First Jobs: The Best Place to Launch a Career

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"Growing Malaise"

The numbers are sobering. Want to be a film or theater director? You're looking at a $27,954 median national average, says Salary.com—a good distance from Steven Spielberg's estimated $330 million a year. You would do slightly better as a fashion designer at an average of $41,387, but chances are you won't be in the company of designer Ralph Lauren, the billionaire chairman and CEO of his eponymous company (RL), who earned $19 million in the financial year that ended Apr. 1, 2006, on top of a personal fortune estimated at almost $4 billion. Artist? You're more likely to sell work sporadically and struggle for gallery representation than reach Wiley's level of comfort.

Facing daunting odds, most people are more pragmatic and see a more traditional job as a way to pay the bills. But that route has its costs, too. Americans are growing increasingly unhappy with their jobs, says Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's consumer-research center. The Board's most recent study, released in 2005, shows that about half of all Americans today say they're satisfied with their jobs, down steadily from 1995 when nearly 60% were. No wonder The Office, a TV sitcom that details the emptiness and absurdity of The Office Job, is such a hit with viewers.

"There's a growing malaise in the workplace," says Franco, who notes that satisfaction has declined among all ages and income groups. "It's partly that the demands of work have changed and there has been a blurring of the line between work and play. You're expected to be available 24/7, even on vacation." Stagnating wages, costly health benefits, and a trend toward doing more work with less staff don't help the situation for many employees, Franco adds.

Other Avenues

If you're stuck, it may help to take a page from the book of those with dream jobs. They often share key traits: talent, passion, drive, and discipline. But they share another characteristic often overlooked: courage, says Mark Oldman, founder of the workplace Web site Vault.com. "Dream-job searchers have to shield their dreams from the haters and nay-sayers." Oldman points out that such people may seem like the voice of reason but they are actually an "emotional impediment," he says.

Finding more meaningful work won't happen overnight, but the search starts with simple steps. Monster's Legrand says before you jump to the next job, take time to study yourself. "It's so easy to access self-assessment information today," he says, pointing, for example, to the free self-test tools his site offers to help you figure out whether you're an entrepreneur, workaholic or team player. "Get to know what personality type you are, your behavior traits and motivators, and how a wide variety of jobs could suit you," Legrand advises.

So if you don't make it as a pro basketball player, maybe your competitive drive would make you an ace Wall Street trader. If you can't act or host your own talk show, maybe standing in front of 25 students each day would quench your thirst for performance. If you're not writing best sellers, work in publishing.

Human-resources gurus say that ultimately, what's most important is having a sense of purpose in your job—even if it's filling your pocket so you can fill your soul after work. So take heart: You may not be working your dream job, but at least you'll run free of the paparazzi mob.

Click here to see a list of dream jobs with dream pay.

Herbst is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in New York.