Do you think anyone can do any job if they work hard?

[Angryvindictivewasps]

Let's say you're in nursing and you start a career in tax, something you've never done before and have no knowledge in.
You're given a rigorous programme to get through in order to become a 'tax specialist'.
Would you feel like if you just worked hard enough, put in the extra hours and did all the studying, you or anyone could become this tax expert or (insert profession)

Or, do you believe that some people are just not cut out for certain careers no matter what or will just feel out of their depth and shouldn't feel they have to? Honestly at my point in life I don't think I've got the headspace to train in and learn something completely new and alien, especially something like that which doesn't interest me.

Not everyone has the manual dexterity and mindset to undertake numerous activities to a decent standard.

Not everyone has the academic IQ to learn various sets of knowledge.

Not everyone has the mindset to undertake various caring roles with the compassion which the cared-for individuals deserve.

My mother always used to say 'you can be anything you want if you set your mind to it'. We all proved her wrong.

No, I'm pretty sure at 45 if I started training for the gymnastic Olympics I'd fail miserably.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses, can we learn a new job enough to be functional? - probably if there are no additional needs at play

But I know I'd be a rubbish carer or waitress. I'm not empathetic enough and clumsy as hell. I'm not great at admin as I'm not organised enough and struggle with managing my own time without procrastinating. Maths and numbers puts the fear of god into me even though I have a science degree and work in a scientific field. I hate being coped up indoors and like being out whatever the weather.

I'm fabulous at reactive jobs, thinking on your feet, dealing with emergencies and problem solving. You wouldn't want me to do your taxes or bring your food and drink to a table but you might want me if your house is flooding or you need first aid.

If you need to find a new job, find something that aligns somewhere with your strengths.

Haha, I can relate to that!

No, not a chance. We all have different abilities, and not everyone can get to the top in any field if they just “put the work in”. The idea that everyone could be an astronaut if they wanted and just worked hard enough is not plausible to me in the slightest.

No I don't think that. There are plenty of things I cannot do no matter how hard I try or how many times I watch tutorials on them. The same goes fir everyone

No.

You’d have a better chance of turning a care assistant into a high court judge if you started at birth, but I wouldn’t put money on it.

And you couldn’t turn a judge into a dress designer either.

No , hard work alone would not work .

No, I couldn't be a PE teacher, and someone who is crap with numbers couldn't be a maths teacher.

Of course not.

Not everyone has the same intellectual or physical skills to do anything. Motivation alone does not make one a brain surgeon or a physicist or a lawyer

For sure it is easier to learn plumbing, but goodness knows I would be terrible at it as I have the strength of a squirrel monkey!

I had one maths teacher at secondary school who proved your statement wrong

No. Absolutely not. No matter how much I worked hard there are jobs I couldn't ever do.

I agree with these statements and I feel better now about just not getting the tax job at all, I'm just not cut out for it and don't have the mindset.

No, of course not.
I couldn't be a high court judge, or kings counsel 'just by working hard'.
I couldn't build a company from scratch to a million profit in five years, no matter what I tried to do. I simply don't have the skills, ability, or personality type.
Nursing, you need to have a really caring nature. Be very resilient and of course you can't fail to have to work long hours. So I don't think I'd be able to do that either.
You can't become a supermodel or pop star just by 'working hard'. It's about luck and looks a lot of the time.

You can always learn - age does not prohibit that.

But what to learn, especially if linked to a job hunt is a big question.

For me for example, there would be no point in anything that requires precision in numbers. I reverse them, get physically tired when dealing with them and so on. I only recognized that later in life. Funnily enough, I am good at mathematical concepts - just not placing the numbers!

Nope.

I have a job everyone thinks they can do and they can't.. but I equally believe there is zero chance of me becoming an accountant, lawyer or GP anytime soon.

I don’t think absolutely anyone can do absolutely any job, no.

I do think some specialist skills can be learned later in life. I also think you can do some jobs with transferrable skills, but not others.

I work in a fairly new field where there’s no academic route in and most people come to it as a second or third career, on the basis of transferable skills. But there are some aspects (some to do with basic abilities and some to do with mindset) that can’t really be taught, you either have them or you don’t.

If you have a genuine interest in what you're learning, and a strong motivation to succeed, then you'd be more likely to manage it.

But still, in my experience, there are some people who can turn their hand to many things, and some who are much more specific in their skills/abilities.

If it was the civil service tax specialist programme, it’s also possible you’re just not succeeding at a fairly difficult application process.

It was the CTU compliance caseworker, I heard the TSP was even harder.

I am terrifyingly bad with numbers, so I could never, even with training, work with anything involving maths. I even managed to screw up my tax return this year. But I am good with animals and the public.
I think if you play to your strengths you can do most things within your sphere (for example I could train dogs, teach riding, milk cows, work on open farms) but I couldn't be an accountant.

Definitely not- for example if I had to become an architect I just couldn't do it as I'm terrible at drawing and not very imaginative/ creative when it comes to either buildings or interiors. Also if I was made to be a doctor I could probably manage to qualify academically but I'd have to be a pathologist on account of my terrible bedside manner.

No. And I think it's important to recognise this and not waste too much time struggling to get somewhere you aren't realistically going to get.

It might be that you didn’t understand what the process required, as CS applications and interviews are hard for newcomers. But also it might just not be the right job for you and that’s ok!