How does your personal life affect you career choices?

Feeling very reflective today. Have been thinking alot about my career and personal life, its the crazy the amount of thoughts my mind can produce, some rational, some not. But it did lead to me to wondering why i may have chosen to study a Media related course and why I want to work in this industry?

I havn't really come to a conclusion just yet either. But I have started to wonder, do our personal lives have an impact on our career choices? And do our careers define who we are as people?

In my personal life I am a fairly independant person, or at least I was before I decided to go back into further education. I enjoy taking care of myself, being by myself and dont feel that I need to rely on another human being to guide me through the big decisions I make in life. I enjoy change, and I am not afraid to take chances or gambles if it means I could be better off in life.

Then I think about what I'm doing my degree in, Public Relations. This a fast moving, dynamic industry where you will have to work damn hard if you want to keep up, be successful and allow yourself to stand out. I wonder why I chose to do this for a living? And i wonder whether as I get older and change as an individual in my personal life, will I still want to do this for a living?

Its a strange thought to have had but I didnt always want to work in Public Relations. I decided to take this career path as I was working a standard 9-5 job that required no thought or challenge and when looking into degree choices PR stood out to me as it differed to that completely.

I have spoken with people who have also taken Media related degrees and a large majority have not stayed in the same field throughout, whether it be because a new opportunity arose or they just fancied a change, its a broad industry which is a very good thing to allow you to move around.

Its an exciting prospect when you are starting out your career fresh from university, you dont know what the next twenty years have in store for you and where you may be. I'm going to watch my life, watch the things that happen and the changes that may occur in my personal life/career life and see the impact that each have on one another.