The people with the best careers love what they do and look forward to the challenges.

Only a few people can say they love their jobs. By love we don’t mean that they never have days when they would be doing anything but their work. Instead we mean they experience a consistent happiness from their jobs.

These are the same people who instead of dreading the day ahead, look forward to the challenges it will bring. We spoke to a few of these people to get a better idea about what it is they love and, what it is they find most challenging, about their jobs.

What I find most challenging about my job:

“I think that coming to terms with the administrative part of comedy took some getting used to. Writing material that most people in the audience will be able to relate to is probably one of the biggest challenges.  Sometimes you have amazing ideas that work really well on paper, but don’t translate to great material on stage, but you just have to keep writing.” - Mel Jones, Comedienne and MC 

“As a creative you are usually forced to look inside yourself and expose your most cherished ideas for the world to see and criticise.” – Katlego Phatlane, Junior Art Director

“Within this field you will always find people telling you that you can’t fight this or that particular cause because those benefiting from such social injustices are just too big to take down, even though I disagree. Other than that, funding is always a challenge in the social service sector.” – Jessica Dewhurst, Social Justice & Advocacy Coordinator

“Before starting my own practice I worked within a team and if I was ever unsure of anything or needed some support I always had my team to fall back on. Now that I am in private practice I do not have a team. I have a lot of support and other professionals to contact but it can be challenging relying mostly on myself.” – Julia Sharkey, Psychological Counsellor

“The business environment is forcing us to work in new and often trying ways – but we’re making very good progress toward sustainability.” – Waldimar Pelser, Rapport Editor

What I love the most about my job:

“What’s not to love? I get to make people laugh for a living. What a privilege! We are surrounded by negativity in the media, on TV, in the papers and now all over the internet. It’s very, important that people still have something to laugh about and I get to be one of the people who provide that. I get to share my fun with people.” - Mel Jones, Comedienne and MC

“I love the opportunities I have to engage with human rights activists, environmental activists and many others from around the world. Hearing their stories and learning from their experiences in the field is a great blessing. But by far the most exciting part of what I do is getting to meet people, everyday men, women and children, who in their small way are making a difference in this world.” -Jessica Dewhurst, Social Justice & Advocacy Coordinator

“Solving creative problems is very exciting because you have to place yourself in the minds of the people that you design for, so for that reason putting on those different personality hats is really exhilarating.” – Katlego Phatlane, Junior Art Director

“My job keeps me motivated. The work I do is not work for me; I have a deep passion for what I do. To start my own private practice helping individuals with addiction problems and other issues they may have has been a dream of mine since I was about eighteen years old. I feel blessed to be at this point in my career.” - Julia Sharkey, Psychological Counsellor

“I like taking accountability for our product and the direction we take each day and with each story. I like starting with a blank canvas and see very talented colleagues fill it in imaginative ways. I like seeing good journalism being done. I love reaction from readers, even the angry ones. I like the fact that how this all plays out really depends on our decisions each day as a team.” – Waldimar Pelser, Rapport Editor

The best jobs are both rewarding and challenging. If your job fulfils neither, perhaps it’s time you moved on to greener pastures. Let Careers24 help you.