How do you you make money and change the world? That was the question that the folks at DreamNow asked themselves, and it resulted in a book. Occupation: Change the World addresses a conundrum that many people, especially people in their twenties and thirties, face. They want a job that engages their values, but they also want to be able to support themselves, ideally in way that they don't have friends and family constantly asking: "So when are you going to get a real job?"
It seems easy enough to move from volunteer work to low-paying work for non-profits. But for those who hope to raise a family, or simply want to have enough resources to pursue other world changing passions, this is a live issue.
Partly grounded by first-person research, and partly by the resources in their extensive bibliography, Occupation is a quick tour through some of the paths people have taken who were successful in finding their way to green employment. Although there are resources here for the social entrepreneur, the book is particularly addressed towards people who are not naturally inclined to become social entrepreneurs themselves. These are people who are looking for opportunities in stable organizations that others have already launched. They may also be people seeking opportunities to become social intrapreneurs.
Occupation: Change the World is freely downloadable (licenced CC by-nc-nd), so you can read it yourself. It's a quick flip, well-designed for on-screen reading, and you can probably easily make it through the book in half an hour. At seventy pages, it can only scratch the surface of a deep and complicated subject, however it has plenty of pointers to further reading, and offers some provocative take-aways.
(You can also download a print version, but the e-book is much nicer to read on-screen).
The book lays the groundwork by discussing the problem. It discusses the needs that people have that current jobs are often not meeting: work that helps society, work that is challenging, work that people are passionate about. It also addresses a second category of interest: a wish to be compensated at better than non-profit wages. This need often stems from desiring the respect of family and friends, or because people are unable to meet their needs and fully pursue their passions.
In a later section of the book, the authors discuss common features of people who have achieved this balance. They identify people who are on a trajectory they describe as a "non-linear" career path. These are people who had "learned to trust chance meeting, right-places, new opportunities, and unexpected mentors." The book emphasizes the power of well-meaning networking—networking in order to make connections for others, rather than to make connections for oneself. It talks in particular about the importance of the "no-ask" meeting—just getting together with people without an agenda, or in a way that will give them value.
The core of the book breaks down the "non-linear" career trajectory into six steps. In a nutshell: starting to do what you want to do in a small way, building up expertise, and then getting to know other people in your field and letting them know what you're already up to. The final key piece: figuring out who could win (make money, open markets, gain exposure), as a result of what you're already interested in.
One of the appealing things about this approach is that it's not inward looking—it's premised on an expanding market for these opportunities (they offer figures), and on a win-win situation for everyone.
The non-linear strategy they describe is grounded by the many resources offered at the end of the book. These include concrete examples of good jobs, sites that list green jobs (or jobs in social justice), and a long list of organizations working on various pieces of social enterprise. This is supplemented by a list of books, talks, and conferences.
DreamNow.org bills themselves as making the seemingly impossible possible. Hopefully their squaring of the green jobs circle will see more opportunities made available at the same time as it connects people to opportunities.
Photo credit: jdurham
Hat tip to Lucas Sargent for pointing out DreamNow.
