Career's advice from a bee
When I was 10 years old, I knew the answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I was going to be an astronaut.
It was the same year as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their ‘giant leap for mankind’ steps on the moon’s surface.
As a child growing up in the UK, I remember staying up all night watching the small-screen TV, as the lunar module landed at 9:17pm on July 20th, 1969, with Armstrong making history, just under 5 hours later.
Of course, as a child, I had no idea what a career in space exploration looks like. I just wanted to be an astronaut.
Worker bees have an interesting career. They might live for several weeks or a couple of months but during that time, they typically change jobs as they age. Worker Bees often begin life by cleaning cells, then care for larvae, later build and maintain comb. They might serve as guards but will eventually become foragers. The exact sequence varies with the colony's needs.
Their career is not defined by one job or set of tasks. It develops and matures as needs present themselves.
I think we are created to work.
But not for ourselves.
There is something quite powerful and profound that happens when we realise we can meet a need. For many years I had aspirations to be a pastor. When I eventually qualified, having that title didn’t mean as much as I thought it would. One day, I made a cup of tea for a woman still recovering from a serious car accident years ago. We probably only talked for 20 minutes, but I think it made a difference.
Next day she came back for another chat.
The bee accepts different responsibilities as it grows, unconsciously adapting to what’s best for the colony at the time.
Most of us who have been in the workforce for a long time know that a career is never static. It has to mature and develop. But accepting the why can be overlooked.
When I started out a career in teaching, many years before going into Christian ministry, I had trained to be high school science teacher, specifically a teacher in Physics.
So, when my first school demanded that I teach Biology, Mathematics, English and other unexpected topics completely unrelated to my picture of what science teacher does, I resented it. I know nothing about how earthworms recycle dead organic matter. I wasn’t trained for this!
Each new textbook I had to devour made me feel that my carefully planned career was flushed down the toilet.
It took a while, but I realised that I had to see my career not so much as what I wanted to be, but more about what the needs are around me. To change according to those needs. Maturing in my career worked best when I focused less on my title and more on what experiences and skills I can bring to my hive to make a difference.
That’s the careers advice the worker bee gave to me: we are created to work. But the greatest satisfaction is found when the work serves the needs of others.
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If you enjoy reading articles like this, Bees Are Awesome: Focus and Flourish is part of the Animal Instincts series of guided journals, each inspired by lessons from the natural world to help you work, rest and live with greater purpose. This journal helps you cut through distraction, focus on what matters most, and discover the satisfaction of meaningful and productive work.
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