Passion critical to career choices, especially for today's young women

Last Sunday, Fox & Friends featured a story that did not surprise me. Honestly, I expected it sooner.

It appears that many of the young women in New York City who held lucrative positions as investment analysts and real estate agents, now disposed from those opportunities by the financial meltdown, were entering another high-profile and potentially-lucrative line of work: stripping.

Eventually, we will hear that the trend even extends to other questionable professions for these women. It is very unfortunate, but again, not surprising.

I don't know much about stripping, but I do know a little about dancing. For the most part, I have my sisters to thank me for this as they both attended dance classes and performed in numerous recitals and productions throughout their childhoods. One of them, the younger of the two, developed an unbelievable passion for the art. Eventually, she decided that dance would be her focus in college in beyond.

This is not the "safest" career choice by a long shot. Professional theatrical dancing is an extremely competitive industry where very few talents in a a pretty large pool make a successful living off our dream. Dancers with a lifetime of training from renowned performer, choreographers, and teachers have a slim chance to reaching Broadway or a position with a renowned company in ballet or other forms.

My sister didn't even have those benefits. Her instructors at the dance schools she attended back home in Tennessee did their best, but we did not live in a major city. She had little more than one dance school option at a time, taking what they were able to give her. With the exception of summer camps and Governor's School, she was very limited in exposure to the professional circus awaiting her.

Regardless, she made it to one of the top undergraduate institutions for dance in the country. This week, she was accepted to one of the top graduate institutions. Since graduating with her Bachelors 3 years ago, she has worked as a college recruiter and admissions counselor (for student-artists), taught dance for studios in her area, made costumes for fellow dancers, stage managed productions, and even started her own production company. Amongst those she graduated with in the Dance program, she is likely the most successful, both respect to the field of dance (albeit unconventionally) and the ability to be self-reliant.

She did take one piece of cautionary advice prior to starting school when she agreed to minor in Business. Bringing forth those skills encouraged her to diversify her interests related to her passion for dance and the performing arts. She will be prepared for a lifelong career in the industry, as a performer, choreographer, instructor, professor, company owner, etc.

In case you're wondering, she never came close to taking any clothes off on stage, not even for "artistic" reasons. I probably wouldn't allow it as her brother, but it is truly not her style. The fact that she is able to make a life out of what she loves while maintaining an attitude toward the artistic side that distances herself from commercial opportunities in her field is difficult for me to understand, but she succeeds regardless (and likely will continue to do so).

As for the fallen angels of Wall Street, the profile article suggests that these individuals are not terribly concerned with how they earn their money. While articles such as this often lend themselves to superficial impressions, one could argue that the transition from the world of corporate finance to adult entertainment was not a major issue for the people interviewed, since it does not seem that they had any strong passion with their careers in the first place.

More than likely, these individuals were focused on the power and attention their former jobs brought them. If that is the case, it is easy to see why they would swap over to something that enables the same result, though in an entirely different environment void of much except lust and physical evaluation.

There is a part of me that is very concerned about this with respect to Gen X and Gen Y female professionals as a whole. So many of them have been encouraged into fields that do not lend themselves to passion or an internal sense of desire. Does anyone really want to grow up to be a pharmaceutical salesperson? Did any of the "Ladies of Enron" who posed for Playboy after their company imploded have an interest in energy trading before it was presented in a recruitment brochure from the company or a business school?

For at least 2 generations, the best of the female gender, those who combine intellectual ability with poise and beauty, have been encouraged toward careers where the talents, as identified by others, can be best utilized. Rarely are these the talents I believe these individuals value the most themselves. My youngest sister, along with the older one, both detoured from this path. My parents played a large part, as did their strong desire to pursue careers in line with the interests and abilities they enjoyed the most (my older sister has long possessed an interest in medicine, which she relishes today as a Physical Therapist).

I still see the unfortunate trend continuing today. It is natural for women to be naturally drawn to and inspired by careers that best utilized their internal and external abilities. This is not an indictment against female dominance in public relations, marketing, journalism, accounting, sales, or a host of other industries. However, parents, mentors, and the higher education community have a responsibility to make sure that all young women of talent pursue the interests they value most as individuals, not direct them to pursuits that only serve to reinforce the worst stereotype of feminism: the pursuit of power without substance or meaning.

To conclude, please consider what I mentioned before: it is best to pursue your professional wants and maintain balance with your material needs, not vice versa. Power is a form of materialism, often represented by wealth or physical stature. Focusing on this is a want, especially when you are starting out in life, does not provide the opportunity for lasting, personal achievement. Instead, it only encourages someone to make decisions in order to maintain the position and avoid the sense of "failure." It does nothing to move us forward in a path we truly desire.