campaigns to conquer lands far and wide. I could just picture Alex getting a band of men, getting super drunk, and going on rampages smashing peasant villages to the ground just for the lulz. Should I want to start my own campaign, I'd have to travel to places without government jurisdiction and those places on Earth are very rare.

It got me to thinking that masculine values aren't really considered when choosing a career path. Even though salaries are a bigger factor for consideration, picking a career that is in line with your values would lead to higher levels of job satisfaction. A man will be the happiest when he can be a man. Since these sort of values aren't taught in the public school system or passed down from most parents, I thought this post would be a short guide or spring board to matching a set of values to a career path. 

Like the snakes of MGS, there are men that have the warrior spirit and have the desire of finding glory in combat. Those men that are willing to risk life and limb would be best suited to join the military and try to achieve high ranks or become elite fighters in the SEALs. While all men may have that desire to fight, destroy, and conquer, only a select few are willing to risk life for it. These men will make the best fighters. 

If this is too risky, men can still fulfill the values of being an enforcer and protector by becoming police or SWAT. Military and police all go through weapons training and endure physical training.

For those that want to rescue lives, firefighters, paramedics, and doctors would be good options. Of these three choices, being a firefighter would be the most dangerous and probably a good choice for adrenaline hits. Every job involving a fire means that there is always a time limit especially if there are people in danger inside the building. These men have to use a variety of equipment to protect from smoke inhalation, breach doors and walls, or extract people from windows.

For men that like to build or create, I can't think of a better choice than construction work. Building houses requires pouring concrete foundations, building frames, laying bricks, putting up drywall, and a hundred other steps. On the other hand, men may enjoy destroying things and there are jobs involved in tearing buildings down via wrecking balls, bulldozers, and explosives. If building or destroying isn't appealing, maybe repairs or maintenance is a good line of work. This would include professions such as mechanics, plumbers, and technicians. 

For those that want to hunt and seek, they have to become salesmen or entrepreneurs. Essentially, they are both the same but these jobs are most directly tied to your efforts. Because of this reason, your salary is only limited to how well you can perform. These are the only options for men to earn six figure salaries with only a high school education or less. Become a sales man or entrepreneur. 

A further note to consider is that career options will be limited by the job market. It may be necessary to find a job and build up capital before finding a job that you may enjoy and reward your certain set of values. Also note that a man's values can change over a period of time. Maybe a construction worker gets sick of it after 10 years and would prefer a job handling customer service in an air conditioned office. Maybe a plumber would rather become a day trader after saving up a few hundred thousand dollars. Remember that you career path doesn't have to be fixed for your whole life. It can be changed but doing so will require some effort.