ShmoopTube

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Hi there - I’m David Siminoff and I’m the founder of Shmoop.

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Aerospace Engineer. Mutual Fund Manager. Surgeon. Lawyer. President of the United States.

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Waiter. Pet Sitter. Celebrity Personal Assistant. Taxi Driver.

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Notice any difference? Aside from the background being a different color – good catch – everything

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in the first set was a career, while everything in the second set was merely a job. There’s

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an important distinction between the two. Jobs pay you cash for hours of your life you’ll

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never get back. Is a burger flipper really any better at flipping burgers after 20 years

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on the job? Careers, however, give you the opportunity

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to learn, to grow, and to embrace a new way of living. Something… better.

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A lawyer is better after 20 years. So is a doctor. And an investment banker. There’s

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a reason they call what they do “practice.” But even people like professional athletes,

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chefs and cinematographers, like fine wine, get better with age.

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It makes sense that you’d get paid less money to perform a job than a career. It doesn’t

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take much skill to shovel driveways or walk dogs.

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Basically, anyone can perform a job. But to build a career, you must be educated

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or trained in a particular craft. Shmoop covers jobs; but we love careers. And

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getting the right career that really works for you is pretty much the best investment

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you can make with your education. We think you should aim higher than scrubbing toilets.

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No, not scrubbing ceilings either. Even higher. At the same time, we’re going to make sure

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you keep it real. If you’re a 6 foot tall dude with a vertical leap of 20 inches, you’re

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simply not gonna make it in the NBA. If you’re allergic to pet dander, you may

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not make the best veterinarian. And if you pass out at the sight of blood

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and guts, you’d be a terrible surgeon. Don’t waste your time practicing free throws,

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hunting flies or dissecting frogs. Instead, devote that time to doing your math homework.

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Accountants make a great living, don’t have to live in constant fear of being out of a

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job, and can become nationally ranked in the sport of paper triangle football.

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Is living a life of glamor important to you? If so, is your definition of glamor what you

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see on MTV Cribs? Is that glamor in real life? Or can you find

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it owning a nice home with debt you can manage, and with the ability to give your kids everything

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they could want in life? We’re not saying you have to give up on

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your dream. You just need to be knowledgeable about what

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to expect, and you should have a solid Plan B. Suppose you put all your eggs in the F16

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Fighter Pilot basket but find out down the road you have too weak a stomach for the job?

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Just because you encounter a snafu along the way doesn’t mean you won’t have picked

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up some valuable skills. Maybe you can put your military know-how to

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use in some other capacity, or perhaps you can fly planes that don’t do loop-de-loops

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and fly Mach 5. Or maybe you’ll just sit in a comfortable

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chair and design flight simulators. If you’re feeling queasy, at least you’ll be able

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to get to the facilities quickly. Not sure of your dream job? Shmoop Careers

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will help you figure it out. Ask yourself – what are your priorities?

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Which of the 5 “w”s are most important to you? Wealth?

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Wisdom? Wanderlust?

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Wit? Wire-haired fox terriers?

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The idea is that you create for yourself a life worth living. According to an actuarial

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table, you likely have at least 60 years left to

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live. What do you wanna do with them? Hang with us. Let us tickle the career bone

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in your brain. Our guide is constantly growing, and we know

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not every career under the sun is currently represented on the site.

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Got a career that ain’t here? Like grammar policewoman? Let us know! It’s likely we

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already have it on our list, but if not, we’ll add it. And we’ll check it twice.

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The rest of your life is out there, waiting for you.

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Isn’t it time to start thinking about what your future holds? Or, at the very least,

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to entertain some final, fleeting fantasies of becoming a member of Delta Force?

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If you’re ready for the Real Poop, Shmoop is here for you. We’ll hand you the keys

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to success – just try to have the car back in the garage before ten.

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